Among this year’s honorees is Conor McNab, a graduating student from the Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources. He will be receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science this year. As part of the ceremony, Conor chose two teachers to recognize for their enduring impact—one from his formative K–12 years and one from his time at the University of Manitoba.

Reflecting on his K–12 experience, Conor shared his admiration for Miss Kentner, a teacher who ignited a passion for environmental science. “Miss Kentner inspired me without hesitation to pursue my Bachelor of Environmental Science at the U of M,” Conor recalled in his speech. “Miss Kentner used inquiry-based teaching where she would ask us questions throughout our lessons to make us think critically about what we were learning or to spark further interest in a topic. I always looked forward to attending Miss Kentner’s classes because of her energetic lectures, her sense of humour, and her keen passion for fun trivia.”

Graduating student Conor McNab giving a speech next to one of his mentors, Miss Kentner. Photo taken by Mike Latschislaw

What made Miss Kentner’s teaching memorable was her ability to challenge students to think deeply. “[She] perfected the art of being able to point us in the right direction without giving us the answer to a challenging question. Miss Kentner set the foundation for me to study hard, to seek answers to tough problems, and to make best of the learning opportunities put before me.”

At the university level, Conor expressed deep gratitude for Dr. Mark Hanson, a mentor whose support and high expectations opened doors to exciting opportunities. “For the past 3 years, Mark has been a mentor from our common interests in ecotoxicology and risk assessment. I owe Mark a deep debt of gratitude for taking me in as his student, and for giving me the chance to participate in his field work and his lab’s projects.”

Mark’s dedication to student growth was evident in the diverse experiences he provided. “[Mark] sets big goals to support and allow students to work hard and succeed in these challenging projects… It is because of Mark that I may summarize my time in the Riddell Faculty in one word – opportunity.”

Dr. Mark Hanson (left) posing for a photo with Conor McNab (right) at the Riddell Faculty Convocation & Awards Reception.

As he prepares to embark on his professional journey, Conor carries forward the lessons learned from both educators: “And now as I start my career in the work world, I will hold close the steadfast lessons from both my mentors here today: to be curious, to reach big goals, and to always do it with a smile.”

The Müller Ice Cap Project, led by Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, a Canada Excellence Research Chair in Arctic Ice, Freshwater Marine Coupling, and Climate Change, aims to extract a 600-meter ice core, which will provide a roughly 10,000-year record of climate and sea conditions in the Canadian Arctic.

Map showing the location of Müller Ice Cap.

In 2023, the research team visited Müller Ice Cap to conduct ice-penetrating radar surveys and select a suitable drill site for the climate record they seek. This year, the team is returning to drill the core.

Over the next two months, the team will drill the 600-meter ice core in 2-3-meter sections. This process will require the drill to be attached to a cable, making hundreds of runs up and down the hole until it reaches bedrock. The 2-3-meter sections of the ice core will be transported to the Canadian Ice Core Laboratory in Edmonton, where they will be analyzed in the fall.

David Babb, a researcher at the Centre for Earth Observation Science at UM, notes that the northern latitude and high elevation of the drill site provide an excellent opportunity to understand past climatic conditions in the Arctic.

While researchers know that sea ice extent and glaciers are rapidly changing, it remains unclear how these changes compare to those of the past. This project will significantly improve their understanding of past Arctic sea ice and climate conditions, offering crucial insights into ongoing changes in the region.

To follow the research team’s progress, check out their daily blog, Field updates from Muller Ice Cap.

The Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources student studying for his master’s in microbiology felt isolated when he arrived in Canada. He did not know what to expect but was excited to get started. 

“When I first arrived in Canada, I felt alone. I didn’t have any friends or know where to go on campus; I was just trying to figure out my way.” 

Since arriving in Canada in September 2023, Rei Shibue has stayed in St John’s residence, where he’s been able to be close to his classes and build friendships that have helped him find his home away from home.

“For the first while in the residence, I kept to myself. I didn’t talk much, ate alone in the dining room, and attended classes. Over the last year, though, that’s changed significantly.”

As Rei continues his studies in microbiology, where he is investigating microbes in the Arctic Ocean, he also finds his community in St John’s residence at monthly events and has become a residence don on the student support team.

“Attending events and getting involved in the residence has helped me meet some of my closest friends.”

“It’s the community I needed outside of class to feel like I’m home.” 

Looking to make a difference in the residence, Rei knew he wanted to get involved on the dons team to help students navigate the problems he once faced when coming to Canada.

“Being a don allows me to continue building relationships in the residence while giving back to the community and the students here.” 

As the dons prepare to welcome more new students into the residence in Winter 2025, Rei has found being a resident to be rewarding and fulfilling in more ways than he could imagine.

“I’m grateful to be a part of this team and community, which has given me so much.”

To learn more about St John’s residence, visit our website. 

To submit your application for Winter 2025 accommodations, contact our Dean of Residence.

This project, funded by the University of Manitoba’s Ignite Program at the Centre for Human Rights Research, brings together researchers from seven faculties and ten departments, including social sciences, natural sciences, education, engineering, the humanities, and social work. The project is housed at the Centre for Human Rights Research (CHRR), where Adele is Director. The CHRR has a longstanding interest in issues of water rights and justice.

In speaking with Adele Perry, she emphasizes the importance of continuously growing knowledge through collaboration.

“Working in this kind of interdisciplinary way requires us to not just learn new material or information but to relearn how and why we do the kind of learning we do. The Just Waters project is about creating new knowledge and teaching ourselves and each other.”

Similarly, Kiersten Sanderson, the project’s first research assistant and a participant in the Indigenous Summer Student Internship Program, has also seen positive impacts from this campus-wide collaboration.

“I’ve learned over the past few months that water justice requires us to remember that all living beings are affected by ongoing water crises in various forms. That’s why the diversity of faculties and departments is important.”

As Adele Perry and her team focus on this water justice, it’s hard to miss the connections between human life and water in a place like Winnipeg. In bridging this connection, the project will look at the juncture between society in three ways: climate justice and water, Indigenous people, water, justice and injustice, and the pasts and futures of water. 

With the project underway, the impact Adele hopes to see in this project is a shift in how research around water and what people, including the general public, know about water research.

The postdoctoral student is currently conducting a two-year project studying metal(loid) sequestration by soil mineral-organic matter associations. His interest is understanding how to stabilize metal(loid) and carbon in the soil environment under global climate change, with a specific focus on the interaction between contaminated soils in Cobalt, Ontario, and Trail, British Columbia. 

Upon moving into St John’s residence nearly nine months ago, Xinyang was excited about this new journey, which has opened him up to new experiences and friendships along the way. His supervisor referred him to the residence, and Xinyang shares his experience about the welcoming environment he felt upon arrival.

“I felt the friendliness of the residents the moment I walked in. It’s a diverse culture. I love it here; it’s comfortable.”

With the friendly atmosphere and a short walk to everything on campus, Xinyang benefits from the flexibility the residence provides, allowing him to balance his studies, work, and personal life.

“Staying in residence, a short walk to my office and around campus, provides me flexibility. I can eat and study all in the same place while enjoying the community around me, which has allowed me to relieve the research pressure.”

As Xinyang continues working on his post-doctoral studies, he hopes to continue challenging himself through deepening his research in global environmental issues.

To learn more about the benefits of staying in St John’s residence, visit our website.

Fall 2024 applications are open; apply today.

Professor Nicole J. Wilson secured a SSHRC Connections Grant to support a project titled, “Water and climate justice: Advancing intersectional approaches.” The project will engage leading water scholars and practitioners to consider how a combined water and climate justice lens adds nuance to understandings of the linked water and climate crises, as they help us understand the unequal impacts of these linked injustices along the lines of gender, race and ethnicity, disability, Indigeneity and more.

Nicole J. Wilson, Canada Research Chair in Arctic Environmental Change and Governance, Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources and Co-Chair of the UM United Nations Academic Impact Hub for SDG6 on Clean Water and Sanitation.

The partners for this project include the UM Centre for Human Rights Research, UM Centre for Earth Observation Science, Decolonizing Water, the UBC Program on Water Governance, the Household Water Insecurity Experiences – Research Coordination Network (HWISE) and the Centre

Public Event

As part of this project, the University of Manitoba will host a public event at the Canadian Human Rights Museum on the topic will be on May 28^th, 2024. Everyone is welcome!

Find additional information about this event from the Centre for Human Rights Research Events Calendar, or the Riddell Faculty’s Events Calendar.

Program

Territorial Welcome: Elder Charlotte Nolin (Elder in Residence, Ongomiizwin, University of Manitoba)

Panelists: Elder Sherry Copenance (Ojibways of Onigaming, University of Manitoba), Aimée Craft (University of Ottawa), Colleen James (Carcross/Tagish First Nation), Deborah McGregor (York University), Teresa Montoya (The University of Chicago), Megan Mills-Novoa (University of California, Berkeley), and Sameer H. Shah (University of Washington).

Chair: Nicole J. Wilson (University of Manitoba)

Location: Canadian Human Rights Museum, 85 Israel Asper Way, Winnipeg, MB R3C 0L5

Time: 6:30pm to 8pm Central Time. Doors at 6pm. Space is limited so please come early.

Accessibility: ASL interpretation will be available at this event.

The landscape as seen from Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.

Although it became famous as “Olduvai Gorge,” the name is a misnomer: it is correctly referred to as “Oldupai Gorge,” named for a spiky flowering plant that grows commonly in the region. In the early 1900s, German geologist Hans Reck discovered the fossils of 17,000-year-old human ancestors in Oldupai Gorge. Teams led by famous archeologists Louis and Mary Leakey spent decades working here, uncovering stone tools and hominin fossils (members of our own taxonomic tribe) dating back about two million years.

Oldupai Gorge continues to yield important findings about hominin evolution. University of Manitoba Earth Sciences professor Paul Durkin contributes to this work as part of the Stone Tools, Diet, and Sociality at the Dawn of Humanity (SDS) project.

I had lunch with Paul in Fall of 2022 to chat about mutual interests; I’d started as a professor in the Department of Environment and Geography during the Covid-19 pandemic, and hadn’t yet had the chance to hear much about Paul’s work.

Paul is a sedimentologist, and he told me about the projects he’s been leading on sedimentary and river systems in Canada, using a variety of techniques including mapping with Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems. He also mentioned his work in Tanzania, which piqued my interest. I was in the midst of planning a safari to Kenya and Tanzania with seven other members of my family – our itinerary was set, and I was eager to hear what he could tell me about the travel experience. As we chatted, we realized that my family would be passing within a couple kilometers of the SDS field site, at a time Paul was planning to be in the field. He very generously invited us to visit the field site and learn more about his work.

Visiting Oldupai Gorge

Tanzanian safaris consist mostly of dirt roads, and the route to Oldupai Gorge is no exception. We traveled south out of Serengeti and watched the landscape get drier, until we turned off the main road to drive out onto a dusty plateau. At the end of the public road, past scrubby trees and the occasional giraffe, is a recently renovated museum at the edge of a beautiful gorge. We spent a little while learning about the important fossils displayed there, including the famous 1.75 million-year-old skull of Paranthropous boisei discovered by Mary Leakey in 1959.

The skull of Paranthropus boisei in the Olduvai Gorge Museum.

From there, we met Paul and a couple other field-team members, who had driven up from their field site in a truck to meet us at the gate. We drove off the public roads and onto the tracks that lead into the gorge itself. Steep terrain of sometimes bare rock and sometimes sand made for challenging driving that our safari vehicles were, fortunately, well-equipped to handle. About half an hour down the road we could see a cloud of dust and a group of workers.

The Excavation Site

Members of the SDS team are systematically excavating several sites at different levels – corresponding to different sediment ages – on the edge of the gorge. The team is working to better understand the environments that early hominins experienced and how those hominins adapted to their environment using stone tools.

Excavations at the edge of the gorge.

Paul’s role is to analyze the sediments in which the fossils are found. Fossils are preserved at Oldupai Gorge because this is an area where sediments were collecting at the time that early hominins lived here. The layers of soft sediment and rock in the gorge include deposits from a large lake that came and went with streams on its edges, along with volcanic layers.

Paul and a team of graduate students he works with spend lots of time mapping the various geologic units in the region. Then, they take samples and detailed measurements of the various types and size of sediments, which help them reconstruct the environment where early hominins lived. In 2021, their team discovered the oldest record of Hominin occupation and documented the earliest tools they were using.

Although Oldupai Gorge has yielded many important hominin fossils and is one of the richest sites ever discovered, hominin fossils are still extremely rare. The team doesn’t expect to discover any themselves. However, their excavation sites are still filled with fossils. Paul casually pointed out several bones from an ancient Bovidae just sticking out of the edge of the cliff.

The variety of fossils helps the team learn more about the environment in ancient Oldupai Gorge. More importantly, the team has uncovered many stone tools that reveal the adaptability of ancient human relatives to their changing environment.

A transect that Paul and PhD student Stephen Magohe (UCalgary) excavated and analyzed, measuring sediment types and sizes in each layer.

Paul pointing out a fossilized Bovidae bone in the cliff.

The SDS Camp

After spending some time telling us about the geology and the work at the excavation site, Paul took us to their camp, which we had passed on our way down the gorge.

Scientists, students, technicians, cooks, and other members of the team camp in tents during the season. Some come for a few weeks at a time, while others might be there for a few months. Along with sleeping tents, the team has a kitchen tent, and tents for storage, science, and a solar charging setup. While the landscape may seem a bit inhospitable, the team was more than welcoming, and a cold drink in the shade was very pleasant.

SDS is a multi-disciplinary and multi-national project, including partners from Canada, Tanzania, and other institutes in North America, Africa, and Europe. Their important work is shedding light on the heritage of all of humanity. It is a complex logistical endeavour that requires the dedicated efforts of many groups of people, and it was a privilege for us to get to visit and see the work in action.

Oldupai plants in the foreground with some of the team’s tents in the background.

SDS is aiming to expand their scope and capabilities with a New Frontiers in Research Fund Transformation Grant application for funding a multi-national interdisciplinary project called ‘Dawn: Tracing the Nature of Early Human Life’.

Due to Dr. Brink’s involvement with this study, Ace Burpee (Host, Ace Burpee Show, 103.1 Virgin Radio) has recognized her as one of the top 100 most fascinating Manitobans in 2023. The full list can be found here.

Dr. Brink was recently interviewed about this accomplishment and discussed the inspiration behind her research.

She started her career with the University of Manitoba at the beginning of 2020 with a focus on vertebrate paleontology. Her interests include the evolution and development of teeth and bones.

“This is the only scientific field where you can ask the questions of ‘how’ and ‘why’ the planet is the way it is,” states Brink. “I always found it interesting how paleontologists study evolutionary life on Earth. When we look back in deep time, we are able to question why the planet became the way it is, and how we can project that information into the future. Can we predict what might come?”

When asked about her career and line of research, Dr. Brink was enthusiastic to share what makes it most exciting.

A juvenile Edmontosaurus disappears into the enormous, lipped mouth of the Tyrannosaurus. Illustration created by and in the copyright of Mark P. Witton.

“Being a paleontologist attracts the interest of younger generations, especially when you work on dinosaurs,” Dr. Brink said. “Often, dinosaurs are the first introduction to science, and it encourages curiosity when students start asking qualifying questions.”

The study of dinosaur lips has been an ongoing project throughout Dr. Brink’s academic career.

“The hypothesis behind this research came from looking at the media in 1993,” says Dr. Brink. “At the time, some other grad students and I were questioning the depiction of dinosaur teeth in Jurassic Park. We started by gathering data from a student who was working on Komodo Dragon teeth. I was researching the internal structure of the mouth and used some of the gathered information to figure out how the outer layer, the enamel, needed to stay wet with saliva in order to function. Most species have lips to help with that.”

Dr. Brink and her team investigated the evolutionary line of other similar reptiles with exposed teeth, like the crocodile, to find more evidence.

“Crocodiles live in water to keep their teeth wet, and they have a lot of scratches,” states Dr. Brink. “Dinosaurs have very beautiful teeth that are not scratched on outer surfaces. Instead, there are marks found on the inner surfaces, which would come from rubbing against food inside the mouth. This was a piece of evidence that their teeth had to be protected.”

Dr. Brink and the team were satisfied with their findings, stating that it was an expected outcome.

“Looking back, early iterations just looked and felt wrong. We had a hunch it should not be exposed, and everything made sense when we put it all together.”

T-Rex skull and head reconstruction. Illustration created by and in the copyright of Mark P. Witton.

When looking to the future, Dr. Brink is excited to start on her next big research undertaking. Her interests now lie in tooth pathologies, also understood as the development of teeth.

“There are lots of developmental things that happen in human teeth, which have been documented thanks to dentistry,” says Dr. Brink. “There is similar development that occurs with reptile teeth, but it hasn’t been researched or documented much before.”

Dr. Kirstin Brink is also the Adjunct Curator of Fossil Vertebrates at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden, MB. Find out more about her research and other members of her lab here.

This story has been featured in headlines globally, including Globe and Mail, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CBC, National Geographic, CNN, CBS and NBC, and more.

Full team list:

• Kirstin Brink: Assistant Professor of Palaeontology in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Manitoba; Adjunct Curator of Vertebrates at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre
• Thomas Cullen: Assistant Professor of Paleobiology in the Department of Geosciences at Auburn University, Scientific Affiliate at the Field Museum of Natural History
• Derek Larson: Collections Manager & Researcher, Palaeontology at the Royal BC Museum
• Mark P. Witton: University of Portsmouth

CRCs are world leaders in their field funded by the Government of Canada in the areas of natural sciences and engineering, health sciences, and social sciences and humanities. “These symposia were a wonderful opportunity for researchers to get to know each other’s specialties, and to spark new collaborations with students and the wider community,” says Mario Pinto, Vice-President (Research and International). “I thank all the CRCs for their groundbreaking contributions to address the issues faced by society today.”

This thought-provoking look at current UM research is available to view online, each featuring a brief presentation from the gathered CRCs followed by a question-and-answer period with the audience.

CRC Symposium 1, February 2, 2023 – Fort Garry Campus

Featuring presentations from: Heather Armstrong, Chair in Integrative Bioscience; Guozhen Zhu, Chair in Mechanical and Functional Design of Nanostructured Materials; Trust Beta, Chair in Grain-Based Functional Foods; Eric Collins, Chair in Arctic Marine Microbial Ecosystem Services; Britt Drögemöller, Chair in Pharmacogenomics & Precision Medicine; Ned Budisa, Chair in Chemical Synthetic Biology and Xenobiology; Lori Wilkinson, Chair in Migration Futures; Jason Kindrachuk, Chair in Epidemiology and Global Public Health; Sabine Mai, Chair in Genomic Instability and Nuclear Architecture in Cancer; Jörg Stetefeld, Chair in Structural Biology and Biophysics; Carl Ho, Chair in Efficient Utilization of Electric Power; and Nandika Bandara, Chair in Food Proteins.

CRC Symposium 2, February 27, 2023 – Bannatyne Campus

Featuring presentations from: Tracie Afifi, Chair in Childhood Adversity and Resilience; Robert Lorway, Chair in Global Intervention Politics and Social Transformation; Janilyn Arsenio, Chair in Systems Biology of Chronic Inflammation; Puyan Mojabi, Chair in Electromagnetic Inversion for Characterization and Design; Annette Desmarais, Chair in Human Rights, Social Justice and Food Sovereignty; Zulma Rueda, Chair in Program Sciences & Global Public Health; and Kathryn Sibley, Chair in Integrated Knowledge Translation in Rehabilitation Sciences.

CRC Symposium 3, March 28, 2023 – Fort Garry Campus

Featuring presentations from: Ties Boerma, Chair in Population and Global Health; Kiera Ladner, Chair in Miyo we’citowin, Indigenous Governance & Digital Sovereignties; Rotimi Aluko, Chair in Bioactive Peptides; Zahra Moussavi, Chair in Biomedical Engineering; Terry Klassen, Chair in Clinical Trials; and Galen Wright, Chair in Neurogenomics.

CRC Symposium 4, April 24, 2023 – Bannatyne Campus

Featuring presentations from: Lisa Lix, Chair in Methods for Electronic Health Data Quality; John Ataguba, Chair in Health Economics; Nicole Wilson, Chair in Arctic Environmental Change and Governance; Lorrie Kirshenbaum, Chair in Molecular Cardiology; Meghan Azad, Chair in Developmental Origins of Chronic Disease; and Kristine Cowley, Chair in Function and Health after Spinal Cord Injury.

CRC Symposium 5, May 16, 2023 – Fort Garry Campus

Featuring presentations from: Kristina Brown, Chair in Arctic Marine Biogeochemistry; Nicole Rosen, Chair in Language Interactions; Robert Mizzi, Chair in Queer, Community & Diversity Education; Samar Safi-Harb, Chair in Extreme Astrophysics; and Susan Logue, Chair in Cell Stress and Inflammation.

CRC Symposium 6, June 19, 2023 – Bannatyne Campus

Featuring presentations from: Andrew Halayko, Chair in Chronic Lung Disease Pathobiology and Treatment; Colin Gilmore, Chair in Applied Electromagnetic Inversion; James Blanchard, Chair in Epidemiology and Global Public Health; Marcelo Urquia, Chair in Applied Population Health; and Souradet Shaw, Chair in Program Science & Global Public Health.

Here are eight enthralling ones teaching students how to view and do things differently, from incorporating Traditional Knowledges into building designs so they are kinder to worms, to learning how the right entrepreneurial mindset can help protect animals.   

Architecture serves all, not just humans 
Course: Nature as Mentor, Faculty of Architecture 

A rendering of Zebra Muscle Processing Facility by student Dominico Obmerga for the course Nature as Mentor, a course that challenges students to think how architecture can imagine a future with the natural world.

In the first term you design a project for extreme environments on Mars and in Churchill. In the second term you combine Traditional Knowledge with climate data to expand your views of climate change and help you anticipate the environmental changes to come so you can build a better community.  

“The recurring theme that comes up in this course is how to design architecture that forms a reciprocal exchange with the ‘more-than-human-world’. Architecture is not just for humans. This speaks to traditional Indigenous ways of thinking about responsibility and giving back—to this idea of sympoiesis, or ‘working with’,” associate professor Lancelot Coar says of the course he co-teaches with assistant professor Mercedes Garcia-Holguera.  

“And a lot of the conversations students have is around the innovative ways they can create buildings that provide habitat for other creatures, from worms to crabs to fish. It’s the idea that Architecture should be built to serve all, not just humans.” 

Design studios are taught all over the world, but this fourth-year undergrad studio takes the unique approach of working with climate data and Traditional Knowledge provided through collaborations with the Prairie Climate Centre and the Pacific Institute for Climate solutions. 

We’re focused on training students to dream and be imaginative in thinking about how architecture can co-imagine a future with the natural world rather than just building on it as has been done for too long,” Coar says.  

Social leg in this stool of sustainability 
Course: Impact of Engineering on the Environment, Price Faculty of Engineering 

The very first thing you do is audit your household’s greenhouse gas emissions, right down to the yogurt in the fridge. Then, you think about how a few changes could reduce emissions. And then you’ll ponder if someone in another part of the world could do the same.  

It’s perhaps the closest an engineering course gets to teaching empathy as you learn to view the built world through the lenses of social, economic and environmental sustainability.  

For professor Nazim Cicek, who has been teaching a version of this course – now mandatory for second-year students – for 23 years, the “social leg in this stool of sustainability” has become one of the more engaging for his students.  

“The course has changed to include a lot more on public engagement, specifically with Indigenous communities and how to meaningfully engage and learn from Elders and anyone else with a close connection to the land because such knowledge is crucial. You need Traditional Knowledge and western scientific knowledge together to understand and recognize changes…. We have these great discussions about Reconciliation and Indigenous land rights and by the time we reach the end of the course, students have a broader awareness of social implications of our work, and how, to make something sustainable, it has to benefit all parties involved.” 

Attention citizens of Earth 
Course: Earth: A User’s Guide, Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Earth, Environment, and Resources 

Did you read the manual? // Image: NASA

A classic first-year course for those wanting to know a bit more about how to run a planetary system. It caters to students who are not familiar with Environmental Sciences and gives them great exposure to the different aspects of the environment. Associate professor Mary Benbow authored the course years ago, so that it captures a balanced view of the Riddell Faculty’s units, from acknowledging human needs to the potential impacts or our actions. The goal is to have students leave as informed Earth citizens.  

What gets students chatting the most in class? Hydrogen. “Hydrogen as a source of fuel seems to appeal to many students,” says this term’s instructor Johny Stephen. “And one thing that struck me was how students who have a farming background – either farmers themselves or come from a family of farmers – were worried about the changing weather patterns. They had some very helpful insights into changing agricultural practices due to climate change. Other students also learned a lot from their experiences.”  

Hope and possibilities in the face of Climate Change 
Course: Ecology and Design 2, Faculty of Architecture 

If you’re a fan of Aaron Sorkin’s famed “walk and talks” then you’ll love this course taught by associate professor Brenda Brown. On one of the first days of the course a walk-and-lecture in a Winnipeg landscape focuses on layered non-human and human systems at work providing students with a multi-pronged view ecology and design.  And Brown has designed two other major projects she flips between depending on the season to do this.   

Warm weather (fall term): choose a small, say 3×3 or 5×5 meter space and observe it on two different scales, every week at the same time of day. Then, design something that draws people’s attention to the phenomenon observed. Cold weather (winter term): imagine and design an animal that fits into an existing or imagined landscape ecosystem. Often this is a hybrid animal of some kind, Brown says, but by considering the animal’s anatomy, physiology, habitat, behaviors, trophic relationships and lifespan, students better understand the interrelationships at work in landscape ecosystems.  

“I don’t think I have to remind students of climate change” she says with a laugh. “I think what I’ve been more conscious of lately is offering hope. I seek out varied thoughtful and meaningful writings and design examples. Part of what I’m doing is laying out relationships of social problems to ecological problems and considering what that might mean in terms of landscape design and planning. It’s not that it’s a sad course or anything, but I have been more conscious of the importance of making sure there are good things, positive things, for students to accentuate. Possibilities.”   

Hold your horses 
Course: Animals and the law, Faculty of Law 

Illustration from Chambers Book of Days depicting a sow and her piglets being tried for the murder of a child in 1457. The sow was found guilty and the piglets were acquitted.

What legal rights do geese on our campus have and what rights does the university have in protecting people from goose attacks? Why does Canada offer dogs more legal protections than the pig, a creature with perhaps greater intelligence? What rights befall an animal that moved to a new location because of climate change? What is a domestic animal and what is wildlife, and for that matter, if a wolf mated with a dog, is the progeny domestic or wild? 

If you take professor Mary Shariff’s class you will ask many more questions as your personal philosophies collide with the law. Over the course you learn about the chronology of laws surrounding animals, including biblical views of animals as property and how animals were once tried for their deviance in the Middle Ages. You ponder our legal definitions. You question if our current laws and regulations are upholding our duties and obligations to incorporate Indigenous perspectives of animals under the Constitution.  

“I love the practical components. We sometimes bring in a student from the Natural Resources Institute, and since they are in the field looking at animals from a management perspective, they share their practical experience, and the law students can share the legal limits and opportunities. It’s super neat to watch,” says Shariff. “My favorite part is when we dig apart why people hold the beliefs that they do—and we all learn from that. Just unpacking why we hold these perspectives and then say, ‘OK, how does the law approach what you think?’ It really gets people talking.”    

Kale-ifornia dreaming in your backyard 
Course: Urban agriculture, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences 

This first-year class is filled with students from across campus eager to learn how to start, tend, harvest and store an urban garden and its bounty. You’ll learn about vertical and raised gardens, greenhouses and hydroponics and apply this knowledge in, say, designing a garden for a school. Big ideas are encouraged: This year a local entrepreneur spoke to the class about his invention wherein he can mail a hydroponics system to anyone using an 8×10 envelope. The class took hydroponics for a test drive and grew lettuce – without any soil. Students also work in groups to grow and keep alive edible plants in a greenhouse throughout the course. (Did you know you can eat daylilies?)

“It’s an interesting course to teach in that you’re teaching to a real range of student skill levels. I think there’s something in this course for everyone,” says Yvonne Lawley, assistant professor in Plant Science. “We connect with practical, experience-based learning through different projects…. Environmentalism is at the heart of the course and drives a lot of people’s interest in in local food.” 

Life moves pretty fast 
Course: Ecological Crisis, Work and Capitalism Today, Faculty of Arts 

Bringing ecology to sociology and labour studies. Every second year, associate professor David Camfield, coordinator of the labour studies program, teaches a special topics course that gives students a taste of how Earth System science and social science can come together, providing them with a richer view of what’s causing the complex ecological crisis, including climate change. But “life moves pretty fast” (thank you Ferris Bueller), so this course stays dynamic and fresh.   

“I first taught a version of this course in 2019 and I’ve had to revise it to address the COVID-19 pandemic as another aspect of the global ecological crisis,” Camfield says.   

The fast-paced course tackles question of great relevance to students, such as what distinct challenges young people experience in Canada and similar societies. And it asks, to what extent are today’s ecological and societal crises interconnected?   

Solving global issues through imagination and debate 
Course: Introduction to Entrepreneurship, I.H. Asper School of Business 

Send in the big-picture, risk-tolerant, dreamers. This entrepreneurship course steps through environmental and social paradigms by having students engage with issues as social entrepreneurs. Taught this year by a fourth-year PhD student Li Yu, students are challenged to find viable solutions to everyday wicked issues such as water scarcity, child labor and animal cruelty. Students imagine and debate how they could solve these problems by developing some innovative ideas.  

“I try to prep students to think about social and environmental issues and to try various ways to account for social and environmental changes,” Yu said.