The first cohort of nine students from Brock University’s new Sustainability Science and Society graduate program will formally launch the program at Rodman Hall Thursday, Sept. 11.

After the formal program launch, guests and members of the public are invited to attend a presentation by renowned water expert Robert Sanford.

Sanford is the EPCOR Chair of the Canadian Partnership Initiative in support of United Nations “Water for Life” Decade. This national partnership initiative aims to inform the public on water issues and translate scientific research outcomes into language decision-makers can use to craft timely and meaningful public policy.

He sits on the advisory committee for the prestigious Rosenberg International Forum on Water Policy. In this capacity, Sanford works to bring broad international example to bear on Canadian water issues.

He’s also published Cold Matters: The State & Fate of Canada’s Snow and Ice (2012), Saving Lake Winnipeg (2013) and Flood Forecast (2014), just to name a few.

This event is presented in conjunction with the exhibition The Source: Rethinking Water Through Contemporary Art and Brock’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC), which oversees the new Sustainability Science and Society (SSAS) program.

The new Brock graduate program responds to a growing social need to better understand and positively shape our relationship with the planet’s natural systems.

“There are few master’s degrees specifically designed to address contemporary challenges through the transdisciplinary lens of sustainability science,” says Ryan Plummer, director of Brock’s ESRC and SSAS graduate program director.

What: Hot Talks – “Water & Hope: Facing Fact and Inspiring Optimism in a Declining Era,” by Robert Sanford

When: Thursday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m.

Where: Rodman Hall Art Centre, 109 St Paul Crescent, St. Catharines