Turning the question around is the solution in a new book by Dr. Doug Larson, emeritus professor in the Department of Integrative Biology in the University of Guelph’s College of Biological Science. “Hope is achieved by allowing science to destroy dogma,” says Larson in the cover blurb to The Dogma Ate My Homework.  

Co-authored by his son Nick, the new book is published by Volumes Publishing in Kitchener, Ont.  

The father-and-son writing team urges readers to harness science to confront unquestioned beliefs that prevent people and societies from realizing their potential. That idea is embodied in their volume’s subtitle, framed – suitably, for an ecologist and his engineer son – as a home-made equation: (Science) – (Dogma) = Hope.  

Dogma wielded by authorities is a corruptive and paralyzing influence, said Larson during an interview this fall on campus. But that’s only part of the problem.  

Perhaps the only thing more destructive than manipulative powers, he said, is a human tendency to accept beliefs without challenge. Why would we do that? 

Call it a case of going along to get along – and an aversion to confrontation. 

Someone says something and no one questions it: That’s dogma 

“We’d rather believe things to be true than for them to be true. It makes things more palatable,” said Larson, who taught and studied at U of G from 1975 until retirement in 2009.  

“It’s dogma if someone says something and no one questions it.”   

For instance, he said, there’s an increasingly widespread and angsty sentiment that humanity is collectively decimating our planet through climate change and other factors.  

Human activities are undoubtedly affecting climate, said Larson.  

He points to his early studies of arctic lichens, which occurred well before his headline-generating discovery in the 1990s that ancient dwarf cedars grow on the Niagara Escarpment.  

For those studies, he used an instrument calibrated to ambient atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration of 345 parts per million. Today’s global CO2 average is 420 ppm, a nearly 25-per-cent increase in almost half a century.  

But, said Larson, it’s not true that “we are destroying the planet.” That dogmatic notion suggests that we pose a collective existential threat to Earth’s ecosystems.  

Climate change may play havoc with investments or winter weather or coastal homes and livelihoods. But it doesn’t destroy Earth’s living systems that predate humanity and that will likely outlast us.  

“Climate change and other risks destroy all the things we like,” said Larson. “The phrase, ‘We are destroying the planet’ really says that ‘we like the planet just the way it is.’” 

Rather than simply endorse blanket statements that effectively prompt handwringing but little action, he said, we need to plan for and adapt to climate change – human-made and natural. Similarly, he said, dogma and propaganda about biodiversity loss, infectious disease and the threat of nuclear war wrap the issues in a “wall of fear.” 

Or, to use another metaphor, Larson said, “We swim inside a big ocean of misrepresentation.” 

For these and other concerns, he said, the best strategy is to focus on what we can change.  

Looking past ‘dogma’ of taxes and centralization 

In its signal example, The Dogma Ate My Homework proposes that we stop looking to centralized government to solve problems such as climate change or biodiversity loss.  

Centralized government rests on the dogma of taxation as the primary source of public infrastructure, Larson said.  

Yet governments are caught between relying on tax money to fund infrastructure and their own reluctance to alienate voters with tax increases. Coupled with public ownership of everything from roads to bridges to sewers, what results is a kind of “tragedy of the commons” with crumbling or outdated infrastructure that no one wants to pay to repair.  

Instead, Larson calls for more private investment in infrastructure, such as funding by investors in late nineteenth-century Guelph that paid for construction of an urban railroad system in the city.  

“Governments now own our infrastructure,” he said. Far from the dogma of public ownership and reliance on taxation, Larson added, “Infrastructure is a commodity that people can invest in.”  

The book also discusses why and how dogma works, points to hope as an evolutionary process and outlines how the scientific method helps to counter dogma.  

Larson draws on ideas from such public intellectuals as the American biophysicist Harold Morowitz, who studied thermodynamics and living systems; the American astronomer Frank Drake; the Swedish physician and academic Hans Rosling; and Jacob Bronowski, a mathematician and philosopher who explored humanism and science in a 1973 book and television documentary series called The Ascent of Man. 

As a U of G professor, Larson said, he spent decades teaching students not just about ecology but about the power of dogma and its ill effects. A longtime musician, he wrote and recorded ideas on dogma and critical thinking in a 2015 album called Things That Need to Be Said.  

Contact:  
Doug Larson 
dwlarson@uoguelph.ca 

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 Nearly two decades later, Dominika Jamnicky, B.Sc. ’15, is training for the Americas triathlon championships in Uruguay this fall – with her eye on ultimately qualifying for the Paris Olympics in 2024 – while completing the home stretch of chiropractic studies in Toronto.   

 And in a kind of full circle, she’s now coaching young aspiring triathletes in Guelph’s Royal City Development Squad, founded five years ago with her fiancé, Kyle Boorsma, M.Sc. ’13.   

“I decided I wanted to give back to the community and share my passion for triathlon,” said Jamnicky, who was 11 when her family came to Canada from Australia in 2004.     

She spent her teens running, swimming and cycling in Port Hope, Ont., before arriving at U of G in 2010 to study biomedical science and to join the Gryphon team.    

Today, some 20 area youngsters belong to the growing club, whose members train around town in their signature blue and gold. Recalling her youthful start with the sport, she says training and competing in triathlon gives kids “essential skills for sport and everyday life. The most rewarding part is to see their smiling faces and see them enjoying the sport.”     

Ups and downs of a sport triad 

Those are the kinds of benefits she says she’s gained – mixed in with the inevitable heartbreaks and low moments.   

One highlight came in her first year with the U of G varsity team that won both women’s and men’s national cross-country titles. “That was the moment I knew that the University of Guelph was for me. The camaraderie and friendship among the athletes – I knew I was in the right place,” said Jamnicky.   

 Another high point was being selected to compete for Canada at the 2014 worlds. “Training with the cross-country and track and field teams and having the former national training centre at the University – that all led to being able to represent the country at the world championships in Chicago.”   

After graduation in 2015, she trained full-time for four years and was selected for Canada’s team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia, her birth country. Earlier this year, she made her second Commonwealth Games appearance in Birmingham, England.  

Referring to the Australian Games, Jamnicky, 29, said, “That was special. On the sidelines, I had integral parts of my family cheering me on. It was nice to be able to compete there, but it was mostly like a family reunion.”   

One low point came when she was still a student athlete in 2013.   

In Europe that year, she broke her arm in a cycling accident. She wasn’t even competing at the time. “After a race, I went for a training ride,” she said. “I slipped over train tracks going downhill and got ejected from the bike.”  

Back in Guelph, her rehab from that accident and other injuries pointed Jamnicky toward her current career aspirations.

Adversity breeds career prospects for grad  

She says Marco Lozej, then a practitioner at U of G’s Health and Performance Centre, inspired her to pursue chiropractic studies after her biomedical science degree. That degree program is offered jointly by CBS and the Ontario Veterinary College’s Department of Biomedical Sciences. 

Jamnicky is now completing her final year of study at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in Toronto.   

“I think chiropractors have a lot of tools in their toolbox to help people with functional problems, especially injuries,” she said. “My goal is to help people the best I can.”   

She aims to land clinical work in Guelph after graduation. For that, she’ll carry aspects of her university education as well, especially her studies of human anatomy and physiology.    

“I found that the University of Guelph approach to human sciences was ahead of a lot of other schools I looked at, especially with the human anatomy program,” said Jamnicky.   

Referring to the program run by the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences in the College of Biological Science, she said, “It’s one of the only programs in all of Canada that offers human dissection courses on cadavers. It made a difference in my understanding of the human body.”   

Grad aims to qualify for 2024 Olympics  

Now aiming to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games, she trains 15 to 20 hours a week. Her regimen includes regular workouts in the University pool and distance training with the varsity cross-country team.   

Since the Commonwealth Games, she has competed in European races with what she describes as middling results. Next up in late October were the Americas championships in Uruguay, where she was aiming for a top-five finish.     

“My recent European trip was not quite what I had prepared for, but that’s racing – there are ups and downs,” said Jamnicky, whose specialty in her sport triad is cycling.   

She said she relies upon a strong support system, including Boorsma. A former decorated Gryphon runner, Boorsma completed graduate studies in nutrition, exercise and metabolism, and is now an assistant coach with the varsity track team.  

“A good team makes a world of difference,” said Jamnicky. “No athlete’s trajectory is a smooth trajectory. It depends on how you’re able to work through the downs. Having a support system is huge, it helps you put things into perspective and work through challenges.”   

In turn, that’s partly her goal for the kids training with her development squad – and for adult runners now training with Boorsma in a new offshoot of the club.   

“With the national training centre shut down, we’re trying to fill that void and bring high-performance training in triathlon back to Guelph,” she said. 

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Dozens of threatened, endangered and at-risk plants and animals are found across Canada, and two University of Guelph grads are playing a small but important role in ensuring they have a future.  

Ian Adams and Robyn Rumney work for the Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada as Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) coordinators. From their respective bases in Cranbrook, B.C., and Midland, Ont., they identify potential areas for future protection. 

A global initiative spearheaded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and BirdLife International, KBAs contain important wildlife and biodiversity. Potential protected areas must go through several stages of local, national and international review before being designated.  

“A KBA in Canada is a KBA in Ghana is a KBA in New Zealand,” said Adams. “It’s part of a global set of criteria so that it’s reliable and that regardless of where you are in the world, you know that it has reached certain levels in terms of global or national significance.”   

But that doesn’t mean the area is necessarily protected. Rather, KBAs are “strictly an information layer,” Adams explains.  

He, Rumney and other KBA coordinators across Canada gather and prepare data for groups to indicate an area’s ecological value. What those groups do next is up to them, says Adams, but they may choose to protect the space, via an Indigenous protected area or a provincial or a national park, or to simply manage it in a way that conserves its integrity.   

That work hinges on data they access from various sources including various levels of government and apps like eBird and iNaturalist. With that information, Adams and Rumney can approach local naturalists, biologists, Indigenous communities and other stakeholders with their own knowledge of an area.   

For instance, the Ojibway Prairie Complex and Greater Park Ecosystem, near Windsor, Ont., is well on its way to being nominated for designation as a KBA. The proposal is being co-developed with the nonprofit Wildlife Preservation Canada, which has biologists working on-site. They hope it could one day become a future national urban park, which could help protect the many rare and at-risk species at the site. 

It’s an effort, Rumney says, “to maximize the impact of KBAs on protecting species and ecosystems,” ultimately tying it back to one of the greater goals of her and her colleagues’ project. 

A celebration of past and future accomplishments  

While their project maps potential KBAs, it “also celebrates areas that already have successful protection,” says Rumney, pointing to Long Point, Ont., or Trial Islands in B.C., which was Canada’s first KBA.  

Both those sites and future KBAs highlight and advocate for at-risk species listed on COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada), NatureServe, the IUCN Red List and more. 

Take Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it, also known as Tobacco Plains, in B.C., where you might find Spalding’s campion, one of the rarest plants in Canada. Designating the area as a KBA, with the help of the Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi’it of the Ktunaxa Nation, can help raise awareness of the plant’s open forest ecosystem and rarity, says Adams.  

“We know there’s a whole bunch of KBAs out there, and we haven’t scratched the surface yet,” he adds. “They’re ongoing, living documents that are a launching pad for ecology and conservation education.”  

He and Rumney are well-versed in the process thanks to their studies at U of G.  

U of G leads in ecology, conservation  

Despite now being at different points in their careers, Adams and Rumney chose to study at U of G for similar reasons. One was the beauty of the campus, and the other was the University’s reputation in environmental sciences – something both say helped set them up for where they are now.  

For Rumney, that came through the blend of theory and application in her bachelor of science in environmental sciences (at the Ontario Agricultural College) from 2012 to 2016. For Adams, it came during classes with Dr. Vernon Thomas, now professor emeritus, during wildlife biology studies (at the College of Biological Science) from 1985 to 1989.   

“He really pushed a lot of people to consider the political side of things,” says Adams, who later completed a master’s degree in wildlife ecology in 1995. 

Their current work connects them to U of G, too.  

“A lot of the names that come up on the research papers as experts to consult are University of Guelph faculty or lab managers,” says Rumney, adding that she recently spoke with an expert who is using U of G’s DNA barcoding technology for their own project.  

Adams remembers people thinking “you’re really going to do that?” when Dr. Paul Hebert, a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and director of the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, pitched the idea for this species identification technology. But, he adds, “it’s been wonderfully successful.”  

“I’ve done eDNA projects in B.C., including one of the first where we identified streams and watersheds where the Rocky Mountain tailed frog occurs,” he said. “The ability to just extract DNA from water, from soil, from air… it’s just remarkable.”  

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Ever since he was a child, David Borish wanted to tell stories about ecosystem and community health, and now thanks to his studies at the University of Guelph, he is doing just that.

A documentary film he directed and produced for his PhD is debuting this fall at festivals and screenings – including one hosted by U of G’s Guelph Institute of Development Studies (GIDS).  

HERD: Inuit Voices on Caribou documents Inuit communities in the Nunatsiavut and NunatuKavut regions of Labrador as they grapple with changes brought on by a total hunting ban, implemented in 2013, on caribou – an animal with which they hold social, emotional and cultural connections.  

But the film is more than just a platform for Inuit to tell their stories. It’s also the raw data of Borish’s PhD dissertation, completed in 2021.   

“Usually, people use documentary film to communicate research, not do the research themselves,” he says. “But you can actually use the film as the data.” 

With that in mind, Borish set out to create a new technique called video-based qualitative analysis to promote knowledge mobilization. He repurposed two video editing programs, Final Cut Pro and Lumberjack Builder, to look for common themes in not just what people said but also their tone, body language and location. 

Collaborative process connects Inuit communities  

“I wasn’t extracting the words from the participants, I was keeping it connected,” he said. 

Throughout his undergrad degree at U of G in international development studies, Borish did photography on the side. During his third year, he combined his hobby and his studies to create a documentary film on tiger conservation, sustainable development and Indigenous communities in Malaysia. 

By his fourth year, he felt supported by U of G’s strength in socio-environmental studies, and reached out to Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo, now at Memorial University in Newfoundland, after she spoke during a class. 

Cunsolo was then working with Labrador communities on research in health and well-being, including Inuit communities who were exploring the idea of creating a documentary to illustrate the effects of the then four-year-old hunting ban on caribou.  

“Yes, it was my PhD work, but it was something that was led by Inuit, and I happened to be at the right place to help,” said Borish, now a post-doctoral researcher at Memorial University while also working with the Torngat Secretariat. 

The film has been public only since August, but is already available to audiences on CBC Gem, and communities across Labrador have watched it through screenings. After more than five years of community collaboration, Borish and the Caribou Project Steering Committee are excited to share their work.  

And for broader audiences, Borish hopes the film “provides them a glimpse into what life is like in Labrador, and how important these connections between people and caribou are,” and offers a chance “to think about the continued changes to people’s mental health, culture, identity and food security. All these things are so interconnected as biodiversity loss occurs.” 

To learn more or to host a screening, visit the HERD website, or check out their social media @inuitvoicesherd.  

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U OF G PROVIDED GROUNDING FOR THREE GENERATIONS OF GRADS

All four seasons are captured in the named gardens that are part of the D.M. Rutherford Family Conservatory and Gardens marking the U of G entrance.

The gardens and restored 1930s-era greenhouse were dedicated in 1999 during the 125th anniversary of the Ontario Agricultural College. A year earlier, Donald M. Rutherford, OAC ’51, made a leadership gift of $256,000 toward the $1-million project.

The surrounding six gardens are named for donors, including an Autumn Garden named for Rutherford’s Class of ’51. The class marked its 70th anniversary in 2021 by raising $51,000 for student awards intended to foster leadership.

Rutherford died in fall 2021 at age 93.

On hand for the dedication ceremony in 1999 were Rutherford’s family members, including his granddaughter Bonnie (Speed) Douglas, then studying biological engineering at U of G.

“He was proud of me for going to Guelph,” says Douglas, B.Eng. ’02, whose studies here extended the family connection.

A generation earlier, her parents met on campus as students. Her father, Grant Speed, completed agricultural diploma studies in 1973; her mom, Jean Curtis, studied science at U of G in 1971 before enrolling in teacher’s college.

Referring to the conservatory and surrounding gardens, Douglas says, “The project was important to Donald and the family because it allowed three generations of alumni to connect and strengthen their Guelph roots.”

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Morris completed her PhD in genetics studies in 1946, becoming one of the first two women to receive a doctorate from Cornell’s plant breeding department. She accepted a faculty position at the University of NebraskaLincoln (UNL), becoming the first woman faculty member hired by the agronomy department, where she spent a 43-year-long career.

AS A CYTOGENETICIST WITH UNL’S WHEAT TEAM, MORRIS DEVELOPED AND TESTED CHROMOSOME LINES IN BREAD WHEAT VARIETIES.

Early in her studies, she looked at the effects of radiation on crops including corn genes. Keen to improve her technical skills, she completed a fellowship at the California Institute of Technology in 1949-50. She also spent several months in 1956-57 on a Guggenheim scholarship in Sweden and England.

As a cytogeneticist with UNL’s wheat team, Morris developed and tested chromosome lines in bread wheat varieties. “This involved meticulous microscope observations by Rosalind and her assistants,” read her obituary. “Many of these lines were shared with wheat scientist in different countries.

“Rosalind was a trailblazer for women in agronomy when it was unusual to see women in such roles.”

Morris died March 26, 2022, just over a month before her 102nd birthday.

Born May 8, 1920, in Wales, she moved to Canada with her family in 1925. The move came after her father, a teacher, had contracted flu following the First World War; a doctor had advised him to find an outdoor occupation.

By 1930, the family was living on a fruit farm in Lambton County.

In 1997, she established the W. Penri Morris Memorial Scholarship at U of G, named for her brother, who was killed during the Second World War.

A longtime member of the Nebraska Academy of Scientists, Rosalind Morris belonged to the local branch of the American Association of University Women and to the St. David’s Society of Nebraska.

Her cytogenetics work continues to provide a resource for researchers studying functional genomics.

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Marcie Jacklin, B.Sc. ’78, received the 2021 Hodgkiss Outdoorsperson of the Year Award for organizing local bird counts and calling for preservation of natural areas around Fort Erie, Ont. Named for the founding president of the Canadian Wildlife Federation, the award recognizes a Canadian who has demonstrated an enduring commitment to conservation. Jacklin has spent decades in environmental advocacy and citizen science with organizations in the Niagara Region and beyond, including leading the boards of the Niagara Falls Nature Club, Peninsular Field Naturalists, Buffalo Ornithological Society and Ontario Field Ornithologists.

1970s
David Barker, B.Sc. ’74, studied earth science at U of G. In 2021, he retired as professor of biblical studies at Heritage College and Seminary in Cambridge, Ont. After graduating from U of G, he entered church ministry and was ordained in 1984 He served as interim president, academic dean and vice-president at Heritage, and pastored churches in London, Kitchener and Bracebridge over the past 40 years.

1980s
Guy Gilron, B.Sc. ’84, M.Sc. ’88, received the Coal Association of Canada 2020-21 Award of Distinction. Working with the coal sector, especially in Western Canada, he has helped the association and its members apply environmental science in development of policy, regulation and water science communication.

Dr. Scott Reid, DVM ’87, received the 2022 Golden Life Membership Award from the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association. The award honours a veterinarian who has served the profession for at least 30 years and has made extraordinary contributions to animal welfare and veterinary medicine. During his 35-year career, Reid has practised in Dunnville, Ont.

1990s

Colleen Fitzpatrick, B.Comm. ’91, is executive director of the Rotary Centre for the Arts in Kelowna, B.C. She was named
in 2021 as a Top 40 Over 40 honouree for community collaborations ranging from the local food bank to Festivals Kelowna. Earlier, she earned recognition for community involvement and volunteerism in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., where she was director of convocation and associate director of community relations at the University of Waterloo. Colleen completed a postgraduate diploma program in public relations at the University of Victoria.

Liz Duval, B.Sc. ’95, was inducted into the North American Indigenous Athletics Hall of Fame, a U.S.-based organization that recognizes outstanding leadership and achievement in individual and team athletics. Duval, who is Métis and who grew up in Penetanguishene, Ont., was captain of the U of G women’s hockey team, which was inducted into the Gryphons Hall of Fame in 2016. She later played in the Central Ontario Women’s Hockey League and
the National Women’s Hockey League before retiring in 2001.

Alison Howard, BA ’95, was named executive director of ABC Life Literacy Canada. She has spent more than two decades in the non-profit sector, including working with the Conference Board of Canada.

Rhett Hawkins, B.Comm. ’96, MBA (Agr.) ’02, became president of Kahntact, a full-service marketing services company in agriculture and food across North America. Earlier, he held senior roles at Farm Journal Media, the largest ag-focused publisher in the United States.

Pam Charlton, B.Sc. (Env. Sci.) ’97, was named general manager of Holstein Ontario. She has worked in the dairy industry for 22 years, running Elm Bend Farms in Brant County as a family farm. Charlton has delivered programs and education through the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association, Holstein Canada and Brant 4-H.

Ninh Tran, B.Sc. ’99, M.Sc. ’00, was named medical officer of health for Oxford and Elgin counties. Previously, he was associate medical officer of health for Hamilton Public Health Services. Tran studied medicine at Queen’s University after completing graduate degrees in nutritional sciences at U of G and studied health research methodology at McMaster University.

Dr. Cliff Redford, DVM ’98, volunteered in Poland this past spring at refugee shelters near
the Ukrainian border, where he and his daughter, Emily, worked with organizations tending pets of refugees fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Dr. Cliff” owns Wellington Veterinary Hospital in Markham, Ont. A long-time animal rescue volunteer in several countries, he credited his U of G studies for his adaptability and resilience. “Going to vet school and graduating with a DVM grants you a very specific set of skills that allow you to analyze problems and find solutions.”

2000s

Bonnie (Speed) Douglas, B. Eng. ’02, is a project coordinator for the Canadian Association for Women in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology, a nonprofit advocacy coalition for diversity and inclusion in the science, engineering, trades and technology workforce. Recently, Douglas was project manager for the We Are Trades project, an initiative that seeks to help employers create safe and inclusive workplaces for tradeswomen.

Dr. Lisa Waddell, B.Sc. ’02, MSc. ’04, PhD ’16, is senior epidemiologist in the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory in Guelph. As a knowledge synthesis and translation methods specialist, she focuses on policy-relevant public health questions in food safety and infectious diseases including COVID-19.

Dr. Kelly Barratt, DVM ’05, was named as the 2021 Bovine Practitioner of the Year by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners. She is a partner at Heartland Animal Hospital and Veterinary Services in Listowel, Drayton and Mount Forest, Ont., where she is a specialist in dairy herd health. She is the first woman and youngest honouree to receive the award, which recognizes a practising veterinarian for significant contributions to bovine medicine.

Greg Young, B.Sc. ’05, won silver at the World Bench Press Championships, held in Kazakhstan, in May 2022 with a lift of 545.6 pounds. He is an RCMP officer in Tofino, B.C.

Pavla Kazda, MBA ’09, has been appointed dean, business and management, automotive business, at Georgian College. Earlier, she served in management and leadership roles in the food service industry and with the Government of Ontario.

2010s
Andrew Eldebs, B.Eng. ’15, studied environmental engineering and has founded a soil exchange management company called Fillmaps (www.fillmaps.com). Through soil testing, drone surveying, loading and transport, the company helps landowners to divert clean soils from landfills, freeing up space in landfills.

Jason Kelly, MBA ’16, has received the 2022 Certified Hospitality Technology Professional of the Year award for the highest score on the CHTP certification exam. Currently studying for his doctorate in hotel and tourism management at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, he studied hospitality and tourism management at U of G and has worked for more than 20 years in the field in Canada.

Jaime Vieira, B.A.Sc. ’16, is the minor league hitting coach for the Toronto Blue Jays. She is the first woman coach hired by the Major League Baseball team. Previously, she was a research and development intern in baseball operations with the Jays. Vieira played and coached softball at the University of Guelph-Humber.

Francine Pauvif, BA ’19, and Aleksandra Spasevski, B.Sc. (Env. Sci.) ’19, are co-founders of the Canadian Youth Biodiversity Network.

Equestrian show jumping brings together grads Dr. Tim Worden, B.Sc. ’10, M.Sc. ’12, PhD ’16, (below) and Sean Jobin, BA ’19, (above) as partners in sport science. A Grand Prix show jumping rider representing Canada, Jobin competes internationally, including competing in the Canadian Championships and the Venice Equestrian Tour. This year, he is signed to the Major League Show Jumping Tour as a member of the Northern Lights team. Worden studied biomedical science and biomechanics at U of G and is a board member of the Equine High Performance Sports Group and the Sport Horse Research Foundation. Based in Toronto, he has consulted for Equestrian Canada and has spoken and written on sport medicine and performance.

The organization is a chapter of the Global Youth Biodiversity Network and connects youth across Canada in biodiversity education and awareness as well as liaison with all levels of government.

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