Media Release

For Immediate Release

April 27, 2009

Saint Mary’s researcher to help communities protect watersheds

With the help of funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, researchers from Saint Mary's will help people across Nova Scotia monitor community watersheds such as those in Kingsburg (above) and Belchers Marsh (below).

It’s a watershed moment in research. Literally.

Dr. Catherine Conrad of Saint Mary's University will receive $46,636 from the federal government to help create a sustainable community-based watershed monitoring program in Nova Scotia.

The funding, made possible through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), is part of $136 million in federal grants and fellowships announced April 20 by Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology).

Dr. Conrad and co-applicant Dr. Glen Hougan, of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University, will use the grant to help Nova Scotians monitor and manage the quality of watershed (non-drinking) water in their communities.

Together, Saint Mary's University and the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design will develop a water quality monitoring tool-kit that will be field-tested by members of environmental community groups and accepted by relevant federal and provincial government agencies.

They will also work closely with Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Nova Scotia provincial Department of the Environment, to design and deliver a training certification program for community-based water quality monitoring.

According to Dr. Conrad, a Geography professor, there are already more than 50 community-based watershed stewardship organizations in the province of Nova Scotia, but their efforts are often frustrated by a lack of user-friendly monitoring tools, training manuals and workshops and integration into a decision-making or management structure.

With this grant, she hopes to reduce those frustrations and help willing volunteers work more closely and efficiently with the government agencies responsible for water quality in the province.

“This SSHRC funding gives us the opportunity to build on the established strengths of the community and existing initiatives in Nova Scotia,” said Dr. Conrad. “It will allow us to leverage the wealth of public engagement into a model of integrated water monitoring and management that might serve as an example to other parts of Canada.”

SSHRC is the federal agency that promotes and supports university-based research and training in the humanities and social sciences. This year’s successful SSHRC award recipients will undertake research across a broad spectrum of the humanities and social sciences, including: history, education, politics, economics, law and literature.

All competitions results have been posted on the SSHRC website.

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For More Information:

Blake Patterson
Public Affairs Officer
Saint Mary's University, Public Affairs
(902) 420.5514
E-mail: blake.patterson@smu.ca
www.smu.ca