Daily Bulletin

Planting the oak savannah garden took Natalie Gruenig and her friend Albert Garofalo 10 hours. They will add shrubs to the garden later this year.

Garden revives rare ecosystem -- by Avvey Peters

Gruenig chose her subject with the help of her supervisor, Larry Lamb of environmental studies. "We wanted to pseudo-replicate the oak savannah that naturally occurs in the Windsor and Sarnia areas," she says. "It's an endangered ecosystem -- less than 0.2 per cent of the original 30 million acres remains in Ontario."

The oak savannah ecosystem doesn't have enough moisture or nutrients to support a dense growth of trees. As a result, it looks very sunny, open and park-like. Lamb says many urban ecosystems are planted this way on purpose so the trees grow in a scattered formation, but this is also a natural phenomenon.

Gruenig explains the oak savannah ecosystem began disappearing in the late 18th or early 19th century, when the tractor was first invented and great expanses of land were cleared for farming. In addition, the oak savannah relies on forest fires to regenerate. "Prescribed burns used to be done by the native peoples in Ontario as they traveled, cleared land, or used the fires for enjoyment or entertainment," says Gruenig. Without this continued activity, the oak savannah suffered. She adds that prescribed burns are somewhat frowned upon today, because of the negative connotation most people associate with forest fires.

Gruenig says the trees in front of the library offered an ideal spot for her project. The garden will take about two years to establish itself firmly, but after that it won't require any weeding. Some of the plant material used will be very recognizable to those with a green thumb -- strawberries, black-eyed Susans, and butterfly milkweed. The plants will begin to look their best in the fall.

"Natalie's garden is planned to be colourful and showy," says Lamb. "It won't be tall and wild like some of the others on campus."

Now that her planting is mostly done, Gruenig is spending her summer working as an assistant to the urban forester for the city of Burlington. She plans to continue her research work with the oak savannah garden as she moves on to her fourth-year thesis. Another of Lamb's students has a woodlands garden planned for the fall in front of Needles Hall.

UW has new copyright licence
-- a memo from Susan Bellingham, copyright administrator in the UW library

The first baby born at UW? Olivia Rachel Hostetler Koop, born June 27 at St. Paul's United College, takes a tour around the grounds with her parents, residence life coordinator Paul Koop and his wife Sarah Hostetler. Olivia was born at the couple's St. Paul's apartment with the help of midwives.

In August 1999 UW, along with most other universities in Canada, renewed its licence with the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (CanCopy) -- a licence that gives UW permission to make copies of many copyright-protected works for use by students, faculty and staff within certain limits. Rather than having to request permission each time a copy is made, frequent users of copyright material can sign "comprehensive licences" that allow copying (within limits) of a broad range of material without seeking permission.

The licence was first negotiated and implemented in 1994, and the new version, which covers a four-year term, introduces only a few minor changes, such as an increase in rates in one section and an additional permission and obligations regarding interlibrary loans. Also included in the licence is an updated "Exclusions List" which details those publishers and creators who have chosen not to be represented by CanCopy and from whom users must request permission each time a copy is made from their publication.

CanCopy is a not-for-profit organization established in 1988 by Canadian writers and publishers to administer photocopying rights and other reproduction rights on a collective basis. It not only gives authorization to use copyright materials by issuing licences but also collects royalties for that copying and distributes the money back to the writer, artist, or publisher. In 1998 the amount distributed to creators was more than $12.8 million.

The complete text of the license, including the exclusions list, and UW contact names for additional information is available on the web.

On another front, long-awaited changes to the Canadian Copyright Act, Bill C-32, have been passed and two key segments have now been implemented.

The first of these provides for new remedies to benefit copyright owners who feel that their copyright has been infringed. The second group of changes relate to "Exceptions" for the benefit of non-profit-libraries, archives, museums and educational institutions. Among the changes and regulations:

• The exception for "fair dealing" will now allow institutions to do on behalf of their patrons what the patron could do for themselves
• Under the so-called "single-copy exception", institutions may now make a single copy of certain articles under some specific conditions
• Libraries can make copies of fragile or "at risk" items in their collections for preservation, conservation and "collection management purposes"
• Institutions can also make copies of unpublished or archival materials for researchers requesting such material "for research and private study"
• Exceptions will cover services for persons with perceptual difficulties, the use of self-service photocopiers, and the importation of books from foreign sources.

'I've seen how the dollar is used'

She was dubious when she first got involved in local volunteer activities, she says, but she's looked at the Kitchener-Waterloo and Area United Way first-hand -- most recently as a member of the allocation committee, helping to share money among the 50 United Way agencies -- and she's persuaded that the funds are being put to good use. "I've seen how the dollar is used!" she says.

Anjaria, who works in UW's department of information systems and technology, has just taken over as staff co-chair of the on-campus United Way campaign, which will start October 4 and seek to raise the university's share of the city-wide United Way total. The goal this fall will be to bring in $142,000 from staff and faculty givings and special events, Anjaria said. "That's just $2,000 more than last year."

Besides her United Way involvement, Anjaria is a vice-president of the Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Centre and co-chair of an annual September "walk", sponsored by local East Indian groups, that raises money for cancer research. As co-chair of the United Way campaign on campus, she's picking up from Sharon Lamont of the library staff.

Winston Cherry of the department of statistics and actuarial science is continuing as faculty co-chair of the on-campus campaign.

As a short week wanes

The safety office is offering a Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) program tomorrow, July 7, at 10 a.m. in Davis Centre room 1304. The session will describe WHMIS legislation and requirements of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Under Ontario law, all university employees, volunteers, part-time employees and graduate students who have not previously attended a UW WHMIS session are required to attend. For more information, contact safety coordinator Angelo Graham at ext. 6359.

"As a future or new faculty member, you may find it challenging to create a balance between your professional and personal life. The roles of researcher, teacher, and family member all vie for your time and attention," says a notice from the TRACE office advertising its professional development workshop, The Juggling Act: Balancing Roles. Four recently-tenured faculty members will respond to issues raised by both the moderator and audience members at the session on Wednesday, July 12, from noon to 1:30 p.m., in Math and Computer room 5158. The workshop is open to anyone who teaches at UW and can be counted toward the Certificate in University Teaching if a workshop response paper is submitted and accepted. The deadline for registration is Monday, July 10. For more information, contact TRACE at ext. 3132.

Visit the turnkey desk at the Student Life Centre to book a time to give blood next week. The Canadian Blood Services blood donor clinic runs next week from July 11 to 14, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., in the SLC student lounge. "One hour of your time could save someone's life," says a flyer for the clinic. "Please help ensure enough blood is available this summer."

Barbara Hallett

Editor of the Daily Bulletin: Chris Redmond
Information and Public Affairs, University of Waterloo
credmond@uwaterloo.ca | (519) 888-4567 ext. 3004
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