Help our Master of Sustainability student, Dana Harris, move on to the next round of NSERC’s Science Action video competition! The 25 videos with the most views on March 2, 2018 will proceed to the judges’ panel, where they will compete for one of 15 cash prizes. Take a minute and click the photo below to view Dana’s video and learn more about Jack Pine growth.
Blog Contributor: Dr. Garrett Hutson
Brock alumna Liz Peredun (pictured above) and participating ESRC faculty member, Dr. Garrett Hutson, presented findings from the first comprehensive NOLS sense-of-place outcomes study at the Coalition for Education in the Outdoors Research Symposium in Martinsville, Indiana on January 13, 2018. The NOLS mission is to be the leading source and teacher of wilderness skills and leadership that serve people and the environment. NOLS leads wilderness expeditions for a variety of age groups worldwide with a focus on teaching leadership, outdoor skills, environmental studies, and risk management. One of the core environmental studies learning objectives at NOLS is for students to develop a “sense of place” by experiencing wilderness and exploring relationships with their surroundings. In the NOLS context, sense of place is defined as the personal relationship students develop with areas travelled during NOLS experiences. Sense of place is important to NOLS because articulating an environmental ethic and supporting students’ abilities in connecting with the natural world beyond NOLS is a goal of every course.
The purpose of this study was to explore how NOLS course participants report developing a sense of place after completing a course at NOLS Rocky Mountain in Lander, Wyoming. Data were analyzed from 511 NOLS students who answered the open-ended question: Did NOLS help you develop a personal relationship to the places you visited? If so, how? Overall, 72% responded affirmatively and responses ranged from general feelings of nature appreciation to specific curriculum-driven learning mechanisms. Learning mechanisms included the chance to engage in environmental studies, developing familiar rituals, participating in authentic experiences, time for reflection, and discussions on natural history and indigenous awareness.
Additional analysis is underway to explore links between sense-of-place development and other aspects of the NOLS environmental studies curriculum such as foundations in ecology, Leave No Trace environmental ethics, climate change, and transfer of learning. NOLS was a participating member of this study and plans to utilize these findings both to better understand the impacts of its programs and to improve the environmental studies curriculum.
Liz Peredun is a graduate of the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies undergraduate program with the Outdoor Recreation concentration. Liz currently works as an instructor for NOLS in the Yukon Territory, Wyoming, and Utah and as a Program Director for Outward Bound Canada. Additionally, Liz works as a research assistant for this ongoing ESRC funded study.
From left, Brock University master’s student Tianyu Dong with Feng Li, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, and Ana Sanchez, Professor of Health Sciences. A chemist and a parasite expert at Brock University have teamed up to produce and test out a simple device that can detect diseases from DNA samples. It’s a scaled-down version of what is normally an expensive and complicated DNA laboratory technique, yet it’s fast, inexpensive and accurate, making it ideal for use in developing countries.
Brock University Assistant Professor of Chemistry Feng Li’s device consists of a strip of paper attached onto a glass slide. The paper contains several rows of what look like thermometers, lines with markings projecting out of bulb-like circles.
DNA samples are loaded onto the circles and move up the lines, much like mercury rises in a thermometer.
“Different concentrations of the genetic disease biomarkers in the samples would migrate different distances,” says Li. “So, all you need to do is read the distance they penetrate, just like you’d read a ruler.”
Known as the quantitative paper-based DNA reader, each device costs only about 10 cents. They work with a scaled-down version of a traditionally expensive and complex DNA laboratory technique.
While testing for the presence of disease markers, health-care workers use a technique called polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which makes millions of copies of a particular section of DNA.
The PCR technique normally requires highly specialized equipment and expensive molecular probes. But Li’s device is able to read DNA samples through a PCR technique using simple technology and low-cost chemicals.
“This is going to be extremely useful in resource-limited settings where you don’t have a lot of facilities to interpret the results,” says Li.
One such setting is the National Autonomous University of Honduras, where Brock University Professor of Health Sciences Ana Sanchez runs an internationally-renowned research program focusing on parasites.
She and her research team collected worms that had been expelled by children suspected of having soil-transmitted helminth infection, a disease affecting about 1.5 billion people worldwide and a major cause of childhood malnutrition and physical impairment.
The researchers used the quantitative paper-based DNA reader to test the worms for helminth infection.
“The results are beautiful; there’s no doubt that the system works,” says Sanchez.
She applauds the speed and sensitivity of the device, saying that diagnostic techniques in developing countries are traditional, basic and rely on the expertise of the person observing the sample.
Sanchez says the device goes beyond just a yes or no result by measuring the amount of genetic disease biomarkers in the DNA sample.
“How many parasites is this child harbouring?” she says. “That tells you maybe their immune response and nutrition are impaired, that we’d need to consider if treatment needs to be ramped up, even if there could be a possibility of parasitic resistance.
“The knowledge of parasitic burden of individuals and community will directly lead to public health interventions. What Feng has proven is that his invention works. We’re ready to bring it to the field.”
Both Sanchez and Li say they are happy with their research partnership, which evolved from casual conversations as they worked next to one another in their labs in Brock’s Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Research Complex.
“I think it’s a really nice thing that we talked and realized we could collaborate. There’s a lot of mutual interest between us,” says Li. “It’s a very fruitful collaboration. We match perfectly in the research field.”
The research team’s results are in their study “Paper-Based DNA Reader for Visualized Quantification of Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections,” published Tuesday, Jan. 16 in the journal ACS Sensors. PhD student Alex Guan Wang and master’s student Tianyu Dong are the study’s first authors.
Li says he is working with Brock’s business incubation facility BioLinc to create a plastic container that will house the paper-based DNA reader.
Story from The Brock News
Cheryl McCormick began her three-year term as Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies for the Faculty of Mathematics and Science on Jan. 1.
Cheryl McCormick is no stranger to the road less travelled.
Her passion for STEM research (science, technology, engineering and math) has driven her forward in the once male-dominated field, and recently led her to a new position at Brock after more than two years as Director of the University’s Centre of Neuroscience.
McCormick began her three-year term as Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies for the Faculty of Mathematics and Science on Jan. 1, becoming the first female appointed to the role.
In her new position, she hopes to inspire other women to pursue a career in STEM research, particularly at Brock.
McCormick’s main goal is to help promote the success of research at the University.
Along with primary thesis supervision, she has supervised the research training of 13 graduate students and more than 70 undergraduates. Passionate about helping and recognizing the research of students, McCormick works with Science Without Borders research interns, participates in the Faculty’s Science Mentorship Program and assists with Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council-funded (NSERC) research.
She has been with Brock’s Department of Psychology and Centre for Neuroscience since 2004, participating in various Department committees and speaker series. She also remains part of the Behavioural Neuroscience Committee, which she has served on for the past 14 years.
McCormick is an associate member of the Department of Biology and has been a member of the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre since 2013.
Along with departmental, faculty and University committees, McCormick has also served on numerous national and international research committees during her time at Brock. Most recently, she was a presenter for an NSERC grant workshop through the Office of Research Services and helped complete an internal review of graduate student scholarships for the Dean of Graduate Studies.
She is the recipient of several awards, scholarships, internal and external grants and has been an invited symposia and colloquia speaker across Canada, the U.S. and abroad.
Story from The Brock News
By: Lydia Collas
I’m delighted to write the first post for the new Brock Sustainability Blog. I’m currently a student in the Sustainability Science and Society (SSAS) graduate program and, since beginning my time at Brock in September 2016, I have fulfilled the role of Communications Assistant to the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC).
Over the past few months, the communications team has been developing and preparing for the launch of this blog. In this post, I hope to shed some light on what we hope this blog can be used to achieve, and encourage you to contribute material.
Sustainability is an interdisciplinary subject by nature, and consequently sustainability research and initiatives are extremely diverse. The ESRC features researchers from many backgrounds, including Biological Sciences, Economics, Geography, Psychology, Health Sciences, and more.
This diversity, in turn, leads to great variety in the research subjects of students in the SSAS program who are each supervised by members of the ESRC. In my year alone, topics of student projects includes climate change perception; public transport usage; perceptions and mitigation of flooding; and the impacts of the Green Belt in Niagara.
Sustainability is becoming a hot topic at Brock University:
With sustainability giving rise to such varied research areas and initiatives, it is highly interesting to share knowledge and ideas amongst one another. We hope that this blog will create a platform for doing just that. We hope to publish wide-ranging content: we are interested in hearing about your latest research projects, research partnerships, and conference presentations. We want to hear about sustainability efforts at Brock University and about your personal reflections on topical sustainability issues.
We are accepting content from students (past and present), faculty, and others connected with Brock University. Send us your stories, and any suitable accompanying pictures, to the Communications team at esrc@brocku.ca. You can read a full version of the guidelines for the Sustainability Blog at Sustainability Blog Guidelines.
By: Lydia Collas
In photo (from left to right): Lyn Brown, Emilie Jobin Poirier, Lydia Collas, Alison Feist, and Dana Harris
As we near the end of the calendar year, we would like to highlight the success of our students in the Sustainability: Science and Society program and bring attention to the awards and scholarships that they have received. Francine McCarthy, acting Graduate Program Director, is tremendously proud of the students, “We have a terrific group of talented young people interested in a wide variety of projects related to sustainable development. It is great to see that formally recognized with these awards”.
First year student, Lyn Brown, received the Ontario Paper Thorold Foundation Graduate Award which is awarded to a student at Brock University who is pursuing a degree with a focus on environmental studies. Lyn said “This award has allowed me to be able to focus on my studies, and not have to have a part-time job during my schooling. This extra time has let me get fieldwork experience volunteering for different local conservation groups like going electrofishing with the Ministry of Natural Resources, and doing water analysis with the Niagara Peninsular Conservation Authority.”
Lydia Collas, a second year student, was awarded the Brock University Guernsey Postgraduate Scholarship which provides full coverage of fees. Lydia explained, “This scholarship is awarded annually to a resident of Guernsey, in tribute to the island being the birthplace of Sir Isaac Brock. This scholarship has enabled me to have the unforgettable experience of pursuing my Master’s degree in Canada! I was also awarded the Dean of Graduate Studies Spring Fellowship for the Faculty of Social Sciences which is awarded to support research completed in the Spring semester. During this time, I researched and wrote a review paper which I have submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.”
The Ontario Graduate Scholarship is a merit-based award that provides funding for Master’s and doctoral level students at a number of institutions across Ontario. Alison Feist was one of the recipients of this award, “This year 52 students at Brock University received this scholarship based on academic excellence, communication and leadership ability, and research potential. Receiving this scholarship has enabled me to enhance my thesis research in the SSAS program and have the wonderful opportunity of conducting fieldwork outside the province, learning more about collaborative climate change adaptation on the ground.”
Dana Harris’ hometown is Yellowknife, NWT, where she lived before moving to Brock University for the duration of her university studies. Now a second year student in the SSAS program, awards from the Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies (ACUNS) have enabled her to conduct research closer to home. Dana explains, “I was awarded the ACUNS Scholarship which serves to promote and assist in the continuation of northern research by northern graduate students. In 2016, I was awarded the Northern Resident award to support the fieldwork I completed that summer. And in 2017, I was awarded a grant by the Northern Scientific Training Program to assist with the transportation expenses I faced travelling to and from my research site. These awards have allowed me to pursue academic research and promote scientific knowledge in my hometown, Yellowknife.”
Emilie Jobin Poirier was awarded the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship by the Social Science and Humanities Research Council. Emilie said, “This 12-month funding enables me to entirely focus on my transdisciplinary research on climate change adaptation in the Canadian wine industry. Through SSHRC’s support, I have also traveled to other provinces to promote my research and gain a better understanding of the impacts climate change has on grape and wine production in Canada.”
The Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC) at Brock University launched the SSAS program in September 2014. The program has consistently attracted exceptional students, with an increasing number coming from other provinces and other countries. The ESRC’s Director, Ryan Plummer, reflects on the impact and importance of such scholarships, “Graduate school is about pursuing academic excellence and these scholarships enable opportunities for the recipients to enrich their experience and catalyze their research. The high number and diversity of awards and external scholarship bodes extremely well for the calibre of our relatively young program and I have every confidence this trajectory will continue for years to come”.
The SSAS program is now accepting applications for 2018 entry. For more information and to apply please visit https://brocku.ca/esrc/ssas/.
Angela Dzyndzyak, Julia Baird, Angela Mallette, Brooke Kapeller and Ryan Plummer review the findings of the study co-authored by Plummer, Baird, Dzyndzyak and others.Experience, process and both social and ecological outcomes are at the heart of new research out of the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC) on effective environmental governance.
The study, funded by the Swedish Research Council, looked at individuals involved with environmental governance in two UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in Canada and two in Sweden.
The subjects came from different backgrounds including government and non-government organizations, private businesses and landowners, but all were active within their local Biosphere Reserve.
“We found the experiences that individuals have when they engage in stewardship matter,” says researcher Julia Baird, Assistant Professor in ESRC and Tier 2 Canada Research Chair on Water Resilience.
“There’s an important relationship between how engaged they are, their perceptions of the social processes that occur when they participate in stewardship activities and to what extent they believe outcomes — both ecological and social or well-being — are being realized.”
By assessing participation, learning and collaboration as factors in how these individual stakeholders viewed the results of their stewardship efforts, the study provides statistical evidence of their importance — something which, as the study authors point out, is “often presumed, but rarely proven.”
Co-author Ryan Plummer, Professor and Director of the ESRC, says the study gives rise to several new questions related to both theory and practice of advancing environmental stewardship and resilience.
Baird agrees.
“We are actively pursuing several research questions as a result of our findings, including transferability to other contexts, the psychological questions around engagement in stewardship, and closer and more nuanced understandings of the key variables that we are interested in,” she says.
Transferability to other contexts could have future implications in many different environmental governance contexts, including here at Brock.
As Plummer points out, “Brock University is uniquely positioned in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Our research may inform the approach to management and governance of our very own Biosphere Reserve.”
Plummer, Baird and Brock post-doctoral fellow Angela Dzyundzyak worked with researchers from Stockholm University and the University of Waterloo to complete the study.
Several graduate students associated with the Sustainability Science and Society program, including Alison Feist, Brooke Kapeller, Katrina Krievins and Angela Mallette, were also actively involved throughout the project in data collection, analysis, and reporting.
A paper detailing the study, “How do environmental governance processes shape evaluation of outcomes by stakeholders? A causal pathways approach,” appeared in the jounral PLOS ONEearlier this fall.
The undergraduate research of Lydia Collas, second year student in the Sustainability Science and Society (SSAS) graduate program, is to appear as the Editor’s Choice in the December issue of the Journal of Applied Ecology.
Before moving to Canada last year, Lydia studied a B.A. (Hons.) degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge. It was during this time that Lydia completed the project entitled “Land sharing, land sparing and urban development: the importance of considering restoration” that would eventually see publication this December.
The research considers how best to reconcile biodiversity conservation with urban development. “Worldwide, human populations in cities are growing rapidly and so urban centres are expanding with more houses being built,” Lydia explained. “We wanted to look at what effect this has on nature to find out how nature could be conserved.” The study applies the land sharing/sparing framework to answer this question.
“There are typically two schools of thought of how we should seek to maintain biodiversity in a landscape whilst also meeting human needs. In the context of urban development, land sharing would see low-density housing, with large gardens, built in an attempt to support wild populations alongside humans. Under land sparing, high density housing would be built such that the human population could be supported in a smaller area, enabling the ‘sparing’ of large areas of green space for nature. In this case, the land for humans and the land for nature are spatially explicit.”
This research investigated how native tree populations in the city of Cambridge fared under different development strategies, on a gradient from land sharing to land sparing, whilst meeting the housing demand of the population forecasted for the year 2031. The authors also considered the implications of restoring woodland on areas of green space, which are largely maintained with little vegetation at present.
The results show that land-sharing development would see the native tree population slightly increase in size owing to the relatively higher density of trees in low-density housing which is accompanied by large gardens. However, if areas of green space within the city could be restored to woodland, the optimal strategy becomes one of land-sparing which could see tree populations increase 12-fold. Indeed, land sparing becomes the favourable strategy after just 2% of the city’s green space is restored to woodland.
Having submitted this work to the Journal of Applied Ecology in September 2016, Lydia is very much looking forward to seeing this work in print next month.
“To be first author on a publication at this stage of my career is so exciting. I am hugely grateful for the support of my supervisors, Professors Andrew Balmford and Rhys Green, whom this would not have been possible without, as well as my talented colleagues Alex Ross and Josie Wastell.”
Dr. Ryan Plummer, Professor and Director of the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre, which hosts the SSAS program put this publication into perspective and expressed his pride at this achievement.
“The Journal of Applied Ecology is a Q1 (2.869 SJR) journal in which established Faculty researchers aspire to publish. Editor’s Choice recognition in such a high-quality journal is a tremendous accomplishment, and nod to the scientific calibre of Lydia’s research. I am tremendously proud of Lydia! This accomplishment exemplifies the high calibre of scholarship to which graduate students at Brock should aspire and the importance of scholarships to enable exceptional international students to study at Brock.”
As Lydia nears the end of her time in the SSAS program, she is looking to remain in academia and is currently putting together PhD applications. We wish her every success.
Julia Baird has been named Canada Research Chair in Human Dimensions of Water Resources and Water ResilienceWater is all around us, and it’s something many Canadians take for granted. But water quality and quantity is increasingly threatened by climate change, pollution and other human-driven impacts.
Brock University Assistant Professor Julia Baird researches how we can foster resilience of freshwater resources through management and governance in an era of rapid change and uncertainty.
“Water is vital; everybody knows it. Water is an incredibly critical resource and it’s under pressure,” says Baird, who was named Brock’s newest Canada Research Chair last week by the Canadian government.
As Canada Research Chair in Human Dimensions of Water Resources and Water Resilience, Baird is studying a “new water paradigm,” a view that recognizes the complex interactions between freshwater social and ecological systems that are constantly being influenced by internal and external forces.
Because of this complexity, uncertainty and dynamic nature of these systems, the old “command-and-control” approach to making decisions about water “is not going to sustain ecosystems or humans in the future,” says Baird.
The foundation of her work is the concept of resilience: the capacity to retain structure and function during times of change; learn, adapt and transform when faced with that change; and organize itself to meet the challenges.
“I’m interested in management and governance approaches that incorporate ideas of resilience: the ability to adapt and change to support human and ecosystem well-being,” says Baird, Assistant Professor in Brock’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC) and the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies.
Underlying Baird’s work is the belief that humans are impacting the earth and that a new time period — the Anthropocene — should be added to the planet’s official geologic timeline.
“We are in an era where humans are the driving force of change,” she says. “We need to really think about how we’re managing our actions. The social dimension is critical.”
Baird’s research will focus on how freshwater resilience can be fostered by society and what needs to be done to respond to increasing challenges and complexities.
She will also examine how individual actions aimed at restoring the ecosystem contribute to building resilience, and understand how social networks and other factors influence decision-making at that individual level.
Baird says she “couldn’t be happier” with her Canada Research Chair appointment.
“It’s a really great opportunity,” she says. “It provides tremendous support for my program of research and acknowledgement of the importance of water resilience as a priority research area here at Brock and for Canada.
“This also provides opportunities to engage in national and international collaborations. It gives me that boost at the beginning of my career to really excel in my field.”
Baird, who has a background in agricultural sciences and environment and sustainability, joined Brock in 2011 as a post-doctoral fellow, earning her PhD from the University of Saskatchewan in 2012. She became an adjunct professor in the ESRC in 2015, and an assistant professor in the ESRC and the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies earlier this year. She says the ESRC, Faculty of Social Sciences and Office of Research Services have all played a big role in supporting both her work and the CRC nomination process.
Baird has a history of international research partnerships. In a 2016 study involving research partners from across Europe, Australia and Canada, Baird and her colleagues found there are a wide range of perceptions about water resilience and how water resources should be governed across multiple international cases.
“Baird is an outstanding researcher whose work has national and international impact. This award recognizes her outstanding accomplishments, and it will help further her career as a scholar,” says Joffre Mercier, Brock’s Interim Vice-President, Research.
With Baird’s award, Brock now has a total of 11 Canada Research Chairs.
Interview conducted by Lydia Collas
Photo: Brodie Hague graduated from the SSAS program in 2016
Brodie Hague was amongst the first cohort of students to embark on Brock’s Sustainability Science and Society (SSAS) program. Having graduated in 2016, Brodie is now writing course material for Brock’s recently launched undergraduate minor in Environmental Sustainability. I recently caught up with Brodie to find out a bit more about where the SSAS program had led him.
Q. Brodie, first of all, can you tell me what attracted you to the SSAS program?
A. My eventual thesis supervisor, Dr. Marilyne Jollineau, first introduced me to the SSAS program when I was considering graduate studies. During the completion of my undergraduate degree at Brock University, I became increasingly aware of the University’s respected (and growing) reputation for scholarship, teaching, and learning. In addition, Brock’s unique location within a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, the ESRC’s transdisciplinary approach to sustainability research and education, and the generous graduate funding package made Brock University the ideal location to pursue my graduate degree in Sustainability.
Q. You were in the thesis stream which requires students to do an in-depth primary research project, what was your research on?
A. My research was on the use of remote sensing technologies to map and monitor coastal dune ecosystems in Southampton, Ontario. In particular, I was interested in the health of the dune system and the spatial and temporal patterns of change in vegetation cover within the dune system.
Q. What is your favourite memory from your time in the program?
A. While I have many fond memories from my time in the program, my favourite memory was when the Lieutenant-Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell visited Brock and invited us to participate in a roundtable discussion on “Social Aspects of Environmental Sustainability” in December 2014. As part of the roundtable, our graduate cohort presented a graduate project and engaged in a discussion with fellow ESRC Faculty, colleagues, and the Lieutenant-Governor.
Q. What are you up to now? How do you think the SSAS program prepared you for doing that?
A. I’m currently employed within the ESRC as both a Research Assistant and as a Co-instructor for the new online course, ENSU 2P01 (Introduction to Environmental Sustainability). In my capacity as a Research Assistant, I assisted in the development of the ESRC’s proposal and budget for eCampus Ontario’s Open Content Initiative. In addition, I’m also the co-project leader for the ESRC’s eCampus Ontario Project, which involves the development and writing of online open module content. This content will also help form the basis for the new online course, ENSU 2P02, Environmental Sustainability in Practice. I am also employed as an Instructor in the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies teaching GEOG 2P07 (Introduction to Geospatial Technologies) and GEOG 3P07 (Remote Sensing).
Q. How do you think the SSAS program has prepared you for the next step?
A. The SSAS program provided me with the knowledge and skills required to develop and teach these courses. In addition, the program provided me with the opportunity to develop networks and collegial relationships among Faculty members which has been imperative in the co-ordinating and implementation of our eCampus Ontario project.
In recognition of Brodie’s excellence as a Teaching Assistant, he was awarded the Novice Teaching Assistant Award in April 2015. Brodie also received generous financial support from the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies for his research. The ESRC is delighted that Brodie has continued on at Brock University following his completion of the SSAS program and looks forward to seeing what the future holds for this very talented alumnus!
