Environment

With the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration well underway, one message is taking center stage – we need to restore biodiversity on our planet.

A new study, led by researchers in the Faculty of Environment, has uncovered details on Canada’s ecological restoration practices. By synthesizing insights from 50 years of Canadian academic research, they identified which ecosystems are being studied, and where.

Thanks to a transformational $10 million donation from Caivan Group (Caivan), one of Canada’s leading real estate developers, co-founded by Waterloo alumni Frank Cairo (BES ’05) and Troy van Haastrecht (BASc ’93), the University has embarked on a bold new mission to create healthier, more prosperous cities with the launch of the Future Cities Institute founded by CAIVAN (FCI).  

Living in society means we are under the influence of others. This power can impact our behaviors and actions, which can result in both positive and negative results. For Mohamed Yousuf, the power of influence formed an integral part of his graduate studies research.  

In a bid to meet growing food production and energy needs in low- and middle-income countries, solar-powered groundwater irrigation is rapidly gaining ground. More than 500,000 solar pumps have been installed in south Asia over the last few years and a major expansion is planned across sub-Saharan Africa.

This past October, Grand River Transit staff proposed service changes for 2024 with recommendations to reduce evening service on the Ion light rail in favour of a slightly more frequent daytime schedule that would complicate departure times.

“When I first heard about the preliminary Grand River Transit budget where the off-peak hours would be cut from every 15 minutes to 30 minutes, I was shocked,” says Rodney Chan, a third-year undergraduate student in the School of Planning.

It’s predicted that where we grow our food will have to shift north as increasing temperatures due to climate change make it too hot for crops to thrive near the equator. But moving our crops north, specifically into the Boreal Forest, is not as simple as it sounds. 

At the north of campus next to Village 1 residences and Westmount Road, lies a small section of urban forest that has recently received big attention. Recognizing how it embodies our spiritual connection to the land and fosters a place to heal from traumas, the space has been designated a national healing forest by the David Suzuki Foundation in partnership with the National Healing Forests Initiative.