This April, Grebel hosted the University of Waterloo campus finals of the Map the System student research competition, a culmination of several months of work and research for student teams. A global competition developed by the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University, Map the System provides an opportunity for students to explore some of the most pressing issues of our time—from climate change to food insecurity—using a systems-thinking lens.
This was the fifth year that the Kindred Credit Union Centre for Peace Advancement facilitated this opportunity for students in any level and program of study at Waterloo. Out of 55 teams who applied, five finalists were chosen to compete for prize money generously donated by Kindred Credit Union, MEDA, and the Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation. This year’s winning team that will move onto the Canadian regional finals in May included an active member of the Grebel student community, Jordan Li.
A fourth-year Environmental Science student, Jordan’s passion for creating positive change has been seen in roles at Grebel as Student Council Vice-President, Peace Society representative, and Grebel Orientation Committee Leader, and this passion shone through in her Map the System presentation. Jordan’s team tackled the topic of Wetland Management in the Region of Durham, Ontario out of an interest in addressing the devastating loss of wetlands in Southern Ontario.
Jordan collaborated with Sukhmani Sadiora and Adriana Ceric, who study Environmental Studies and Civil Engineering, to explore the many facets of this complex problem, from proposed provincial legislation encouraging the development of new housing to the importance of listening to Indigenous voices. Jordan noted that “the research process opened my eyes to how complex and interdisciplinary the issue of wetland management is.”
Each of these students was completing a co-op work term, and Jordan’s co-op experience doing research into wetland health and composition informed both their research and a passion for the topic. “The function of wetlands is essential to the health of all other ecosystems—it’s amazing how they bridge the gaps between water and land for many organisms, filter water, mitigate flooding, and much more. For this reason, I think it’s especially important that wetlands are protected and well-managed.”
