Vital information on how civilizations cope with climate change could be hiding under a medieval castle in England, and the professor leading the project to uncover it is among the Waterloo researchers to receive government funding announced today.
Professor Steven Bednarski, of St. Jerome's University and the Faculty of Arts at the University of Waterloo, leads one of four UWaterloo projects receiving Partnership Development grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) worth approximately $200,000 each over three years.
Professor Bednarski, his collaborator Professor Scott McLean from Queen's University, and a team of interdisciplinary experts aim to discover the lost medieval village of Herstmonceux in East Sussex, abandoned during a time of intense climate change. Their archival research and archaeological excavations will reveal how premodern Europeans adapted settlement patterns and land use in response to melting ice caps, rising sea levels, and repeated coastal inundation.
"The projects that received this government support announced today are fine examples of the kind of collaborative work at Waterloo that brings together researchers, students and community members with a goal of addressing some real issues that we face or consider every day," said Ian Orchard, vice-president academic and provost at Waterloo. "I congratulate all of the research teams on this deserved recognition."
Professor Robert Kerton, from the Faculty of Arts, is principal investigator on a project that creates a network of six universities–including Waterloo, Ryerson University, Laval University, McGill University, the University of Alberta and the University Guelph–plus government organizations with responsibilities for consumer policy. Also participating are Canada's main consumer groups and private sector representatives in an initiative to train graduate students and to bring research-based benefits to Canada and its consumers.
Professors Dawn Parker, Jeff Casello and Markus Moos, all from the Faculty of Environment, are looking at the pending development of light rail transit, core-area intensification and socio-economic change in Kitchener-Waterloo. The project may one day assist municipalities in their decision-making and policy development, while also enhancing public dialogue and citizen engagement and training the next generation of planning professionals.
Professor Stephen Quilley from the Faculty of Environment, will bring together a variety of stakeholders, such as farmers, local authorities, wildlife groups and hunting associations, to explore the possible benefits of using traditional British and European hedge-laying techniques in the Ontario countryside. The goal is to promote biodiversity, water retention and run off control, reduced soil erosion, snow drifting control, wild life corridors and migration routes, local economic development and place making, job creation and the creation of footpaths increasing public access to countryside.
The Honourable Ed Holder, Minister of State (Science and Technology), announced the awards today at an event in Brandon, Manitoba.
About the University of Waterloo
In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's technology hub, has become one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities with 35,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Waterloo, as home to the world's largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow. For more information about Waterloo, please visit www.uwaterloo.ca
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