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The Philippines is ranked as the fifth most mineral-rich country in the world, with approximately 30 million hectares of land in the country endowed in metallic minerals, including but not limited to, gold, nickel, copper and iron ore (Lindon et al., 2013). San Roque Metals Inc. (SRMI) is a large-scale nickel mining company located within the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor, one of the country’s Key Biodiversity Areas in Mindanao, Philippines (Ibanez, 2015). Canada also possesses an impressive international mineral record, ranking fifth for nickel production globally (NRC, 2018).

Landscape Architecture students were the recipients of four scholarships awarded by the Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation in October. UofG professor emeritus, Cecelia Paine, and BLA program alumnus, Christine Abe, both members of the Foundation’s board of directors, presented the students with cheques of $1000 each.  MLA student, Kendra Cheeseman and BLA student Grace Christie received the University of Guelph LACF Scholarship recognizing excellence in design.

Having recently completed her M.Sc in Rural Planning and Development, Hilary Sadowsky and her supervisor Nicolas Brunet attended the ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting on December 5, 2019, one of the largest Arctic research events in the world. Hilary was presenting her thesis results along side a good number of our partners from Pond Inlet, Nunavut where she undertook her project over the last two years. Hilary not only took home the photo contest award, she also took home the coveted Inuit Partnership of Excellence Student Award.

If you are interested in hearing from environmental scientists & students, conservation authorities, indigenous-lead conservation, NGOs, urbanists, and municipal planners, then you’ll want to make time for the Latornell Conservation Symposium. Held this year from November 19–21, 2019 at the Nottawasaga Inn, the theme was Currents of Change: Inspiring, Creating, Transforming, encompassing around 200 panels and presentations, 3 keynote speakers, walking tours, and a poster competition.

Congratulations to Capacity Development and Extension graduate student, Madeline Arseneau who was recently awarded the A.D. Latornell Award of Merit presented by the Soil and Water Conservation Society.  Madeline's research is on soil literacy and the role that capacity development and extension can play in developing soil literacy to promote soil conservation. 

Ashleigh Weeden, SEDRD PhD Rural Studies candidate,

Ashleigh Weeden, SEDRD PhD Rural Studies candidate, was invited to share some reflections on place-based policy with the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group on Rural Policy on October 29, 2019. The Cross-Party Group provides information to MSPs (Members of Scottish Parliament) and the wider Scottish Parliament about issues relating to rural policies and policy-making in Scotland.

Fishing is an important cultural and economic activity for many of the First Nation communities in Canada, but the governance of their fisheries is complicated. Chirag Patney, a rural planning and development master’s student under the supervision of Dr. Nicolas Brunet, explains how he hopes his research will help shine a light on one community’s concerns when it comes to policies and programs that govern their fishing activities.

The Winter 2019 SEDRD Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) positions have now been posted. The deadline for applications is November 4, 2019. In order to be considered for a position, you must apply online at www.uoguelph.ca/sessional_ta/ for each of the positions you are interested in.

You must be logged into the site in order to apply for the positions.  Instructions are on the home page. You must use your uoguelph.ca email account or you will not be able to apply. Do not create a new account.

The deadline for graduate students to apply to attend the 2020 International Comparative Rural Policy (ICRPS) Summer Institute in Brandon, Manitoba is December 1, 2019. You can find more details regarding the application form and application process through this document. Further information about the 2020 ICRPS Summer Institute can be found at www.2020.icrps.org.