Ecology class plants creekside trees

Josh Diegel (left) and Justin Gaudon are among 140 students who took  Environmental Studies 200, “Field Ecology”, this spring term and spent some of their time planting native trees on the university’s north campus environmental reserve.

The reserve is a 110-hectare (270-acre) area along Laurel Creek, making up more than one-third of the university’s property north of Columbia Street. The tree-planting project was organized in cooperation with the plant operations department, says the manager of ecology labs, Anne Grant, who also taught the ENVS 200 course.

“The planting area was mapped and trees were planted and general health data recorded,” Grant explains. “This restoration activity emerged after discussion with plant ops and from reading the Environmental Assessment on the Environmental Reserve. Several recommendations emerged, including restoring areas along the creek corridor to improve riparian area for aquatic and terrestrial wildlife. As a result, a field lab component was created within the course.

“By combining the objectives of the university with course requirements, students gain experiential knowledge and give back to the university. The future students of Field Ecology will monitor the trees planted and keep planting more until restoration efforts are fulfilled.”

And that’s not the only thing that’s new, Grant reports: “The Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo and EcoSim Software Inc. are excited to announce the incorporation of the ELC eTool into the curriculum.  The ELC eTool uses the latest technology in web applications to allow students to enter data and submit reports from the field with their own smartphones, tablets or notebook computers without an internet or 3G connection.

“EcoSim is providing students with free use of the application for the duration of their course work in such classes as Field Ecology and Ecosystem and Resource Management in Parks/Natural Areas to begin in the fall of 2011. The ELC eTool has already been introduced into Field Skills I and II and Ecosystems I and II field courses at the new Summit Centre in Huntsville.

“EcoSim will also make the application available to any student undertaking co-op placements at relevant positions.”

She  notes that the ELC eTool “is specifically designed for Ecological Land Classification Surveys following the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources standard protocol. However, it can also be used to collect various wildlife, soil and vegetation data unrelated to ELC. With this technology you can enter data anywhere, at any time, and upload your data to a central secure database as soon as you obtain an internet connection.”

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Nobody gets into hot water this week

There's nobody living in Village I this week, so nobody needs to take a shower there; the Physical Activities Complex is closed, so the locker room showers aren't in use; most cafeterias are closed, which cuts way down on dishwashing. It's the optimal week, in short, for a campus-wide hot water and steam shutdown. The outage, which affects all buildings inside the ring road, plus Village I, began yesterday morning and will continue until 9 p.m. Thursday. "Domestic hot water will run cold," says a memo from the plant operations department, which says annual maintenance is under way on the steam mains that connect campus buildings with the central plant.

Staff in the retail services department will spend today at an annual staff meeting, being held in the Village I great hall, and that means the department’s outlets will be closed: the bookstore, the other stores in South Campus Hall, Campus Tech in the Student Life Centre, and four “Media.doc” copy centres scattered around campus. The meeting comes after an eventful year in which the copy centres, formerly part of the now dissolved Graphics department, were absorbed by retail services. The department’s director, May Yan (right), says the goal today will be “to review our cross-department teamwork experiences this year — to build on the successes.” She adds: “We had a successful merge in the first year of the re-org, focusing on staff adjusting to a new organization. However, there will be further changes in how we do business and review process efficiencies. For example, we've consolidated the digital print production department, which means changing processes in the Media.doc locations. We want front-line staff to spend more time on customer service and not be preoccupied with primarily operating equipment. Additionally, we are looking at cross-training Retail Services staff to work in other areas of our business; this will provide opportunities for staff to learn more about our businesses and broaden their work experience. We look forward to working with our staff to create the work environment that will serve the university well.”

Martin Cooke, of Waterloo’s sociology and health studies and gerontology departments, is taking part in a research project headed by Piotr Wilk of the medical school at the University of Western Ontario. The plan is to support a local network to enhance collaboration among community partners in London and nearby First Nations to promote healthier weights in Aboriginal children and youth. The federal minister of health, Leona Aglukkaq, visited the Ontario Museum of Archaeology, a Western-affiliated research institute (left), to announce $150,000 in funding for the project. “Investing in healthier weights is an important step in promoting good health and preventing illness among Canadians,” said Aglukkaq. “Obesity is a particular challenge among Aboriginal children and youth, which is why the Government of Canada is pleased to support community-based projects aimed at addressing this issue.” The funding is provided through the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Innovation Strategy for projects to help children and youth achieve healthy weights; create supportive workplaces for Canadians to achieve healthy weights; and develop the conditions for rural, remote, northern and underserved communities to achieve healthy weights.

Gerald (Gerry) Deighan (right), a retired staff member, died July 20. He started work at the university in September 1985, initially as a kitchen porter, later as a mail and delivery assistant for central stores who was widely known across the campus. He retired November 1, 2007. His wife, Connie, is a staff member in the Dana Porter Library.

A group of 29 new MEB (Master of Environment and Business) students arrived at Waterloo yesterday for a two-week intensive course: Business and the Case for Sustainability (ENBUS 601). They’ll also meet faculty members and classmates, and hear guest lectures by environment and business leaders. A part-time program offered chiefly through distance education by the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development, this three-year graduate program teaches how to integrate environment with business in practical ways. SEED professor Amelia Clarke is the director. It’s the second year of student intake to the MEB program; the participants will be at St Paul’s University College until month’s end.

Mirjana Radulovic of the marketing and undergraduate recruitment office leaves for India today and will spend 17 days in Mumbai (Bombay), New  Delhi, Dehradun, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore. "The main focus of this tour is independent school visits to the top high schools in India," she says, noting that the trip is planned in cooperation with the Council of International Schools Canadian Higher Education Committee.

CAR

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