Articles by author: Brock University

• Augmented reality research brings climate futures to life

  Thursday, September 24, 2026 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE – Sept. 24, 2026 — R0087

  Visitors to St. Catharines’ Lakeside Park are getting a glimpse of possible climate futures thanks to the fieldwork of Julia Baird’s Empathy for Sustainability research team.

  Anyone over the age of 18 is invited to participate in data collection for Virtual Water Futures, a 15-minute experience that allows viewers to observe the park as it is today and then, using augmented reality (AR), see what the area might look like in the future as climate change causes rising lake levels and more frequent storm surges.

  Baird, Professor and Director of Brock University’s Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC), says the goal is to understand whether AR can encourage climate action now by “bringing the future to the present.”

  “Climate impacts happen in the future, but we need to take action now, and that’s a really challenging space for people to be in psychologically. Most of us know things are going to happen that will be deeply unpleasant and really challenge the places we love in ways that are not desirable,” she says. “We focused this AR work on Lakeside Park specifically because it’s such an iconic place in St. Catharines, on the shore of Lake Ontario.”

  In addition to ESRC researchers, students and affiliates, the team also includes hydroclimatologist Scott Steinschneider from Cornell University and collaborators from several community partners, including the City of St. Catharines.

  Olivia Groff, Climate Change Adaptation Co-ordinator with the City of St. Catharines, is among those working with the team and says she is eager to see the results of the study.

  “The use of augmented reality to help demonstrate possible climate scenarios and associated impacts to our own Lakeside Park here in St. Catharines is quite unique,” Groff says. “Flooding events have occurred in the park before, which may be familiar to survey participants, while the added layers and highlighted features of the AR future scenarios hopefully resonate with them.”

  Master of Sustainability student Alicia Rauth (BA ’25) will be using the data to support her thesis research into how people recognize changes in their local environment and whether those insights inspire them to become more involved in community-based natural resource management.

  She says research participants acknowledged that their perspectives on flooding scenarios had likely changed following the severe storms and significant flooding that led the City of St. Catharines to declare a State of Emergency in August.

  “We had already been out collecting data about a month prior to the flooding,” Rauth says. “We had a lot of participants verbally express that had they answered our survey before the flooding, their answers would not be the same.”

  While the AR scenarios developed for the study are more focused on the longer-term impacts of repeated flooding events from lake storm surge than on extreme rainfall events like those of the past summer, Baird says it will be interesting to analyze the data collected before and after the events that had such a serious impact on participants, as well as their friends and neighbours.

  Baird, who holds a Canada Research Chair in Human Dimensions of Water Resources and Water Resilience, also looks forward to seeing AR’s potential as a tool in support of sustainability measures.

  “We’re hoping that this is a starting point for something much larger,” she says. “And we hope that augmented reality, if we show that it’s effective, can be implemented in other situations and applied more broadly for the same purpose in various locations.”

  People are invited to visit Lakeside Park before the end of September to take part in the research.

  The project is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, which is funded by the Government of Canada, as part of Baird’s 2025 Insight Grant “Building Empathy for Sustainable Water Futures.”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:

  *Melinda Cheevers, Communications Specialist, Brock University, [email protected] or 289-241-5855

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  Categories: Media releases

• Public rain gardens – and urban flooding solutions – blossom through community collaboration

  Wednesday, September 23, 2026 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE – Sept. 23, 2026 — R0086

  When Lindsay Taylor (BA ’19) saw an opportunity to help her community, she didn’t hesitate to dig in. Now, her sustainable stormwater management research has grown into a community-powered project creating on-the-ground impact in downtown St. Catharines.

  The Brock Earth Sciences master’s student gathered with University and community partners to celebrate the official launch of her rain garden study during a public event at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre (PAC) on Tuesday, Sept. 22.

  Rain gardens are shallow, vegetated depressions designed to capture stormwater runoff, giving water more time and space to infiltrate into the soil rather than immediately entering storm sewer systems. Through Taylor’s project, rain gardens have been created on City of St. Catharines property, including the PAC, as well as at Silver Spire Church in downtown St. Catharines.

  In addition to a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the green spaces, the event also unveiled Potential, an art installation created by Taylor in collaboration with volunteers from Brock’s Department of Earth Sciences Landscape Hydrology and Restoration Group, Niagara Green Herons and Taylor’s husband, Dorian Cannon.

  Potential uses a recovered root ball and painted soil profile to reveal the layers usually hidden beneath a rain garden.

  “The piece explores the tension between opportunity and unintended consequences,” says Taylor. “It’s a reflection of a lesson applying to environmental work: interventions require careful observation and a willingness to adapt.”

  A QR code incorporated into Potential allows visitors to learn about the rain garden project and complete a brief survey to help the research team understand public awareness and perceptions of rain gardens.

  Under the supervision of Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences Kelly Biagi, Taylor is monitoring rainfall, infiltration, soil moisture, water movement, soil and water chemistry and vegetation establishment under real-world conditions at the rain gardens installed downtown.

  “Rain gardens have tremendous potential as a nature-based approach to stormwater management, but we need to better understand how they perform under real-world conditions,” Biagi says. “Lindsay’s research is helping bridge that gap by generating the field-based evidence municipalities need to make informed decisions about green infrastructure. This project also demonstrates what can be achieved when university research and community partnerships come together.”

  The project has been supported by Niagara Community Foundation (NCF) and TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, whose funding helped make installation of the rain gardens possible.

  “Today is a beautiful expression of what happens when the community comes together. This summer taught us that flooding impacts us all and so the research will inform municipalities on how to prevent what happened this summer from ever hopefully happening again,” says Bryan Rose, NCF’s Executive Director.

  “As many of us know, intense rainfall and flooding have become a growing concern in communities across the region. These events can affect homes, businesses and public spaces, creating real challenges for residents,” says Pallvi Arora, Branch Manager for the TD branch on Queen Street, St. Catharines. “What makes this project so exciting is that it brings together community partners, research and volunteers to explore practical, nature-based solutions that can help manage stormwater and build more resilient neighbourhoods. We are especially encouraged that the research from this project may provide valuable insights that can help inform future stormwater management approaches for residents and communities beyond St. Catharines.”

  Alongside Brock researchers, students and the University’s Facilities Management and Machine Shop teams, the project has also garnered support from the City of St. Catharines, 1st St. Catharines Girl Guides, Meridian Centre, Niagara Artists Centre, Niagara College, Niagara Green Herons, Off Campus Niagara, Silver Spire Church, St. Catharines Downtown Association, the PAC and Walker Industries.

  The project has already uncovered an important lesson for Taylor.

  “We don’t always have to wait for somebody else to begin,” she says. “We can also look at the place immediately in front of us and ask: What can we do here? Potential exists within us, too — in our curiosity, our willingness to care, our courage to begin and our responsibility to consider what our actions might set in motion.”

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  *Melinda Cheevers, Communications Specialist, Brock University, [email protected] or 289-241-5855

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  Categories: Media releases