News

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.

The Senate is a key institution in the Canadian parliamentary system. Composed of representatives from across the country, the Senate provide a complementary review of government bills before they become the law and undertakes investigations on important social and political issues. A key role of the Senate is for the representation of regional interests. During the Sustainable Communities Conference in St John’s on October 5, Dr.

The School of Environmental Design and Rural Development was well represented at the recent Sustainable Communities Conference, which brought together rural leaders, community-based organizations, government policy makers, businesses, students, and researchers. A total of 16 presentations and posters were delivered by students and faculty from the School! Details of each contribution are listed below with SEDRD students and faculty noted in bold:

Ashleigh Weeden (PhD Candidate, Rural Studies) won the poster competition at the 2019 Sustainable Communities Conference, which was co-hosted by the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation and the North Atlantic Forum in St. John’s, Newfoundland. The poster competition was decided by vote by conference participants, which included rural leaders, community-based organizations, government policy makers, businesses, students, and researchers from across Canada, the United States, and Europe.