Fall 2010
SCHOOL OF
ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY
TALKING
SENSE
www.usask.ca/sens
The School of Environment
and Sustainability
University of Saskatchewan
Kirk Hall, Room 323
117 Science Place
Saskatoon, SK S7N 5C8
Executive Director
Karsten Liber
Assistant Director - Academic
Maureen Reed
Copy-editing
Erica Schindel,
Communications
and Marketing Specialist
Sharla Daviduik,
Administrative Officer
Please submit your comments
to sens.info@usask.ca
Photo: Christine Markel, Dunn Horse Creek 2008. Christine was one of the first students to graduate from the
MSEM program.
Student photos will be featured in each issue of the newsletter. To have your photo featured, please email it
to sens.info@usask.ca
CONTENTS
2
3
Message from the executive director
4
Message from the SENS student association (SENSSA)
5
SENS profiles
7
SENS engages in new sustainability and learning partnership
8
Securing the future of the world’s water supply
9
Connecting with the community
9
Upcoming events
School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Fall 2010
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
DR. KARSTEN LIBER
In late summer 2007, several
University of Saskatchewan faculty
from a diverse array of disciplines
were invited to join the advisory
committee for the newly-created
School of Environment and
Sustainability (SENS). I was fortunate
enough to be one of those. The School
had no faculty, no students, no staff,
no programs, and no space - it was
only a concept, albeit one recently
approved by University Council.
Given that only a little more than three
years have passed since that time, the
amount of growth which has occurred
at SENS is nothing short of astonishing.
Today, the School houses a thriving
community of seventeen core faculty
(still from a diverse array of disciplines
– a hallmark of SENS), twenty-two
associate faculty, and eleven adjunct
faculty; numbers continue to grow.
As one of the three interdisciplinary
graduate schools on campus, SENS
has contributed to significant gains in
graduate student enrolment. The
School has grown from 10 students
in 2008/09 to 65 students in 2010/11,
an increase of over 600% in three
short years. At present, SENS is home
to twenty-eight students in the
Master of Sustainable Environmental
Management (MSEM) program,
fifteen students in the Master of
Environment and Sustainability (MES)
program and fourteen students in the
Doctor of Philosophy in Environment
and Sustainability (PhD) program.
Four staff, with appointments
ranging from 1/3 FTE to full-time, are
employed at SENS. The School
rd
moved to the north wing of the 3
floor of Kirk Hall in January 2010, and
acquired a further six offices in the
rd
west wing of the 3 floor very recently.
The most significant milestone,
however, was achieved on October
23, 2010, when nine students became
the first graduates of the School of
Environment and Sustainability. Two
Master of Environment and
Sustainability and seven Master of
Sustainable Environmental
Management degrees were awarded
at the University of Saskatchewan’s
Fall Convocation ceremony. These
nine – Poornima Sheelanere, Garrett
Richards, Mindy Neufeldt, Emily
Heffring, Christine Markel, Michel
Lavallée, Matthew Hiltz, Gelman
Cortes, and Nicholas Trevisan – now
become our first alumni. We hope
that they and future SENS alumni will
continue to feel connected to the
SENS community, and we hope to use
this newsletter as one way of
maintaining that connection.
Given the amount of tasks to be
completed and the number of
meetings to attend in the day-to-day
administration of the School, one
does not often have the opportunity
to reflect upon how much SENS has
grown in a very short period of time.
The work of the SENS Advisory
Committee in 2007-2008 provided a
solid foundation for the future
activities of the School, one built
upon collaboration and respect for
diversity. These are some of the
core values which continue to
define SENS.
This newsletter will speak to the
collaborative work continuing at SENS
today. It will tell stories about our
students and our faculty, and now,
our alumni. It will provide a means of
keeping the SENS community
connected.
Sincerely,
Karsten Liber, PhD
Executive Director
Left to right: Emily Heffring, Mindy Neufeldt,
and Poornima Sheelanere, at Convocation, Fall 2010
School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Fall 2010
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MESSAGE FROM THE
SENS STUDENTS’
ASSOCIATION (SENSSA)
Back row (left to right): Rezaur Rahman, Sarah Turkeli,
Skye Ketilson, Shannon Dyck, Ranjan Datta, and Charu
Gupta. Front row (left to right): Colleen George, Graham
Barber, and Jesse Woodward. Missing: John Kearns and
Amanda Burke
The School of Environment and
Sustainability Students’ Association
(SENSSA) exists to represent, serve
and support the academic and nonacademic needs of graduate students
within SENS. It also aims to offer its
members opportunities to be
involved in academic, social and
political activities on campus and
within broader communities.
We are lucky to have such a
dedicated group of students this year;
every executive position has been
filled and our students have shown
tremendous interest in being involved
on campus and in the broader
community. With so many of our
students expressing the importance
of meeting others and getting
involved, members of SENSSA helped
organize the SENS Connect event (see
page 9) in September in collaboration
with SENS, have been posting events
that may be of interest to our
students on the SENSSA website, and
have just recently created a list of
organizations and potential
employers in the environmental
sector that our students may wish to
contact for research, volunteer, or
employment opportunities. Hopefully
we can do more in these areas of
involvement and networking so that
our students are able to discover the
many opportunities available to
them, as well as experience what our
university and city have to offer.
of new and continuing students. For
this reason, SENSSA will continue to
play a role in supporting students
who wish to organize events,
participate in campaigns, or get
involved in other ways. For example:
Arranging social and networking
events for our students has and
continues to be an important
part of SENSSA;
The Better than Bottled
campaign that was established
last year is still working towards
sustainable drinking water use
on campus;
Some of our students have
expressed an interested in
partnering with students from
Aden Bowman Collegiate on
environmental projects;
One of our executive members
has starting looking into the
possibility of obtaining affordable
bus passes for SENS students and
other graduate students;
SENS students have expressed
the desire to learn within a
culturally diverse setting. As
such, the potential increase in
tuition for international students
has arisen as an issue to consider
due to the number of
international students SENS has
attracted and continues to
attract; and,
The executive is currently
developing a constitution for its
members.
SENSSA hopes to remain flexible in
order to meet the needs and interests
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School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Fall 2010
Although this list isn’t exhaustive, it is
meant to outline an array of activities
that SENS students have been
interested in engaging in and to show
that there is potential for SENSSA to
develop or support many types of
initiatives.
We look forward to working with all
of you this year. Please do not
hesitate to contact us if you have
questions, ideas, or feedback.
Sincerely,
The SENSSA Executive
Shannon Dyck, president
Ranjan Datta, vice-president
Skye Ketilson, secretary
Charu Gupta, treasurer
Graham Barber & Rezaur Rahman, social
coordinators
Sarah Turkeli, campus liaison coordinator
Amanda Burke & Jesse Woodward,
community liaisons
Colleen George, academic affairs
coordinator
John Kearns, webmaster
SENS PROFILES: FACULTY
DR. CHRISTY MORRISSEY
Christy is the newest faculty member in the
School of Environment and Sustainability
SENS affiliation:
Assistant Professor, joint
appointment in the Department of
Biology and SENS
Place of birth:
Vancouver, British Columbia
Most significant achievement:
I have completed several postdoctoral
fellowships both in Canada and the
UK funded by NSERC, The Royal
Society and the Leverhulme Trust.
One of my most significant research
achievements involved a project
investigating the interactions
between the Mountain Pine beetle
epidemic in B.C. and native forest
birds. Through a combination of field
and laboratory studies, we revealed
risks to woodpeckers from
applications of an arsenic based
pesticide, monosodium
methanearsonate, used to control
beetle outbreaks. Evidence pointed
to an increased risk of exposure and
toxicity to avian predators, but also
to indirect effects from reduced food
supply. The published results were
used by several government agencies
both in Canada and the United States
within environment, human health
and forestry sectors in order to develop
regulatory decisions regarding future
use of this chemical. The research
team, including myself and my
colleagues, were awarded an
Environment Canada “Citation of
Excellence” for our collective
contribution which led to
deregulation of the chemical and our
role in mitigating the impacts to
insectivorous cavity nesting birds and
future human exposure.
Favourite book:
A Thousand Splendid Suns
By: Khaled Hosseini
Influences:
Theo Colborn and Rachel Carson (for
their insight and contributions in
communicating how contaminants
are affecting the environment), John
Elliott (my mentor for the past 13
years) and Karen Kidd (a scientist
that I admire)
What impact do you hope that your
research will have?
I hope my research will inspire
students to engage in science in a
quest for learning, but also to respect
wildlife not only for their intrinsic
value but also for their ability to tell
us what we are doing to the earth.
How do you define sustainability?
I define sustainability as a type of
"borrowing"- we need to borrow
natural resources with the aim of
giving something back.
School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Fall 2010
5
SENS PROFILES: STUDENTS
ARCADIO VIVEROS GUZMAN
Arcadio was recently awarded a
scholarship by the Public Health and
the Agricultural Rural Ecosystem
Graduate Training Program (PHARE).
SENS affiliation: PhD Candidate
Place of birth: Veracruz, Mexico
Most significant achievement:
Academically speaking: the
completion of a Master's Program in
Canada. At a personal level, a higher
sense of happiness.
Favourite book: The Diary of Anne
Frank
Influences: My parents’ values, my
professors, and a number of books.
What impact do you hope that your
research will have? I expect that my
research will help to improve the
operation of the Canada-Mexico
Seasonal Agricultural Workers
Program in Saskatchewan in terms of
the socio-environmental aspects of
worker agricultural health and safety
information and training, as well as
their roles with respect to sustainable
agriculture. My research will provide
crucial information for policymakers
and for other stakeholders directly
involved with coordinating this program
and other related off-shore agricultural
workers programs.
How do you define sustainability?
In my opinion, sustainability is a
collective term to describe several
aspects and processes about the way
we live. Sustainability is a term that
should describe not only sociocultural, environmental and economic
aspects, but also should capture the
understanding of the human aspects
of development, cross-cultural
awareness, well-being, governance,
and political will, as well as public
participation. In my opinion,
sustainability should capture the idea
that the sustainability process begins
at a personal level by developing and
practicing a higher sense of
awareness and collective
responsibility. I also think that the
first place where the process of
sustainability starts is at home.
SENS PROFILES: ALUMNI
POORNIMA SHEELANERE
SENS affiliation: MES Alumna
Place of birth: Hassan, India
Poornima was the first SENS student to
complete a Master of Environment and
Sustainability degree
Most significant achievement:
Training of over 1,000 school teachers
and students on environmental
conservation and sustainability
practices in India
Favourite book:
The God of Small Things
By: Arundhati Roy
Influences: My parents and my husband,
and the scores of teachers and students
with whom I have interacted
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School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Fall 2010
What impact do you hope that your
research will have?
My research will certainly benefit
policy makers and administrators
in building an integrated institutional
framework for assessing and
managing cumulative effects in a
watershed.
How do you define sustainability?
Sustainability, to me, is the practice of
the judicious use of resources today,
tomorrow, and in the future by every
one of us.
SENS
ENGAGES IN NEW
SUSTAINABILITY AND
LEARNING PARTNERSHIP
SENS Executive Director Karsten Liber brainstorming potential project ideas with
community members and students from Aden Bowman Collegiate
On October 10, 2010, the School of
Environment and Sustainability (SENS),
the Saskatoon Public School Board and
Aden Bowman Collegiate announced a
new partnership to provide greater
opportunities for high school students
and U of S graduate students to engage in
interdisciplinary learning and communitybased projects focused on sustainability.
In addition to participants from the three
signing partners, many community
organizations and media outlets were
present at the announcement. The
agreement encourages collaboration in
areas such as sustainable living, active
citizenship, community involvement and
lifelong learning.
“This partnership creates valuable
opportunities for SENS to connect
with high school students and engage
them in dialogue and research related to
the complex connections between
community and environment,” said
Karsten Liber, Executive Director.
“These activities will allow us to develop
champions of environmental
SENSSA President Shannon Dyck engaging with
youth at Aden Bowman Collegiate
sustainability by exchanging ideas and
encouraging informed discussions
between graduate students and high
school students, high school students
and their families, and family members
and their communities. This partnership
is one of many ways that the SENS can
connect with the broader community.”
On the afternoon of the public
announcement at Aden Bowman
Collegiate, participants were divided
into groups and were asked to
brainstorm various ways in which the
partnership could be put into action.
Suggested activities included:
Conducting educational workshops,
seminars and field experiences, with
each other and for the public
Exploring community gardening
Raising water awareness/action
Considering sustainability in
relation to Aboriginal peoples and
new immigrant communities
Focusing on urban planning
Discussions have now started regarding
next steps among the agreement
partners, as well as with community
groups. A first shared initiative will
involve SENS co-hosting a sustainability
conference at the U of S with Aden
Bowman students and staff in early
December. The conference will bring
together over 100 individuals focused
on helping youth and the two schools
to advance sustainability action plans.
A second initiative is being coordinated
for the winter months, with SENS and
Aden Bowman students participating
in a City of Saskatoon multi-stage
consultation process on the re-design
of Kinsmen Park. Through experiential
involvement in the stages of an urban
design process, and with opportunities
to help facilitate it, students will gain
insight into urban planning, public
engagement and active citizenship. A
third initiative which is being explored
for the spring is the development of a
joint community garden project
connected to enabling greater healthy
food access in downtown Saskatoon.
Discussions are underway with We Are
Many and other community
environmental groups on possible
directions that a food garden initiative
might take.
“By focusing on youth and community
engagement as one of the early
outreach efforts of SENS, we are
emphasizing the important role that
youth can play in moving environmental
sustainability forward both locally and
globally,” said Dr. Marcia McKenzie,
Chair of SENS’ Outreach and
Engagement Committee. “By engaging
SENS students in joint projects with
youth in the city who are also passionate
about and taking action on
sustainability, we hope that both groups
and the communities they affect will
benefit.” These initiatives are also an
opportunity for SENS to develop
relationships with the City of Saskatoon
and various community partners, and to
show SENS’ interest in collaborating
further on local sustainability initiatives.
School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Fall 2010
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SECURING THE FUTURE
OF THE WORLD’S WATER SUPPLY
Left to right: SENS Executive Director Karsten Liber,
President Peter MacKinnon, VP Research Karen
Chad and CERC Howard Wheater
On May 17, 2010, the U of S was
awarded $10 million over seven years
from the federal government and a
matching $10 million from the
Government of Saskatchewan to
establish a prestigious Canada
Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in
Water Security and a world-leading
research and training institute
focused on solving critical challenges
for domestic and global water
security. The partnership investment
also includes a $10-million
commitment from the U of S, to be
met with the help of its friends and
supporters, as well as in-kind
contributions from both Environment
Canada and the Saskatchewan
Research Council. The U of S is one of
only 13 universities in the country to
be awarded a CERC, through a highly
competitive selection process that
aims to attract world experts to
Canada. The CERC at the University of
Saskatchewan is held by Dr. Howard
Wheater, a renowned international
expert on water management issues.
Dr. Wheater also holds the rank of
professor in the School of
Environment and Sustainability.
Led by Wheater, the new Global
Water Institute will address a wide
variety of industrial, environmental
and social issues, with an aim of
changing water management policies
and procedures around the world.
8
Drawing upon leading expertise from
across the university in water-related
sciences, engineering, health and
social sciences, the institute will
educate and empower people,
broadly influencing rapid change in
the use and management of water.
“By bringing together ecology,
toxicology and hydrology, we will
develop a new science and the risk
assessment tools needed to
understand and manage the complex
interactions between water, land use
and climate change,” said Wheater.
“Through our new global water
institute, we will train the next
generation of water scientists to
better ensure a secure future for the
world’s water supplies.”
The institute will:
• Explore the interconnections of
water, land and climate to
improve water use and
management;
• Translate knowledge;
• Advance water policies;
• Educate students and
professionals on water usage,
management and reclamation
efforts; and,
• Provide new tools for assessing
the impact on water quality and
quantity.
School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Fall 2010
A total of 85 new positions will be
created at the institute, including six
faculty, 20 post-doctoral fellows, 24 PhD
students, 24 master’s students, and 10
support staff.
For more information about Dr.
Wheater and the Global Water Institute,
visit www.usask.ca/water
CONNECTING
WITH THE COMMUNITY
SENS students engaging with industry partners at SENS Connect
On September 16, 2010, the School of
Environment and Sustainability, in
partnership with its graduate student
association, welcomed various
organizations from Saskatchewan’s
environmental sector to campus to
network with up-and-coming
environmental professionals and
researchers from the school. SENS
Connect also provided students who
are new to Saskatoon with
information about the environmental
community in the city and the
surrounding region.
Organizations that attended SENS
Connect included:
Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada
Agriculture in the Classroom Sask
Ducks Unlimited
ECO Canada - SK Chapter
Environment Canada
Prince Albert Model Forest
RCE Saskatchewan
Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve
Saskatchewan Eco Network
Saskatchewan Environmental
Industry and Managers’
Association
Saskatchewan Outdoor and
Environmental Education
Association
Saskatchewan Research Council
University of Saskatchewan
Office of Sustainability
We Are Many
SENS would like to thank the above
organizations for participating in the
event, and looks forward to
continued engagement with the
broader environmental community in
Saskatoon and beyond.
UPCOMING
EVENTS AND ENVIRONMENT DAYS
SENS Events
November 16 – Master of
Environment and Sustainability
Defence. Candidate: Åsa
Almstedt. Thesis title: Adaptive
Governance for Fire
Management Planning – A Case
Study on Prince Albert National
Park, Saskatchewan. 10 a.m.,
Van Vliet Library (Agriculture
3D36)
November 16-17 – College of
Graduate Studies and Research
Information Fair - 10 a.m. to
4 p.m., Physical Activity Centre
December 6 – ENVS 803
Research in Environment and
Sustainability Poster Day,
Education Students' Lounge
(EDUC 1005), 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
March 18, 2011 – Master of
Sustainable Environmental
Management ENVS 992 Project in
Environment and Sustainability
Proposal Symposium. Time and
location to be announced.
Environment Days
March 22 – World Water Day
Late March – Earth Hour
April 22 – Earth Day
Early May – Drinking Water Week
June 5 – World Environment Day
October 17 – International Day
for Eradication of Poverty
School of Environment and Sustainability | University of Saskatchewan | Fall 2010
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