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Fall 2012 McGill School of Environment THIS ISSUE 2 Director’s Message 3 Do you believe in science? 3 Les Jardins de la Grelinette 4 Classroom without Walls 5 Silent Springs, Politics, and Ecology 5 Protecting our Domain 6 Sustainability Made Real 8 Kudos 9 The Iwastology Project 9 The Fruit Hunters 10 Tall Ships - Learning about Systems www.mcgill.ca/mse 11 New Faculty Page 2 Director’s Message Professor Marilyn Scott, Director of the McGill School of Environment Sometimes days look bleak … but that hasn’t been the case for the MSE over the past several months! Earlier this week, our final year undergraduate students presented the results of their group research projects to the clients from the Montreal community, and next week a group of Honours students will talk about their individual research achievements. The students exude such asense of accomplishment and the faculty feels such a sense of pride as they witness everything coming together. For those alumni reading this, you will understand what I mean! For our network of friends, I wish you were able to be present yourselves. Some of our first year students, once again, had the opportunity to participate in the “Thoreau Retreat”. Now in its third year, it has again been a resounding success with our students, and you can read more about it in this issue. We are constantly seeking new learning opportunities that take students outside the classroom, and this one-credit weekend retreat to reflect, as Thoreau did, on nature and our place in the world, is just one example. We are currently seeking funds so that the students don’t have to pay additional fees of accommodation, meals and transport to have this opportunity. If you’d be interested in helping out, please contact Paul Simard at (514)398-7618 or [email protected]. I want to extend a special word of congratulation to Carli Halpenny who delivered both her PhD dissertation and a new son in the past month. Carli is the first PhD student to complete the MSE Graduate Option in Environment. She has set a high standard for those who follow. Preparations are underway for the celebration of our 15th anniversary next academic year. One of our projects is to improve our electronic “connectivity” with each of you. I especially want to thank ShannonScott who, in addition to all the other administrative responsibilities, has become our FACEBOOK guru. We encourage commentary from our students, faculty and the public as to environmental news and issues in our world. This winter, we are organizing a two day symposium hosted by Associate Director (Research) Anthony Ricciardi titled “Horizon Scanning for Environmental Issues for the next TwentyYears” in which we hope to produce a paper from the panel session and workshop. We will also be hosting our Annual Public Environment Lecture in March 2013. This is always a popular event for the Montreal area and continues to be supported by a gracious donor. More details to follow! Another exciting project spearheaded within McGill by the MSE is the Great Lakes Futures Project. We were invited to partner in a collaboration led by Western University and involving several other Canadian and US universities that aims to develop a trans‐disciplinary understanding of the future of the Great Lakes‐St. Lawrence River.We are delighted to be part of this important initiative. As you prepare for the festivities over the coming months, may you each find time to relax, a sense of inner peace, an appreciation for all the blessings that you have, and renewal for the year ahead. Right to Left: Carli Halpenny, Scout, new baby Adrian, and Rob www.mcgill.ca/mse McGill School of Environment; 3534 University http://blogs.mcgill.ca/mse Montreal, Quebec, Canada; H3A 2A7;Tel:514-398-2827 Page 3 Do you believe in science? by Emilio Comay del Junco, MSE Reporter Katia Opalka, a Montreal environmental lawyer and course lecturer at the McGill School of Environment, gave a talk recently entitled “What a fool believes (in 2012): Journalists, Scientists and End of the World-ists.” I interviewed her shortly afterward to talk about environmental protection, education, faith, and Canadian politics. MSE: Your talk opened with a contrast One of the things is that you need to People need to be between knowledge and belief, and one of promise is that the disagreements that able to list off those factors the way kids your big themes was the fact that the scientists have over the interpretations of sing the alphabet song. In universities, empirical evidence supporting phenomena findings [will be made public]. A lot is while it may be difficult for students who like climate change seem powerless in the being asked of the public – major shifts in haven't been out there in the market or in face of industry and politics. Might we consumption, in transportation, and not the world and maybe can't appreciate need more faith in science along with pure only that. The public as a whole is getting these real world factors, it's amazing to be scientific knowledge? worried with the storms that have been taught them because it helps you see going on. People I think are rapidly going to afterwards when you're out doing things, KO: Anyone in the scientific community move into a state of serious worry, and what's going on. I think that McGill could will tell you that science is just as political once people are afraid for their personal do a better job in trying to do what the as anything else: who gets funded, what safety and personal livelihood, it's not going MSE has started to try and do, which is to they research, who gets published, what to be hard for them to say, "forget science say: “If you have an environmental the information gets used for. I think that altogether, I'm going for God.” objective - say trying to preserve in order for there to be a public shiftn i biodiversity in Canada – there are very the direction of [not] just believing stuff MSE: As someone who teaches, what kind clear answers to what's going to prevent because we don't know whom to believe of role do you think education might have that from happening.” Maybe in other and believing science, there needs to be a in getting a way out of the situation we're fields, it's okay for things to remain at a framework, which is honest, and which in? theory level, but in environmental says to the public:“Look, we understand protection, my measure of success for any why you are just as wary of science and KO: Much more attention needs to be environmental document is to ask "is it scientists as of any other claim that focused on the factors that affect how better for the environment that you someone has made. It's reasonable for you theory gets translated into practice. wrote this thing?" to be distrustful, you're not stupid.” MSE Grad Shares Experience by Jean-Martin Fortier, BA ‘02, Faculty Program Environment Bonjour à vous! Mon nom est Jean-Martin Fortier et je suis maraicher opérant une ferme biologique à Saint-Armand en Montérégie.Comme professeur en agriculture biologique ou chercheur qui s'intéresser de près au BIO, je communique avec vous pour vous inviter à consulter un livre que j’ai écrit et dans lequel je raconte nos pratiques agricoles et notre parcours vers l’établissement. Ma ferme, les Jardins de la Grelinette est souvent cité comme un modèle d’établissement alternatif en agriculture (nous en vivons en cultivant moins d’un hectare) et l'objectif de l'ouvrage est d’outiller les jeunes dans leur démarche vers l’établissement en leur procurant un guide pratique, une marche à suivre. À lecture du jardinier-maraîcher, je suis convaincu que vous trouverez beaucoup d’informations intéressantes sur le sujet de la culture biologique des légumes; gestion des adventices, fertilisation organique et phytoprotection des cultures, etc. , d'un point de vue pratique et appliqué. Le "succès" de notre micro-ferme repose beaucoup sur l'originalité de nos pratiques horticoles. Par ailleurs, la personne qui à fait la préface du livre, Laure Waridel, insistait sur l'importance que les intervenants du monde agricole prennent la peine de lire cet ouvrage afin de mieux saisir à quel point l'agriculture biologique peut-être productive et rentable. Je partage cet avis et je souhaite que l'échange de savoir-faire présenté dans le jardinier-maraîcher puisse contribuer à favoriser l’innovation en agriculture dans une perspective de développement durable. www.mcgill.ca/mse McGill School of Environment; 3534 University http://blogs.mcgill.ca/mse Montreal, Quebec, Canada; H3A 2A7;Tel:514-398-2827 Page 4 A Classroom without Walls Learning About Nature by David Goodin, Course Lecturer,Thoreau Retreat IN Nature The Thoreau Retreat has been a new course offering for the past by Lisa Andrew s, BA, U2, Faculty Program Environment - three years for incoming students at the MSE. Taking place at the Environment & Development scenic Gault Estate at Mt. St. Hilaire, students enjoy a maximum of a 15:1 student to professor ratio, and work on outdoor assignments The Thoreau Weekend Retreat was amazing. It was really a great ex- that bring the course materials in environmental virtue ethics, perience and although not all students were part of the MSE, we all aesthetics, and philosophy home to each student in personal, had something new to bring to the course. We were able to talk memorable experience.