News, Events, Opportunities

Fair Trade and the Small Producers’ Symbol: A Tool for Decolonization
Joey Pittoello, Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op
February 1, 11:30 am – 12:45 pm
Loyola LA 283

Interested in learning more about fair trade as a tool for decolonization and global justice? Save the date for this upcoming event organized by GDS, the School of the Environment, the International Development Studies Undergraduate Society (IDSUS), and the Sustainability Sub-Committee on Fair Trade. Fair Trade Poster

How to talk about climate change and its severity on a political level

Dr. Kate Ervine was featured on CBC Nova Scotia - Mainstreet Halifax on January 8, 2024. She is with Global Development Studies. She and Jeff Douglas discuss talking climate change politics; how students are responding to these changes and dialogs; and fears and hopes. Listen here.

US Republicans are looking to implement a carbon border tax - what does that mean?

The Monitor put out by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives featured an article by Dr. Gavin Fridell, University Research Professor and Chair of Global Development Studies. The article was released December 21, 2023. It takes a look on the possible impact of a proposed Foreign Pollution Fee Act. Read article here.

Student researcher, Madison Bond, has found 100 - and counting - invasive crawfish in Three Mile Lake

Madison Bond, MSc student, is studying the presence of Red Swamp Crayfish found in Three Mile Like, in Waverly, Nova Scotia. They have the potential to cause damage in the lake and on a much larger scale. Her research could play a pivotal role in the protection of Nova Scotia's ecosystem. See more here.

Biodiversity at the edge of the forest

On Friday, November 24, Dr. Karen Harper shared some of her research findings on biodiversity at the edge of the forest. As forests are being harvested, burned or converted to other land uses, biodiversity in the forest next to the newly created forest edges is also affected. With continued forest harvesting and the creation of new edges such as from the recent fires in Nova Scotia, how can we predict effects on biodiversity?

Dr. Karen Harper is an adjunct professor in the Biology Department and in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies. She also teaches in the Department of Environmental Science and in the Applied Science program.

TransCoastal Adaptations receives funding for its Green Shores for Homes Program

On November 23, 2023, Environment and Climate Change Minister Timothy Halman announced funding for Green Shores for Homes program. This is one of seven community-led projects that the province is supporting with a recent announcement of $2.45 million in funding. See more details here. 

Climate Change: Resilience and Adaptations of Deaf Communities

On Friday, November 10, Dr. Caroline Solomon made a presentation that gave an overview of different frameworks for including people with disabilities, especially the deaf community, in disaster risk reduction and emergency planning.  Case studies and testimonials of what deaf people experience during different natural disasters highlighted the gaps that exists and what deaf people need to do to be resilient and change agents.

Dr. Solomon is Professor of Biology and Director of the School of Science, Technology, Accessibility and Mathematics and Public Health at Gallaudet University. She is an aquatic ecologist and a mentor for many STEM deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the New Oil and Other Myths

On Friday, October 20, 2023, Dr. Teresa Heffernan gave a talk on her research around NEOM. She is Professor of English Language and Literature, where she teaches courses in literary theory, critical posthumanism, feminist theory, and the novel. Her current research is on how the field of robotics and artificial intelligence is shaped by fiction. She runs the website: https://socialrobotfutures.com.

 New book by Dr. Tony Charles

Sustainable Fishery Systems

Available via this link: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Sustainable+Fishery+Systems,+2nd+Edition-p-9781119511793   

Decarbonization project for the Halifax Harbour

On July 17, 2023, it was announced that the Halifax Port Authority (HPA) was collaborating with researchers, such as Dr. Aldona Wiacek, in the study of GHG conditions in the Halifax Harbour. And to advance decarbonization. This is a three-year project. Click here to see the interview with Dr. Wiacek.

Dr. Charles, new Vice-Chair of the IUCN Fisheries Expert Group

Tony Charles, ENVS faculty member and Director of the SMU School of the Environment, has been appointed as Vice-Chair of the IUCN Fisheries Expert Group. IUCN, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, is the world's largest conservation organization. The Fisheries Expert Group focuses on positive links between fishery management and biodiversity conservation. 

Congratulations to our 2023 Environment Prize winners Jacob Wisbey (BES) and Leah Reihl (ENVS). 

Dr. Tony Charles hosted 'The New Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework' in partnership with School of the Environment and the Community Conservation Research Network

Mr. Basile van Havre was Co-Chair for the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Open-Ended Working Group tasked with the development of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. He has over 30 years of experience working in Canada’s Environment Department. In addition to being Canada’s CBD focal point, his roles over the years included both Director General of the Biodiversity Policy and Partnerships and Director of Population Conservation and Management at the Canadian Wildlife Service, Chair of the CITES Elephant working group and CBD Discussions on Indigenous Knowledge and Repatriation, Co-Chair of the International Joint Commission on Great Lakes Water Quality Board, and Director at the Meteorological Service of Canada.

Video: The New Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

Basile van Havre PowerPoint (pdf)

New book by Dr. Cristian Suteanu

Scale - Understanding the Environment

Available for downloading to members of the Saint Mary's University community through the library via this link:
link-springer-com.library.smu.ca/book/10.1007/978-3-031-15733-2

Saint Mary's Earns the status of Fair Trade Campus

Thanks to the hard work of professors, such as Drs. Gavin Fridell and Kate Ervine, staff and students, Fairtrade Canada acknowledged Saint Mary's commitment. Saint Mary's is the 45th Canadian campus to join. Full story.

Congratulations to our 2022 Environment Prize winners Emily Snair (BES) and Lindsay Scott (ENVS). 

Congratulations to our 2021 Environment Prize winners Shreetee Devi Appadu (BES) and Makadunyiswe Ngulube (ENVS).

Congratulations to our 2020 Environment Prize winners Victoria Hawkins (BES) and Meghan Fraser (ENVS).

Dr. Linda Campbell receives Human Rights Award for contributions to Accessibility Act

Environmental Science professor Dr. Linda Campbell and fellow members of the Bill 59 Community Alliance recently received a 2017 Nova Scotia Human Rights Award in recognition of their contributions to Bill 59, otherwise known as the Accessibility Act. See the full story!  

Dr. Tony Charles publishes book: Governing the Coastal Commons: Communities, Resilience, and Transformation

Coastal communities depend on the marine environment for their livelihoods, but the common property nature of marine resources poses major challenges for the governance of such resources. Through detailed cases and consideration of broader global trends, this volume examines how coastal communities are adapting to environmental change, and the attributes of governance that foster deliberate transformations and help to build resilience of social and ecological systems.