News

Dr. Donald G.

Students and faculty of the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development participated and led discussions at several international conferences in July, including the International Farming System Association in  (Italy), the Canadian Communication Association (Montreal), and the International Association for Media and Communication Research (Christchurch).

Dr. Ataharul Chowdhury, in Capacity Development and Extension, received the 2024 Early Career Research Award for his work, particularly in the areas of artificial intelligence, knowledge mobilization, and addressing agri-food/climate misinformation. The award has been established by the Livestock Research Innovation Corporation to recognize the research excellence of early career researchers with support from the Grand River Agricultural Society, Western Fair Association, Ontario Agricultural College, and the Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph.

We are excited to share a new knowledge translation and transfer initiative has been funded titled "Pathways to Practice: Bridging Knowledge, Practitioners, and Students." The new initiative will build bridges between graduate students, rural economic development officers, and rural community leaders to connect knowledge, ideas, and networks. The project focuses on creating an in-person forum for facilitating these connections, creating a series of new knowledge outputs, and training/mentorship.

The LABash conference is a student-led conference for landscape architecture that will take place March 12-15, 2025.  It returns home to the University of Guelph, where it originated in 1970.  UofG has hosted the conference six previous times!

Chris Van Dyke is a recent graduate of the Master of Planning (MPlan) degree in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development.  Chris’ major research paper was recently referenced in the Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly by Frame Lake MLA Julian Morse in a statement on the territory's housing challenges.   The recorded segment can be found on YouTube (beginning at 35:30 minutes).

The 2024 Canadian Society of Landscape Architects (CSLA) Congress was held in Winnipeg from May 30 to June 1, 2024.  Important highlights from the event include:

Two UofG Landscape Architecture alumni have taken on key leadership roles within the CSLA for 2024: Catherine Berris (BLA 1978) as CSLA President and Matthew Mills (MLA 2010) as CSLA President-Elect.

The Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation and Yukon University recently co-hosted the Northern Dialogues: Remoteness and Sustainable Livelihoods in Rural and Northern Canada Conference in Whitehorse, Yukon. The conference addressed the intersection of remoteness and sustainable livelihoods framed across three interrelated themes: (i) innovation and community development, (ii) education, health, and social systems, and (iii) culture, heritage, and wellbeing.

Congratulations to Josh Barrett (PhD candidate in Rural Studies, University of Guelph), who received the Best Student Paper Award at the 2024 American Association of Geographers in April 2024 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The manuscript, co-authored by Kelly Vodden, focuses on how rural local governments in Newfoundland and Labrador are using entrepreneurial approaches and partnerships to achieve local development.

We are thrilled to announce that the University of Guelph’s School of Environmental Design and Rural Development will partner with Forest Foundation Philippines for their project on nature-based solutions to climate change. The Canadian government recently granted Forest Foundation Philippines eight million dollars to implement the project between 2024 and 2028 to support climate change mitigation and biodiversity loss through capacity building and gender-sensitive resource management.