Landscapes - People - Global change
Jessica Blyth, online at my hybrid lab team meeting.
I feel honoured that Brock scholar (and fellow Newfoundlander) Prof Jessica Blyth agreed to spend the morning of her big new Nature paper launch, The Ocean Equity Index, talking about that work with my lab here at SRES. Starting with some of the most beautiful slides, we had a rich discussion of the approach, utility and opportunities their new tool represents. Thank you, Jessica!
A few lab members, and hangers on, celebrating Alex’s (right) wedding at Ramblers back in October
More lab folks at Ramblers
This has been an active term in the Sherren lab, so this is an omnibus email to note a few things that have been going without mention so far. Some have been big events, like Alex’s wedding and wedding party (see above, right), and conference presentations at the Atlantic Canadian Association of Geographer’s meeting hosted online by SMU in November (Alex, Bethany, Anna).
We’ve had a great schedule of semi-weekly lab meetings where everyone has taken turns talking about their own academic journey to this point. An unanticipated delight has been the delight that has come with baby and childhood photos in those presentations. Midway through the term, Chris and Elson hosted a lab art event that repurposed an old Ikea poster we had lying around, and the result was stunning!
The lab visits St. Croix dykeland with Dr. Jeremy Lundholm.
Squinting into the sun at Grand Pre (missing Athena)
More recently we had a (cold) lab trip up to the dykelands with CBWES plant ecologist and ResNet colleague Jeremy Lundholm, and followed that up with a Christmas lunch at The Church in Wolfville. A full term! Thanks everyone for the enthusiasm and engagement!
Warming up at The Church in Wolfville
Me with Simon Greenland-Smith at the Dalhousie University Club Pub.
Back in 2011 when I was a new professor at Dalhousie, Simon Greenland-Smith–then an Environmental Science Honours student–came to talk to me about his farmer survey about riparian buffers. John Brazner, provincial wetland specialist and Simon’s Honours supervisor, introduced us. Thank goodness he did.
Yesterday, Simon had his last day at SRES, finishing two years as the Wood Turtle Strides farmer stewardship program manager, working for the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture but sitting two doors down in SRES. In between, Simon worked in my lab as an undergraduate research intern, transcribing photo-elicitation interviews I did with farmers in Cumberland County; carried out a novel Masters of Environmental Studies thesis using wetland walkabout interviews with farmers in the Annapolis Valley to show how ecosystem services valuations miss many social values; became my go-to survey administrator and statistician for a range of research projects (e.g. dams of all things); and, picked up where Kate Goodale left off with our farmer extension website BioLOG, adding educational materials and a range of videos to the mix. He has been a great citizen inside SRES and out, including his leadership in DivestDal.
I’m equal parts sad and proud to see him head off Monday to work on marine conservation targets as National Campaign Manager of the SeaBlue Initiative (bringing together the Ecology Action Centre, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, David Suzuki Foundation and West Coast Environmental Law). While we plan to keep collaborating, I wish him well in the new adventure, and hope to welcome him back to Halifax sooner than later.
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