Education

  • Student Observations Capture Invasive Species at Dufferin Islands BioBlitz

    Tuesday, April 25, 2023 | By

     

    By: Kassie Burns

    On April 21, 2023, Sustainability at Brock co-hosted a BioBlitz event with The Niagara Parks Commission to offer students an opportunity to learn about invasive species in Niagara and contribute to management plans at Dufferin Islands. It made history as Brock’s first ever organized BioBlitz, and it was a huge success! Both undergraduate and graduate students represented the school, holding a diverse range of backgrounds that made the event unique and special.  

    For many students, it was their first time experiencing an event such as this, which provided practical skills in the environmental field. Dufferin Islands offers a gorgeous surrounding, with a range of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems to be an optimal spot for surveying species.  

    Janet Marley, a Child and Youth Studies student participating in the BioBlitz, said “This my first time participating in a nature program like this. It has been intriguing and fun and increased my awareness about biodiversity and invasive species. Thanks to the organizers and hope there will be another like this in the future.” 

    In addition, students were able to learn about local community settings, which some had yet to explore.  

    “This was my first time going to Niagara Parks and everyone was so welcoming and helpful, and I was able to learn a lot on such a short period of time. It was such an informative and educational process; I am so happy to be part of this project. Thank you to everyone and I hope I will be able to take part in something like this in the future” Philomena Nwapa, a Nursing student. 

    Students were enthusiastic and appreciative for the event, which highlighted students’ dedication to enhancing sustainability in Niagara. More encouraging reflections were represented as students recognized that anyone, no matter their educational background, could participate.  

    Prestyn Sider, an Earth Science student, shared “It was a pleasure learning about the types of invasive species that occur in Niagara and the way that an ordinary person can help in promoting biodiversity! Great experience, thank you to the Brock sustainability team for inviting me out!” 

    We were delighted to hear that so many students are interested in participating in future BioBlitz events and keen to attend more sustainability events in the future. 

    “Thank you for sharing the great experience. It is good opportunity to be involved in sustainability and I would like to participate in more opportunities”, said Mai Osada, an English as a Second Language (ESL) student.  

    The event was a huge success with students, and it showcased the power of uniting people to work towards common goals. We sincerely thank all the students for attending this event and congratulate them on the exceptional data they were able to acquire!  

     

    We look forward to sharing more sustainable events with you soon! Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook (@BUsustainable) as well as the Sustainability at Brock ExperienceBU page to keep up to date on all the new activities. 

    This event directly helps to achieve SDG 4, SDG 9, SDG 11, SDG 13, SDG 14, SDG 15, SDG 17. 

    Categories: Education, Events, Student Contributor

  • Tour of Brock’s District Energy System – Experiential Education for SSAS Students

    Tuesday, February 14, 2023 | By

    Blog by: Sanjida Amin

    Theoretical knowledge gives us profound comprehension of a concept through observing it in the context of a greater whole and understanding the reason behind practically. In line with this, Brock University Students enrolled in the Master of Sustainability program, fall 2022, participated in a Brock tour as part of their experiential education for the course SSAS 5P01.  

    The students were taken on a tour of the Facilities Management (FM) department and Brock’s energy systems, where they were able to learn and see what is happening on campus to manage the Brock campus from all perspectives, such as planning, operations, reporting and managing energy efficiency.  As SSAS 5P01 instructor Dr. Jessica Blythe explained, “The objective of this class was to engage graduate students in a direct experience with the Facilities Management department at Brock University in order to develop knowledge, skills, and capacity for enacting sustainability.” She added, “I am grateful to our partners in FM, who hosted us in the Brock tunnels and described their approach for advancing sustainability on campus. Seeing, for example, the central station, where the FM team can monitor and control all energy use, heating, and cooling on campus, offers a unique window into how this can happen at scale.” 

    The day began with a visit to the Facilities Management department where students got to know about how utilities are managed, how facilities are maintained, and how the co-generation plant is designed within a 2km tunnel. Through exploring and seeing the whole tunnel in-person, participants from both the thesis and co-op schemes were surprised to know how the District Energy System (DES) is maintained to increase efficiency, reduce carbon footprint, and save money for the university. After the tour, students enjoyed a cheerful and interactive presentation session by Amanda Smits, Centre Administrator, ESRC, Mary Quintana, Director of Asset Management and Utilities, and Drew Cullen, Manager of District Energy.  Throughout the presentation, students learned about the domains of Sustainability at Brock, including the Project Charter with Facilities Management, the Partnership Scope, Sustainability Planning, Sustainability in Operations, Sustainability Reporting & Assessment, and diversified initiatives of Sustainability at Brock to a greater extent.  

    This experience was incredibly valuable for all students, as it provided them with the opportunity to not only meet many of the resource personnel of the university, but also because they got to visit various campus facilities to gain a better understanding of how the campus is run behind-the-scenes. Erin Marie Isaac, who is currently pursuing her Master of Sustainability and is working as a Teaching Assistant at Brock, said that “Learning about the various types of environmental jobs through the co-op program and especially through experiential learning opportunities such as the tour of Brock’s energy facilities has been extremely helpful and inspiring. These experiences have provided me with the knowledge and skills to confidently start my professional journey in the environmental field”. 

    Another SSAS student, Zaara Momin, shared that “It’s truly remarkable to see the effort Brock is doing in terms of sustainability in collaboration with facilities management. The real-world strategies that have been employed throughout the project to lessen its impact on the environment are motivating, and they helped me remember why I chose to enrol in the Sustainability program at the first place”. 

    Check out the photos below for some highlights from the memorable trip of Facilities Management at Brock! Please visit the following websites to know more about FM and Sustainability at Brock.

    Sustainability at Brock  

    Facilities Management 

    Tags: , , ,
    Categories: Education, Student Contributor, Sustainability at Brock

  • Brock-Lincoln Living Lab research project to examine Lake Ontario shoreline flooding

    Tuesday, June 05, 2018 | By

    THURSDAY, May 03, 2018 | by

    The flooding of coastal communities along Lake Ontario last year caused major damage and made people realize that century floods aren’t nearly as rare as the name implies.

    A new research collaboration between Brock University and the Town of Lincoln is aimed at helping the community understand how to deal with the impacts of climate and environmental changes and examining potential avenues of solutions for future development along the shore. It’s the first externally funded project as part of the Brock-Lincoln Living Lab partnership announced in October 2017.

    Brock UNESCO Chair in Community Sustainability Liette Vasseur is leading the three-year research study for the Ontario component of a larger project by Université du Québec à Rimouski, which is examining how various coastal communities can deal with and share ideas on the impacts of climate and environmental changes.

    Brock UNESCO Chair in Community Sustainability Liette Vasseur

    “Communities are becoming more and more exposed to different hazards,” said Vasseur, who has been involved in similar research initiatives in other communities in Atlantic Canada and Ecuador. “With climate change, these types of events are coming faster and more often.”

    The project has received $280,000 in funding from the Marine Environmental Observation Prediction and Response Network (MEOPAR), with additional support from the Town of Lincoln and Brock. MEOPAR is an independent, not-for-profit organization funded by the federal government as a National Centre of Excellence that supports research and trains students in the area of marine risk and resilience.

    Lincoln suffered around $1 million in damage as a result of back-to-back spring storms in 2017 that caused massive flooding from Lake Ontario. The storms led to the Town’s first-ever voluntary evacuation notice for residents living near the Lake Ontario shoreline, and caused significant damage to Charles Daley Park and sewer systems in Jordan Station and Campden.

    Vasseur said climate change scenarios over the next decade are projecting continuous sea level rise and increases in extreme weather events. This will amplify the severity and frequency of flooding in coastal communities like Lincoln, which is continually growing with more people living near the Lake Ontario waterfront.

    “People were always talking about 100-year events. Now it’s more like one every five years,” she said. “It shows that we need to be more prepared. When we’re planning things like residential developments, we need to plan in a way that we’re going to survive with these types of events.”

    For the Town of Lincoln, the research will provide crucial information about current and future risks.

    “In 2017, Lincoln experienced the real and harsh effects of severe weather on critical infrastructure in our community,” said Lincoln CAO Mike Kirkopoulos. “As another benefit of the Brock-Lincoln Living Lab, this research is grassroots to our community, helping us better understand the conditions for collective ownership of adapting to climate change as an organization and community.”

    Vasseur said the research team will include a postdoctoral fellow and a master’s student, who will collect data in Lincoln, and share information and ideas with other researchers and communities along the St. Lawrence Seaway.

    “It will be a very good learning experience for the students, while helping the communities at the same time,” she said. “We’re hoping that by the end, the data we’re going to get can be used by communities all along the coastline.”

    Lincoln Mayor Sandra Easton said municipalities like hers are learning that more frequent smaller floods — not just rare major flooding events — can have a big impact on resources.

    “Climate change and the impact on municipal infrastructure is top of mind for our council,” Easton said. “With the growing municipal infrastructure funding gap, municipalities have a responsibility for long-term planning and mitigation of the effects of climate change. This research is critical for council to understand how we can better identify actions toward climate change adaptation.”

    Story originally published in The Brock News.

    Categories: Education, Student Contributor, Sustainability

  • New Sustainability PhD program information session being held

    Thursday, January 21, 2016 | By

    From the Brock News

    An information session about a new PhD program in Sustainability, and its partnership with a university in Australia, is being held Tuesday, Jan. 26.

    The program will offer students the opportunity to study in Canada and Australia thanks to a partnership between Brock University and the University of the Sunshine Coast.

    The drop-in session runs from noon to 1 p.m. in the Scotia Bank Atrium in the Cairns building.

    Categories: Education, Sustainability