Housed in the Faculty of Environment and directed by Dr. Kelsey Leonard, the University of Waterloo’s Christmas Tree Lab empowers Christmas tree growers year-round with research and science-based tools that strengthen sustainability and resilience across the industry.
Two SERS graduate students are the recipients of Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) awards. The funding supports research to bring together Traditional Knowledge and western science.
Presenting the most comprehensive global scientific evaluation of food systems to date, the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission released its report on Healthy, Sustainable, and Just Food Systems. SERS professor Dr. Jennifer Clapp is a contributing author to the report, having worked on the justice section.
Natasha Serrao, a SERS PhD candidate, was selected as a finalist in the 2025 SSHRC’s Storytellers Challenge. The SSHRC challenges postsecondary students nationwide to demonstrate, in up to three minutes or 300 words, how their research is positively impacting our lives, our world, and our future. Congratulations Natasha!
Dr. Graham Epstein coauthored the newly published Stewards of the Coastline report which provides the first assessment of community-led marine governance in the Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO).
How can we cultivate relationships that are founded on peace, respect and friendship today? Deyohahá:ge: Sharing the River of Life is a new book featuring contributions from Dr. Kelsey Leonard that offers insights from the Covenant Chain-Two Row Wampum, detailing how Indigenous Peoples and newcomers build peace by respecting each other’s cultures, beliefs and laws.
Professor Kelsey Leonard leads the University of Waterloo Christmas Tree Lab which formalized a partnership with the Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario (CTFO) in 2024. Their goal is to commit to joint research projects and outreach efforts aimed at developing sustainable initiatives to advance the resilience and growth of the Christmas tree industry.
Transforming everyday citizens into environmental agents, SERS PhD student Jess Kidd identifies community members as the secret to increased understanding of our environment.
A recent Conservation Biology publication, co-authored by SERS professor Derek Armitage, examines how governance can make or break conservation success.
Two SERS students were among those who participated in the offering of ENV474: Connecting Climate Change and Social Justice, which took place in South Africa in late April. The interdisciplinary field course integrated a range of science and policy perspectives and field-based interactions to understand South Africa’s Cape region as a dynamic and linked system of people and nature.