Winter 2013
SCHOOL OF
ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY TALKING SENSE
www.usask.ca/sens
School of Environment and Sustainability University of Saskatchewan Kirk Hall, Room 323 117 Science Place Saskatoon, SK S7N 5C8 Executive Director Toddi Steelman, PhD Assistant Director ‐ Academic Maureen Reed, PhD Spring is not far off! The photo above and the cover photo of the Physics Building, University of Saskatchewan campus, are courtesy Arcadio Viveros Guzman, PhD Candidate. His dissertation concerns the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in Saskatchewan's agricultural sector. Arcadio is conduct‐
ing a participatory social analysis of program operation to better under‐
stand how the program impacts Latino farmworkers and the farmers that hire them. 2 Newsletter Editor Sharla Daviduik, MRM Administrative Officer SENS Photography Lesley Porter, BA Communications Specialist Please submit your comments to sens.info@usask.ca 3 Executive Director’s Message 4 Delta Day 5 SENS Profiles 6 Sustainability Education Research Institute 7 SENSSA Awarded CUAHSI and Fulbright Grants 8 MES and MSEM Students Get Ready to Research 8 Pointers from the Post‐Docs 9 The Graduate Student’s Guide to Conference Attendance 10 Student Successes 10 Upcoming Events School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Winter 2013
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE DR. TODDI STEELMAN “Sustainable development seeks to meet the needs and aspirations of the present without compromising the ability to meet those of the future.” (United Na‐
tions. 1987. Report of the World Com‐
mission on Environment and Develop‐
ment: Our Common Future … also often referred to as “the Brundtland Commis‐
sion” as Gro Harlem Brundtland was chair). Did you know a Saskatchewan native was behind the writing of the most commonly used definition of sustainabil‐
ity? I didn’t. Jim MacNeill, a graduate of the U of S, served as secretary general of the Brundtland Commission, which was responsible for authoring Our Common Future—one of the classic books in the field of sustainability studies and sci‐
ence. This winter, I had the pleasure of meet‐
ing Mr. MacNeill, who was honored by the College of Engineering at the C.J. Mackenzie annual gala. I am happy to report that, at 80‐plus years, he is still a crusader for sustainability in many forms. His speech, which was inspira‐
tional on several fronts, was notable for a final message in which he encouraged the gala attendees to do “what was right instead of what was easy.” What does it mean to do “what is right instead of what is easy” when we think about sustainability? At SENS, I think it is represented by our faculty who tackle tough questions such as the research by Dr. Tim Jardine and his colleagues relat‐
ed to the Saskatchewan River Delta. This work combines the ecological with the sociological to better understand how local populations, mostly Aboriginal, are dealing with significant changes in land‐
scape and lifestyle. I think it is repre‐
sented by our students who question how we are educating them and whether we can further push the boundaries of environmental and sustainability educa‐
tion. I think it is present in our staff that holds us to high standards of perfor‐
mance and behavior. In all facets of our work, we need to be on guard to do what is right instead of what is easy, all the while recognizing that doing what is right is often not popular or immediately grati‐
fying. In the coming months, we have several exciting activities that will increase SENS’ presence in our community. Dr. JoAnn Carmin, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will join us for the week of Earth Day to share her research on how
cities around the world are adapting to climate change. In addition to a public lecture at the brand new Station 20 West, a “community enterprise centre” that seeks to provide multiple benefits to Saskatoon’s core neighbourhoods, she will host a workshop with the City of Sas‐
katoon to explore how we might be more proactive on this front as a city. Our stu‐
dent organization, SENSSA, will work collaboratively with the Meewasin Valley Authority to host a partnership event that will leverage student technical ex‐
pertise to inventory key species in the South Saskatchewan River corridor. Finally, 13 of our MSEM students are actively engaged in service learning activi‐
ties with a variety of organizations throughout Saskatchewan as part of their master’s project work. Examples include Doyin Adesokan’s work regarding urban development on Opimahaw Creek at Wanuskewin Heritage Park, and Manuel Chavez‐Ortiz’s project about green power with the Saskatchewan Environmental Society. This exciting model of communi‐
ty engaged scholarship serves both the student and the organization through a mutually‐beneficial project. In all of these ways, SENS honors the spir‐
it of Jim MacNeill and his Brundtland Commission colleagues’ definition of sus‐
tainability. SENS is clearly working on sustainability in the present with an eye toward creating a more sustainable future for those to come. Toddi Steelman, PhD Executive Director School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Winter 2013 3 INAUGURAL DELTA DAY EVENT FOCUSES ON SASKATCHEWAN RIVER BASIN Formed by the confluence of the North Saskatchewan and South Saskatchewan Rivers near the city of Prince Albert, the Saskatchewan River empties into Lake Winnipeg some 550 km to the east. The Saskatchewan River Delta covers some 10,000 km2, making it the largest inland delta in North America. More than 15,000 people reside in the delta, mostly in First Nations communities. Hunting, trapping, and fishing remain important to the livelihoods of these residents. The construction of the Gardiner Dam on the South Saskatchewan River and the E.B. Campbell Dam on the Saskatchewan River have led to a 30 per cent decrease in annual flows since 1900. This has had implications for the wildlife populations in the delta, which, in turn, has impacted the livelihoods of the area’s residents. To help understand the ethnoecology of the delta, Tim Jardine, Assistant Pro‐ 4 fessor, hosted the inaugural Delta Day event at SENS and the Global Institute of Water Security on February 1, 2013. Community research partners from Cumberland House and The Pas visited the U of S campus to meet with faculty and other researchers investigating the impact that these changes in flow are having on the delta’s ecology, culture and economy. The visit included a screening of the documentary Saskatch‐
ewan River Delta and a presentation by Alli Morrison from the University of Manitoba, about her work characterizing links between ecology and human well‐
being in the delta. The event captured the interest of many, and SENS now hopes to make it an an‐
nual event, with the aim of recognizing the importance of the many river deltas in Canada. School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Winter 2013
Left: a view of the Saskatchewan River Delta, photo courtesy Norm Smith. Right: Alli Morrison from the University of Manitoba speaks to the SENS community during Delta Day.
SENS PROFILES: FACULTY DR. DOUGLAS CLARK Doug is Assistant Professor and Centennial Chair in Human Dimensions of Environment and Sustainability. This photo was taken during summer 2012, when Doug was setting up a remote camera in Wapusk National Park, to collect data on human‐bear interactions. Most significant achievement: Personally, my family. Professionally, helping set the south boundary for Wapusk National Park. Research interests: My research program is about what I call “conservation govern‐
ance:” understanding and learning how to improve the ways we make decisions in environmental conservation and man‐
agement. That field has a lot of scope so most of my current research focuses on places and topics I have some experience with, like co‐management of wildlife and protected areas in northern Canada, and polar bear‐human conflicts. Place of birth: Victoria, BC. Maybe that explains my fascination with cold places.
Favourite music: Folk, bluegrass and 1970s dinosaur rock. Influences: I’ve had great teachers, start‐
ing with my parents, who encouraged my curiosity. Susan Clark at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (no rela‐
tion!) helped me navigate the transition from biological sciences to social sciences. I’ve had some great non‐human teachers too. I began my career working mountain pine beetles and polar bears—now, twen‐
ty years later, these are icons of climate change and societal movements to com‐
bat it. Back then, we had no idea of the significance of what we were seeing. What impact do you hope your research will have? My research in the Yukon shows that conventional wildlife conserva‐
tion practices are losing traction due to rapid environmental and social change. We desperately need to create more ef‐
fective ways to define and solve wicked social‐ecological problems when change is normal. From now on, my research pro‐
gram will address this challenge. How do you define sustainability? Most conventional thinking about sustainability assumes a steady‐state environment, which we no longer have. Global problems are getting worse faster than we are grow‐
ing our ability to solve them. Thomas Homer‐Dixon called this “the ingenuity gap.” He was critiqued for saying that ra‐
ther than trying to prevent collapse of social‐ecological systems, we ought to expect some collapses and work within them to try to keep systems resilient. Mili‐
tary historian Gwynne Dyer called the cold war “humanity’s midterm exam,” and said that climate change was the final. He also said — and I agree with him — right now we’re not doing so well, but imagine what an amazing future it will be if we pass. SENS PROFILES: STUDENTS MEGHAN KELLY SENS affiliation: MSEM student. Meghan is conducting her ENVS 992 project in partnership with the Mee‐
wasin Valley Authority. Research interests: My current research project is assessing the efficacy of man‐
agement practices on community biodi‐
versity in natural grasslands. However, if I could research anything it would be educa‐
tion and outreach about penguins off the coast of Chile. Place of birth: Fort McMurray, AB. Most significant achievement: Surviving a year abroad as an au pair. Influences: My grandfather, and my for‐
mer professor, John Acorn. What impact do you hope your research will have? I hope that my research will be used to justify expending resources on management strategies to maintain a high level of biodiversity in natural grasslands. How do you define sustainability? An approach to maintaining and preserving our current resource supply for future generations. Favourite music: Country (anything I can two step to). School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Winter 2013 5 SENS PROFILES: ALUMNI GARRETT RICHARDS ‐ CLASS OF 2010 interest in the more controversial aspects of environmental issues. “That controversy has always driven my graduate research,” he says. One of SENS’ first students, Garrett Richards’ MES thesis was entitled “Complexity as a Cause of Environmental Inaction: Case Studies of Large‐
Scale Wind Energy Development in Saskatche‐
wan.” When asked what drew him to a career with an environmental focus, Garrett Richards doesn’t give a typical answer. “It was the computer game SimCity 2000.
The first decision you need to make in that game is what kind of power plant would support your city, and I always found the renewable options to be more attractive. I think this helped me to think in the context of the long‐term, and piqued my curiosity in energy technolo‐
gies and environmental decision‐making.” Garrett also credits his involvement in competitive debating with spurring his After completing his MES at SENS in 2010, Garrett began his PhD at the University of Victoria, as an interdisciplinary student combining political science, public admin‐
istration, and environmental studies. His dissertation research focuses on a Canadian case comparison of how different govern‐
ments have institutionalized natural scien‐
tific expertise (or how they have failed to do so). He aims to determine how institu‐
tional design in this area can help govern‐
ments to make stronger environmental policy. “I’m particularly interested in tack‐
ling the challenges of making potentially unpopular recommendations to political actors,” says Garrett. This interest in the unpopular and the con‐
troversial is also reflected when Garrett considers his favourite “SENS moment.” SENSSA hosted an info night about the pos‐
sibility of oil sands development in Sas‐
katchewan during the 2008/09 year, and, perhaps predictably, tensions were high. But Garrett remembers the event as going well. “It really demonstrated to me that people on opposing sides of an environ‐
mental issues can have a productive discus‐
sion about it.” When asked about the future of the sus‐
tainability labour market, Garrett empha‐
sizes the need to focus on social questions. “While environmental science is certainly important, I think it's becoming increasingly crucial for us to consider the political, so‐
cial, and psychological difficulties of the transitions we envision for society. Politi‐
cians care more about the short‐term, people believe what they want to believe, and many environmental disasters are ba‐
sically invisible to the general public ‐ there's only so much that further natural science research can do to address these problems. For, me, the social questions are thus becoming more important. How do we make environmental solutions political‐
ly tractable? Can people be taught to place a higher value on the future? How can we increase awareness and interest in these issues? I think it's important for everyone in environmental studies to consider such questions during their research, and I think SENS has been doing a good job of facilitat‐
ing interaction between the scientific and social sides of pressing environmental questions.” SUSTAINABILITY EDUCATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE: LAND, PLACE, POLICY, AND PRACTICE SENS associate faculty Marcia McKenzie leads one of the newest research centres at the University of Saskatchewan, the Sustaina‐
bility Education Research Institute (SERI). Located at the College of Education, SERI is a focal point for faculty and students to con‐
duct research about sustainability and environment as it relates to education. SERI is also the network management office for the Sustainability and Education Policy Network, which is funded by a Social Scienc‐
es and Humanities Research Council of Canada Partnership Grant valued at $3‐million. The network is conducting research under two themes: early childhood to Grade 12 education and post‐
secondary education, with the aim of developing models of policy and practice that can be used to engage communities across Can‐
ada regarding sustainability education. For more information, visit www.usask.ca/seri. 6 SERI held an open house as part of its launch in early 2013.
Photo courtesy SERI. School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Winter 2013
SENSSA AWARDED CUAHSI AND FULBRIGHT GRANTS Contributed by Anson Main, President of the SENS Students’ Association (SENSSA). Anson is a student in the PhD program; his research concerns neonicotinoid insecticides and the effects of their widespread agricul‐
tural use throughout the Prairie Pothole Region of Canada. Oasis,” which addresses water crises around the world. An expert panel will field the audience’s questions; the panel‐
ists are: Jay Famiglietti (University of Cali‐
fornia‐Irvine), Wayne Dybvig (Water Secu‐
rity Agency), Brian Ayres (O'Kane Consult‐
ants), Howard Wheater (GIWS), Jeff SENSSA has had an active year to date, with McDonnell (GIWS) and Richard Hooper (CUAHSI). many activities still to come. Two major initiatives are being funded by external SENSSA has received a $4,000 Fulbright grants which the students have secured. Canada Eco‐leadership Grant, under the sponsorship of SENS Executive Director First, SENSSA and the Global Institute for Toddi Steelman, a former Fulbright Schol‐
Water Security (GIWS) Student Outreach Team are hosting “Let’s Talk About Water,” ar. SENSSA will partner with the Mee‐
wasin Valley Authority (MVA) for an in‐
an evening of discussion and networking tensive weekend of data collection at the for students, faculty and professionals in‐
“small swale” in Saskatoon. Data will be terested in water research at 6:30 pm on collected in areas such as prairie conser‐
April 18 at the Roxy Theatre. A $3,000 vation, water quality, wetland habitat, grant for this event was secured from the and wildlife crossings. Data will be shared Consortium of Universities for the Ad‐
with MVA and the City of Saskatoon to vancement of Hydrologic Sciences (CUA‐
HSI), with matching funding from SENS and directly inform development, including road construction, in this part of the city. GIWS. The evening will focus on a screen‐
This event will showcase the field re‐
ing of the documentary “Last Call At The search expertise of SENS students, and will permit SENSSA to directly contribute to sustainability in the City of Saskatoon. A Multicultural Food Fair is being hosted by SENSSA for the SENS community on Friday, April 5, from 5 pm to 8 pm in Room 144, Kirk Hall. This family‐friendly event will showcase the cultural diversity of the school. SENSSA partnered with the U of S Office of Sustainability to present a screening of the documentary “SWITCH” on the evening of March 21 at the Neatby‐Timlin Theatre on campus. This non‐partisan documentary, which examines the future of energy around the globe, was followed by a panel discussion. Last, all SENSSA members were asked to vote on changes to the SENSSA Constitu‐
tion at a special general meeting. The 2012‐2013 SENSSA Executive. Front row, left to right: Paul Hawthorne, Community Liaison Coordinator; Meghan Kelly, Treasurer; Astri Buchanan, Co‐Social Coordinator. Middle row, left to right: Badrul Masud, Co‐Academic Affairs Coordinator; Asong Zilefac, Vice‐President; Anson Main, President. Back row, left to right: Jenna Zee, Co‐Social Coordinator; Manuel Chavez‐Ortiz, Webmaster. Missing: Edward Bam, Secretary; Colleen George, Co‐Academic Affairs Coordinator; and, Anna Coles, Campus Liaison Coordinator School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Winter 2013 7 MES AND MSEM STUDENTS GET READY TO RESEARCH
Students in the Master of Environment and Sustainability (MES) and Master of Sustainable Environmental Management (MSEM) programs pre‐
sented their research proposals to the SENS community at two poster symposia held recently. MES students participated in a symposium held in December as part of their ENVS 803: Research in Environment and Sustainability course, while MSEM students presented their posters at the annual ENVS 992 symposium held in March. From left: MSEM student Manuel Chavez‐Ortiz, and MES students Jenna Zee and Sarah Welter. POINTERS FROM THE POST‐DOCS
Contributed by Dr. Graham Strickert, with Dr. Lori Bradford. PDF: Graham Strickert PhD (Complex Systems); graham.strickert@usask.ca. Projects: Defining Water Security in the Saskatchewan River Basin, Human Dimen‐
sions of Agriculture, Agri‐Food Canada’s Invitational Drought Tournament, Chair: Socio‐Hydrology Research Group. Tip: Cultivating Relationships with Re‐
search Collaborators Here are some pointers about cultivating relationships with research collaborators. Starting these is like starting a garden. Preparation is everything. Working with people might seem easier, because people can tell you their expectations, but you must have a keen eye for subtle messages. You need a good idea of what you want to grow, and be willing to collaborate on seeding. Identify a source for your seeds ‐ a ‘gatekeeper’ ‐ someone who is already planted within the community with which you wish to work. Better yet, identify a few potential gatekeepers, and develop plans for meeting them. Ask your research team to leverage existing contacts with people in the community. Try to arrange an intro‐
duction. Face to face is best, but if you 8 must resort to e‐mail, plant a seed. Write the e‐mail for the person who will introduce you. Tell the potential gatekeeper something about you that will resonate with them. Find out about the person’s responsibilities. Tell them about your experiences with the re‐
search topic—employment, previous re‐
search, a volunteer position. If you don’t have such experience, simply tell them something interesting that made you want to study this topic. Link your story to the specific issue you wish to investigate. The first interaction with a potential gate‐ keeper is critical. I was once hung up on because I was not prepared. Prepare yourself with a non‐scripted script. If you sound like you’re reading a script, your potential gate‐
keeper will roll their eyes – the slugs arrive before your seeds are in the ground! Ask if it is a good time to talk. Gently remind them of the seed you planted in the introduction. For example, “while I was studying water quality issues, I became interested in how stakeholder groups tackle water quality is‐
sues for large river systems.” Then ask, “Would anyone in your group be willing to help me with my research?” Wait for their response (count to ten). They might say, “That depends on what you need.” Be ready: “We would like to engage people in
School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Winter 2013
a workshop to discuss citizen‐based moni‐
toring and development of local water qual‐
ity objectives”. Count to ten again–space seeds out evenly! Be prepared for some‐
thing like: “We get invited to three of these a week. What will be different about your event?” This subtle message tells you three things: it’s obvious that you are new; partic‐
ipant fatigue is a major challenge; and, you must do something different if you want their help. Consider the question an invita‐
tion. You may wish to dazzle them with your ‘ground‐breaking’ research design, but they’ve heard it all before. Instead, say something like, “I was hoping we could de‐
sign a workshop together, that would help us to understand strengths and limitations of citizen‐based monitoring from the per‐
spectives of different stakeholders.” Essen‐
tially, you want to gauge their interest in the problem you are studying – if they are not interested, perhaps you are trying to grow tropical fruit in a northern climate! Try a different group, or, approach a group and ask them what their needs are. Before you begin contacting potential col‐
laborators, remember these five things. First, be well prepared. Second, leverage existing contacts. Third, practice unscripted scripts. Fourth, get to know your communi‐
ty. And five, emphasize that you want to work together on the research design. Good luck and happy sowing!
THE GRADUATE STUDENT’S GUIDE: GETTING THE MOST OUT OF CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE
Contributed by Jania Chilima, PhD stu‐
dent. Jania is studying community‐
based participatory research as it ap‐
plies to water resources management. Over the past four years, I have attended many conferences, from those organized by professional organizations to those organized by students. I have learned a thing or two worth sharing! Preparation is key to getting the most out of confer‐
ences. I divide preparation into pre‐
conference, during conference and post‐
conference stages. 1. Pre‐conference Preparing the abstract. Give it your time; it’s your ticket to the conference. For most students, acceptance of the abstract is the ticket to the conference. Whether for a poster or a paper, the ab‐
stract has to be succinct. Commit time to writing a perfect abstract. Follow general guidelines: background; research ques‐
tion or purpose; methodology used; find‐
ings; short discussion; and, short conclu‐
sion. Adhere to the word limit and follow the requested format. Use key words to show the fit between your research and your chosen conference session. Apply for the travel awards: Your super‐
visor will love you for this! Travel awards reduce attendance cost and you can list them on your CV. Some‐
times, travel awards have a deadline that differs from the conference deadline. Apply for these awards as soon as you know that you are attending a confer‐
ence. SENS has travel awards available. Enter student competitions and sign up to volunteer. This is how you create long‐lasting colleagues and friends! By applying to student competitions, you are ensuring that organizers know you were at the conference. Further, this guarantees that you will speak to some‐
one at the conference about your work. And, if you are presenting in the last ses‐
sion on the last day, many attendees may have already left by the time you present. Entering competitions will guarantee you an audience: someone has to evaluate you. You never know who that will be! It might be an authority in your area. This type of contact is important; it’s how you start to forge collaborations, get invited to participate in special journal issues and to sit on editorial and other committees. By volunteering, you get a sense of who your colleagues will be in the near future, and how other students are carrying out their research. You create friendships. Volunteers also get a chance to learn new technologies, such as digital recorders, Wi‐
Fi video cameras and information man‐
agement systems, just to mention a few. Read the conference program like it’s a menu at an ethnic restaurant you are visiting for the first time! The program contains abstracts, and in‐
formation about sessions and sponsors. You want to get a sense of what the con‐
ference is about beyond the call for ab‐
stracts. You can determine sessions you would like to attend. Doing this early on may give you some pointers on what to include in your presentation, based on the audience: will practitioners be attending? You can anticipate how busy you will be and plan other activities accordingly. Your presentation: Practice! Practice! Practice! Avoid nerves by practicing your presenta‐
tion until you are comfortable with it. If it’s a poster, master your “elevator speech” and have discussion points for each poster section. For presentations, practice in front of your friends a few times. Watch videos of other presenters. Ensure your presentation is professional. You never know where it will end up: it may be post‐
ed online, someone may contact you about using it, or it may simply be put on a flash drive for attendees to take home. You want your best work out there. And, you can list your presentation on your CV! 2. During the conference Attend the opening plenary. It’s a good summary of the conference. Keynote speakers are skilled at tying con‐
ference topics together in their opening talk. Attending this will give you your first take home message and prepare you for the conference. And, the speaker will mo‐
tivate you to avoid missing sessions! Determine a good mix of sessions to at‐
tend: so many interesting things to learn! You want to come home informed and, hopefully, inspired! You can’t attend eve‐
rything, unless the conference is small. A trick that works for me is to attend a mix
of sessions with both familiar and unfamil‐
iar topics. If there are sessions that are thematically planned and similar to my research area, I attend these in sequence to see where knowledge in this area is pro‐
gressing. I attend a couple sessions on top‐
ics that are new to me. You never know what kind of “eureka moment” you may experience from these! I usually note these in my notebook, if they happen. Business cards: old school, but they work! Yes, you can add people on LinkedIn and search university website profiles, but business cards still work! I exchange mine with most people I meet at conferences and I can’t tell you how this has impacted my graduate career—from being invited to publish in a special issue of a journal to confirming key informants for my research. Ensure your card has the university logo and all of your contact information. Be engaging and make small talk! Give yourself some credit. You are knowl‐
edgeable; you have a lot to share. If you are talking to authorities in your field, mention their work that you have read. Ask a question. Show you are interested in their research; this is a great way to break the ice. The world of academia is close knit! This guy may just end up being your external examiner! Practice your small talk. During galas and dinners, talk about other things besides academia. You will learn more about people and they may remem‐
ber your story about something. This is a great way to leave lasting impressions; if you contact someone later on, you can mention how you know them. They may recall you from the story you told or from you recounting some detail they shared. 3. Post‐conference Thank adjudicators for any awards. If you received awards from organizers or adjudicators, don’t forget to thank them with an email or thank you note. Think about your “take home message” and share it with your supervisor. If you attended the conference without your supervisors, update them on what you learned. They may be working on something closely related and this may be helpful. Sharing will also enable you to reflect on the “take home messages” and may spark some writing that most of us forget about when we return home!
School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Winter 2013 9 STUDENT SUCCESSES SENS students continue to win awards and reach new milestones!  PhD student Jania Chilima received an honorable mention for her poster “Applying Community‐Based Participatory Re‐
search Approach to Water Resources Management: The Case of Lake Diefenbaker, Saskatchewan, Canada” at the 2012 North American Lake Management Symposium.  Jania’s paper, “Institutional considerations in watershed cumulative effects assessment and management” co‐authored with SENS associates Jill Gunn and Bob Patrick, as well as SENS core faculty Bram Noble, made the “hot paper list” of the Canadian Association of Geographers in February. The paper was published in Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal.  MES student Maya Basdeo co‐authored the paper “Beyond physical: social dimensions of the water crisis on Canada’s First Nations and considerations for governance” with her supervisor Lalita Bharadwaj, a SENS associate. The paper will be published in the Spring 2013 special issue of the Indigenous Policy Journal.  Maya was named the recipient of the Graduate Students’ Association Research Excellence in Aboriginal Research Award in February 2013.  Lisa White, who defended her PhD dissertation on March 15, has had two papers published recently. “Strategic envi‐
ronmental assessment for sustainability: a review of a decade of academic research” is currently in press and will be pub‐
lished in Environmental Impact Assessment Review, and “Strategic environmental assessment in the electricity sector: an application to electricity supply planning in Saskatchewan, Canada” was published in Impact Assessment and Project Ap‐
praisal, 30(4): 284‐295. Lisa co‐authored both papers with her supervisor, Bram Noble.  MSEM student Doyin Adesokan received the Blair Borgerson Graduate Scholarship in Public Policy and Sustainability in November 2012. Doyin also recently received her Environmental Professional in Training (EPt) certification.  Dylan Beach, MES student, spoke at the Student Conference for Conservation Science, at Cambridge University, UK in March. His presentation was entitled “Governance of ‘New’ Ungulates Under Plausible Future Scenarios in the Changing Social and Ecological Southwest Yukon Landscape.”  Jenna Zee, MES student, won an award at the recent U of S Aboriginal Symposium, for her poster “How Much Is Too Much? The Effect of Dietary Selenomethionine on Juvenile White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus).” Professor Maureen Reed gave a special presentation to SENS students about feminism and environmental and sustainability research on March 8, Interna‐
tional Women’s Day. •
SENSSA Multicultural Food Fair – 5 pm, April 5, 2013, Room 144, Kirk Hall. •
Let’s Talk About Water – 6:30 pm, April 18, 2013, Roxy Theatre. Brought to you by SENSSA. •
SENS Earth Day Lecture – 7 pm, April 25, 2013, Station 20 West. Dr. JoAnn Carmin, Associate Pro‐
fessor of Environmental Policy and Planning, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Massa‐
chusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 10 School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Winter 2013