Articles from:March 2025

• Local research strives to improve children’s health internationally

  Thursday, March 20, 2025 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE – March 20, 2025 – R0039

  Research taking place in Ontario schools is poised to help children around the world lead healthier lives.

  Brock University is heading up the research portion of a multi-institutional project, “Growing Healthy Places: Mississauga,” that is part of the Cities for Better Health program, an international effort to boost children’s health and well-being.

  Canada Research Chair in Child Health Equity and Inclusion and Associate Professor of Health Sciences Karen Patte and her team will be evaluating nutrition and physical activity programs at select Mississauga schools. Those programs are co-ordinated by community agencies Ophea and 8 80 Cities.

  Schools located in socioeconomically vulnerable neighbourhoods will be designated to either receive intervention programs or to act as a comparison group.

  The intervention programs will be co-designed, implemented and evaluated by a range of partners, including school and community groups, municipal governments and academic institutions.

  Elementary and middle school students in both school groups will fill out three annual surveys measuring their health and well-being, with researchers comparing the results over three years.

  “Central to the evaluation is a focus on whether the interventions impact inequitable distribution of health outcomes over time,” Patte says.

  Studies have shown food insecurity among children and youth has increased in Canada. In 2022, 18 per cent of Canadian families reported experiencing food insecurity in the past 12 months, with families living in urban areas and from racialized and immigrant populations disproportionately affected.

  Further, only half of children aged five to 11 years old meet the recommended physical activity levels.

  These challenges in childhood can impact long-term health outcomes and quality of life, says Patte.

  “We want to make sure all children have access to nutritious food and safe opportunities to be active.”

  Promoting healthy diets and physical activity in childhood is critical to support healthy growth and development, and to reduce the risk of developing a range of health issues in adulthood, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and depression.

  Patte says the project’s goal is to set the stage for children’s health and wellness in the long run.

  “The evidence gained, and the project’s focus on sustainability and scale up, will support the promotion of healthy communities well beyond the study, helping to ensure all children have the opportunity to thrive,” she says.

  Patte says she was attracted to this project by the “community-driven, equity-focused and intersectoral partnership approach to promoting children’s health.”

  “I really value the approach of Ophea and 8 80 Cities in which they prioritize building trust and ensure any interventions are locally developed to meet communities where they are,” she says. “Core to their programs is a focus on enhancing belonging and building inclusive spaces.”

   

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  *Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University [email protected] or 289-241-5483

   – 30 –

  Categories: Media releases

• Brock expert says Niagara grapevines well-poised for fruitful growing season as erratic weather approaches

  Thursday, March 20, 2025 | By Brock University

  EXPERT ADVISORY – March 20, 2025 – R0038

  With the first day of spring officially here and temperatures already hovering around 20 C this week, Niagara grape growers will be keeping a close eye on the temperature swings predicted in the weather forecast.

  Brock University Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Jim Willwerth says that grapevines in the region have overwintered well.

  Growers’ attentions have now turned, he says, to being mindful of spring’s warmer daytime temperatures which can threaten the cold tolerance those vines built up during the winter dormancy period.

  That’s because large fluctuations, like those expected this week, can also increase the threat of injury to buds, he says.

  “Right now, our vines are staying winter hardy, the risk is that if we start getting very warm daytime temperatures in March, they might then lose hardiness quite rapidly,” says Willwerth.

  Willwerth’s research conducted with Brock’s Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) focuses on climate change and vine resiliency.

  “This year we were pretty consistent with the cold, and it hasn’t been very extreme,” he says, noting temperatures only dropped into the -15 C to -20 C range for a few short stretches during January and February.

  This contrasts with what happened in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley over the past two winters, where unusually extreme and prolonged temperatures in the -30 C range devastated grape crops in 2023 and 2024.

  Willwerth says vines are presently entering a period known as “deacclimation,” where warmer temperatures will cause the hardiness of the buds to drop.

  Just as consistently cold weather in winter is good, says Willwerth, consistently warm daytime temps in early spring can be harmful, confusing vines into thinking it is time to prepare for budding.

  If that happens, buds can lose their tolerance to cold, increasing the risk of damage in the event temperatures drop as they are expected to this week.

  CCOVI research, says Willwerth, indicates that Niagara’s core varieties such as Chardonnay, Pinot noir and Cabernet Franc have overwintered, as have other varieties with less winter hardiness such as Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc.

  And with the movement to buy local products swelling, he says consumers can look forward to robust and healthy Canadian choices on store shelves, both now and in the years to come.

   

  Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences Jim Willwerth is available for media interviews on this topic.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  *Sarah Ackles, Communications Specialist, Brock University [email protected] or 289-241-5483

  – 30 –

  Categories: Media releases