Fall 2012 McGill School of Environment

THIS ISSUE

2 Director’s Message 3 Do you believe in ? 3 Les Jardins de la Grelinette 4 Classroom without Walls 5 Silent Springs, Politics, and Ecology 5 Protecting our Domain 6 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 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 shinft 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 g oing 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.

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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. Activities include daylight nature walks, about current and past issues from different perspectives.What I re- moonlight lakeside meditations, and studies in close observation ally liked about this course was that we were learning about nature modeled after Aldo Leopold’s draba flower exercise. There is even a IN nature, and not just from a classroom. I think that more courses nature movie night, complete with popcorn, and an evening for all the should be offered in such a way, even GEOG classes, so we can get students to share their favorite nature songs overYouTube while out there and see differe nt characteristics that we are learning about enjoying hot cocoa together. Not only do the students learn about in class in real life and not just on a powerpoint.This class was also the history of nature philosophy from Arthur Schopenhauer to John great because we didn't just listen to Dr. Goodin lecture, but we got Muir, but they really get to know and really connect with the other to watch a movie, experience nature to the fullest and do little activi- students in real meaningful ways. ties that enabled us to appreciate the vastness and even the smallest parts of nature. But it is not just group work that makes this course. Throughout the term the students read Thoreau’s classic nature biography,Walden. Thanks for a great learning experience, I recommend this course to They are given a reading guide and personal exercise workbook, and any student at McGill! through them, explore the details of Thoreau’s nature philosophy and virtue ethics in relation to contemporary environmental concerns and personal self-discovery. Journal assignments are both personal and academic, moving from independent research to self-re flection and activism. The journal then becomes a keepsake for the student, something that makes the course more than just a letter grade on a transcript, but rather something to remember McGill by for years to come.

Photos by Lisa Andrews

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Happy 50th Birthday, Protecting our Domain Silent Springs Jeff Rubin and David Suzuki TalkAbout the Talking with Rachel Carson’s biographer, Linda Environment and Economy Lear, about Silent Spring, Politics and Ecology by Emilio Comay del Junco, MSE Reporter by Emilio Comay del Junco, MSE Reporter

Linda Lear visited McGill to participate in a variety of events for the Jeff Rubin and David Suzuki make something of an odd couple – on 50th anniversary of Silent Spring, including a public lecture co-hosted paper they even seem diametrically opposed. Suzuki is a research by the McGill School of Environment and the Marcel Desautels biologist and Canada’s very high profile environmental , Institute for Integrated Management. while Rubin is the former chief economist of CIBC World Markets.

Fifty years ago this Thursday, Silent Spring was published. Rachel Yet despite their apparently opposite CVs, Suzuki and Rubin are Carson’s scientifically and politically compelling book about the currently on a joint cross-country tour, combining their expertise and misuse of pesticides is often credited with sparking the environmental charismatic public personas to make a powerful case for overhauling movement as we know it. In addition to presenting powerful evidence the way we think about the economy and environment. Speaking to for the harmful effects of chemical pesticides, such as DDT,the book an audience that filled up McGill’s Pollack Hall, Suzuki and Rubin was nothing short of “democratic manifesto” as Carson’s biographer questioned our cultural obsession with unlimited growth before Linda Lear. joining in a discussion moderated by CTV Montreal’s Tara Schwartz and answering questions from the audience. Yet despite this impressive legacy, it was ignorance about Carson that prompted Lear to write her biography, Rachel Carson:Witness for Rubin’s talk was a distillation of his new book, entitled the End of Nature, which appeared in 1997.Teaching environmental history to Growth, in which he argues that rising oil prices will make it undergraduates at George Washington University, Lear was stunned impossible to maintain the levels of economic growth we’ve become tofind that none of her students knew about the woman she used to and reliant on. described as “one of the key thinkers of the twentieth century about where we are and where we’re going.” Since Suzuki gave Rubin’s observations a moral force, arguing that then, Lear has devoted much of her economics has lost sight of its original purpose and that economists professional life to researching and “seem to have forgotten that the word economics comes from the representing Carson – she has edited a same word as ecology: the volume of her unpublished speeches and Greek word oikos means household or domain.” writings and written introductions to new editions of all of her published work. And, as Suzuki noted, when the supposed economic health is prioritized over ecological concerns, politicians and business have Linda Lear Lear believes that Carson’s work still has a their priorities reversed:“When we say we can’t afford to stop Photo by Jack Alterman profound relevance.“Fundamentally, her clearcut logging, that we can’t afford to stop dragging huge nets book comes down to seeing environmental across the bottom of the ocean floors, we can’t afford tor educe rights as human rights,” she explained.“And that I think is the greenhouse gasses because it costs to much, we elevate the economy galvanizing issue. It isn’t just about whose world it is … the above our very domain.” environment is us and we are it.” Such basic philosophical concerns are part of what made Carson’s work so powerful, and what continue to make it relevant today.

Left: Jeff Rubin,Author and Economist Right: David Suzuki, Geneticist and Broadcaster photo credit: Montreal CTV News

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 6 Sustainable Farming Practices Chicken, Fish, and Sustainability Margot Charette, B.A., U2, Faculty Program Environment - Amelia Brinkerhoff, BS.c.(Ag.), U1, Major Environment - Ecological Determinants of Health in Society, Minor Biodiversity and Conservation Concentration Mathematics, and Minor Ecological Agriculture

I left Montréal last July, direction Buenos Aires, to start a long trip McGill Food and Dining Services runs many towards Central America, more precisely Belize. Why Belize? To be a of the eating facilities on campus. In the little more ‘practical’ about my degree at McGill and get my hands past years, their practices have radically dirty in the fields I was studying for 2 years already: environment and shifted to be more sustainable and many of permaculture. I had been previously granted the Carol & Lloyd the specific changes can be attributed to Darlington Arts Internship Award, thanks to the Arts Internships McGill's 401 student research groups. Awards program. This award was aiming to finance my internship at These groups have truly been catalysts for the Maya Mountain Research Farm, a small NGO doing permaculture change at McGill, by incorporating on damaged land. Macdonald Campus Produce into daily cooking, and changing the purchasing practices for poultry and I was at the Maya Mountain Research Farm for almost two months, seafood served. learning sustainable farming practices to help degraded land recover from intensive cattle grazing and monocultures (oranges, in the case A 401 group first began looking into MFDS's poultry purchasing a of this farm); both practices that are still the norm for the few years ago. Based off of their findings, MFDS decided to proceed surrounding farms. to start to purchase more local and independently produced poultry. Last year they purchased 8% organic chicken and 17% from local Living here is a blessing: I can finally be aware of the whole cost of a independent producers. meal and change my rythm of life in consequence. So far, we planted pinneaples, beans, turned the compost a few times, fed the chickens Following these changes, another 401 group decided to research the and the pigs everyday, cleared planting areas, applied mulch on cacao seafood industry, and what sustainable seafood means today.They trees and harvested many vegetables and fruits growing here on the looked deeply into different sustainable seafood certifications, and farm. My life has adapted to completely different types of climate, found that the Marine Stewardship Certification was rigorous mark, food, relationship with the outside world, and finally, I have been able and a great fit for MFDS. McGill Food and Dining now purchases to model my goals for future work and projects a little bit more. 100% sustainably purchased and packaged seafood, and is currently in I am extremely grateful to my teacher of ecological agriculture, the process of officially being MSC certified. Caroline Begg, who has been reading my updates, answering my questions and giving advice, and to my donors Carol & Lloyd Darlington, the LOJIQ (Les offices jeunesse internationaux du Québec), my town’s representatives for their financial support as well as my coordinators here, Christopher and Celini who are all together making my experience here in Belize possible.

I will be back at McGill in January to start my winter semester and keep studying in the same field, but with much more insight about what aiming for a more sustainable future is really about. Thank you donors and alumni for the great support you bring to us, making a whole different way to experience education possible.

Margot Charette at the May Mountain Research Farm

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 7 Organic Turf Management for Golf Courses Morgan Crowley, B.A., U3, Faculty Program Environment - Environment & Development, Minor Concentration Hispanic Languages, and Minor Concentration Geographic Information Systems

Since the publishing of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, pesticide bans and regulations have slowly become more common across North America as a result of negative effects of pesticides both on the environment and on humans. However, within many pesticide bans and regulations – including that of Hudson, QC – there seems to be one major industry that has been given an exception: Golf Courses. Golf is a multi-billion dollar industry, so it is fair to say that these impeccably managed turf regions will not go away anytime soon. But is it possible for the golf courses to comply with the pesticide bans that are being upheld for other industries? Are there alternative turf management strategies to be taken? The exclusion of North American golf courses from pesticide bans leave them lagging behind European countries that are facing increasingly rigid regulations.

In order to explore these questions, this past summer I completed an Independent Project in the McGill School of Environment at an organic golf course under the supervision of MSE Professor Elena Bennett. I researched organic turf management, ecologically friendly golf courses, pesticide bans, and gathered strategies from Sagamore -Hampton Golf Club in North Hampton, NH, a course that uses organic turf management and other environmental initiatives.Working at Sagamore taught me that golf courses can be ‘green.’

The highlight of my study was working on the golf course itself. I was able to get my hands dirty and see the green alternatives being put into action. Each Wednesday I spent my day with the grounds crew.At 6 am I would start hand-picking the broadleaf weeds as an alternative to using herbicides, counting the grubs per square foot to see if we had surpassed our Integrated Pest Management threshold, and helped brew the compost tea to be applied as a natural fertilizer. In doing this, I was able to match the theoretical golf course management practices with effective uses on the course.

I saw the physical impact of the turf diseases and other stresses, while understanding the theory behind the practices. Most importantly, I increased my exposure to a community that shared my ‘green’ values, and has been able to implement these values in an economically feasible and accessible way. I was able to Morgan Crowley at Sagamore-Hamptom Golf Club, New Haven, USA combine the information that I collected through word of mouth at the course in combination with a literature review to help outline the possibilities in the organic golf course industry.

It was a fantastic experience, mixing intellectual research with practical experience. I urge MSE students to take advantage of the vast potential of Independent Studies.

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KUDOS

Congratulations to Prof. Elena Bennett (NRS/MSE) for being chosen by « IAP », a global network of science academies, to participate in the annual meeting of the new champions 2012, Creating the Future Economy, held in Tianjin, . This meeting is held to promote exchanges between business leaders, governments, academia, civil society and the media. Elena was amongst the 40 new champions invited to the forum which had more then 1500 participants.

The Annual Meeting of the New Champions is the foremost global business gathering in Asia.After five years, it is widely known as the Summer Davos – reflecting the “spirit of Davos” that for more than four decades has meant openness, collegiality and frank, yet friendly, exchange among leaders from business, government, academia, civil society and media. Elena Bennett in background.

Novel Ecosystems and Mountains Tanya Taggart-Hodge, B.A.Sc., U3, Interfaculty Program Environment, Minor Concentration Anthropology

I have just started a research project following my receipt of the JCURA Undergraduate Research Award at the University ofVictoria, B.C. I will investigate the fact of and potential management implications for novel ecosystems in mountain regions. Novel ecosystems arise as a consequence of rapid environmental and ecological change as a result of human action and bear little resemblance to historically continuous ecosystems.Traditional management techniques for addressing unwanted disturbance (e.g., ecological restoration) might not be most effective in dealing with these emerging ecosystems. Mountain ecosystems are harbingers of global change, and have long been studied as sites of rapid change. However, in the rapidly increasing literature on novel ecosystems, there is almost no connection made to mountains.Thus, the purpose of my investigation, based largely on reviews of interdisciplinary literatures in ecology and mountain studies, will be to explore and assess these connections.

Photo by Lee Narraway

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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 9 The Iwastology Project - A War against Waste by John Pritz, BSc(Ag), U3, Major Environment - Ecological Determinants of health Domain - Cellular

The Iwastology Project, an environmental action curriculum started by two McGill School of the Environment students, John Pritz and Christian Elliott, aims educate and empower students to take action on issues of waste and consumption in their communities.Through hands-on projects and investigative filmmaking, Iwastol ogy students in both Montreal and the Philippines have shed light on subjects ranging from the monstrous trash dumps of Manila to student-run composting efforts in Montreal.

This summer, through the generosity of the Mr. Ernie Black, MSE student John Pritz was able to return to the Philippines to continue work with the Photo courtesy of John Pritz Iwastology Project. Marking a new victory in the war against waste, the Filipino student Iwastologists recently negotiated a memorandum of agreement betwe en their high school and the Iwastology student leadership team. By signing onto the agreement, the Kasiglahan National High School committed to implementing the full scale version of a student-designed waste segregation program that will begin providing compost material to the school's vegetable garden and generating revenue through the sale of recyclable plastic and metals.The segregation program will reach every classroom in the 9,000 student school.

The Fruit Hunters Ashley Duong, BA ‘11, Faculty Program Environment - Ecological Determinants of Health in Society, Minor Concentration English - Cultural Studies

As a recent graduate of the School of Environment,Ashley Duong has found her environment degree surprisingly useful for a career in film!

As a filmmaker/production coordinator with a deep affection for fruit, she researched banana production in Panama, fetched jack fruits at a rural orchard inVietnam, ands make pies with the ground cherries that grow in her Montreal backyard. Some of her non-fruit related but equally important work has taken her to Banff where she filmed, directed, and edited several short films and multimedia projects for Parks Canada, as well as the Hunstman Institute at the Bay of Fundy, and the Smithsonian Institute in Panama. She has completed work on the film,The Fruit Hunters, based on a book by Montreal writer, Adam Gollner.

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 10 Land Exists Only in Dreams: On Horizons of Blue upon Blue by Julia Stepanuk, BSc(Ag), U3, Major in Environment (Hons.) - Water Environments & Ecosystems: Domain - Biological

How could it be that a McGill undergrad found herself in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean, navigating by the stars and living aboard a 40- meter traditionally rigged sailing vessel with 35 other people? In autumn 2011, I was provided with an opportunity to participate in a study away program called Sea Semester (www.sea.edu).The program consisted of two components: one classroom-based experience and one 6-week sail from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Papeete,Tahiti,in French Polynesia.The classroom experience, based in Woods Hole, , consisted of an ocean policy course, an ocean carbon cycling course, and a course in seafaring and nautical science. Here, the 24 students created research projects to conduct at sea and met highly-influential scientists from the Woods Hole community.

Six weeks later, we flew across the country to meet the SSV Robert C. Seamans in Honolulu, Hawaii.The first time I stepped on board, the ship felt large and overwhelming.This would soon change. Once we left the safety of the harbor, it became very clear that this was our base for the next 6 weeks, and that it would behoove us to adhere to advice and safety regulations imposed by the knowledge-able crew on board.We bid farewell to Hawaii, and immediately fell into the rhythm of life on board a tallship.The ship’s company is split into 3 groups, watches, who run the ship 24 hours a day. Running a ship entails tending to the set sails, deploying scientific instruments and analyzing data, ensuring the safety and well-being of the vessel, and maintaining constant communication within the crew.This holds true, even if your watch is from 0300-0700 and you haven’t had any coffee.The others, who are asleep or relaxing, are trusting you and depending on your ability to listen, look, and feel, your situational awareness allowing them to rest easy.The motto is “ship-shipmate-self.”

Along this life-changing journey, I met people in the country of Kiribati who will be the first on this planet to be affected by sea-level rise, a young girl who has never left her island but wants to attend university and become an accountant, and a collection of people who met on one ship, for one period of time, to coexist in a closed community.We were living in a self-sufficient society, with no notions of unlimited growth or consumerism. It wasn’t even an option on board. If I took a long shower, my buddy would be the one feeling this impact. If Kelly took 3 cookies before I got any, there was no corner store to run to for a snack.The ship was our island. I think about the people I met and the way I lived every single day.These experiences are reflected upon in every course I have taken since returning to McGill. For once, we’re not trying to divide the day into discrete sections and events.The ship is a huge system…[where] we, as individuals…aren’t going to be rewarded or chastised for each minute task throughout the day.There are no grades assigned for each boat check or bow watch.The difference between the Robert C. Seamans and university is that the feeling of accomplishment comes from knowing that you did your best to contribute to the ship’s well-being, rather than an exam. After this experience, everything is different. And I like it better that way!

Julia Stepanuk in bright yellow (centre).

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A million thanks on behalf of MESS The MSE is: (McGill Environmental Student Society) Director—Marilyn Scott We were able to raise about $180 for Heads & Hands and everyone had a great time seeing you in costumes. Faculty Members

Madhav Badami (School of Urban Planning)

Christopher Barrington-Leigh (Inst. for Health & Social Policy/ Economics)

Elena Bennett (Natural Resource )

Peter G. Brown (Geography)

Jeffrey Cardille (Natural Resource Sciences)

Colin Chapman (Anthropology)

Sylvie de Blois (Plant Science)

Jaye Ellis (Faculty of Law) Left to Right: Professors “Bunny” Madhav Badami, “Remus” Fredéric Fabry, Defender Against the Dark Frédéric Fabry (Atmospheric Arts,“Sybil” Elena Bennett of Divination,“Dumbledore” and Oceanic Sciences) George McCourt, of the Right Path. Iwao Hirose (Philosophy)

Nicolas Kosoy (Natural Resource Sciences)

Brian Leung (Biology) The MSE Welcomes New Staff Gregory Mikkelson (Philosophy) Jeanine Rhemtulla (Geography) Jeffrey Cardille accepted a joint appointment with the MSE and the Department of Natural Resource Sciences. Anthony Ricciardi (Redpath Museum)

Coming from the Université de Montréal, as a professor in Geography, Raja Sengupta (Geography) with a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, his research focuses on geographic information science and spatial data processing Renée Sieber (Geography) methods to represent, understand and model the dynamics of IsmaelVaccaro (Anthropology) environmental change. In this context, Jeffrey has, among other things, created METALAND, a tool available on the internet that allows to quantify and represent simple spatial patterns of natural landscapes. Faculty Lecturers Other areas include ecosystem and regional-scale hydrologic modeling, George McCourt analysis of regional spatial land use patterns, and satellite remote sensing. Kathryn Roulet

Staff Danielle Lefebvre Shannon Scott Christina Zhu

www.mcgill.ca/mse McGill School of Environment; 3534 University http://blogs.mcgill.ca/mse Montreal, Quebec, Canada; H3A 2A7;Tel:514-398-2827 Classroom Without Walls Thoreau Retreat, Gault Estate, Mont Ste-Hilaire

Photos by: Front Cover: Julia Stepanuk, BSc(Ag), U3, Major in Environment - Water Environments & Ecosystems Domain - Biological Back Cover: Duncan Warltier, BSc, U0, Major in Environment – Water Environments & Ecosystems Domain – Biological

www.mcgill.ca/mse McGill School of Environment; 3534 University http://blogs.mcgill.ca/mse Montreal, Quebec, Canada; H3A 2A7;Tel:514-398-2827