PhD NRES (Geography) candidate Matt Beedle (co-supervisors: B. Menounos & R. Wheate) has completed four field expeditions from May to September  on Castle Creek and Kwadacha glaciers. See his spring/summer fieldwork update at: http://www.unbc.ca/geography/whats_new/2009_updatebeedle.html

 

MA IDIS student Lorraine Naziel (supervisor C. Nolin) traveled to North Vancouver this week to participate in the initial meeting of the Aboriginal Women's Leadership Association of BC." Congratulations, also, to Lorraine for receiving  the Chief Joe Mathias BC Aboriginal Scholarship this fall through the First Nations Education Steering Committee (FNESC).

MA NRES student JP Laplante (supervisor: C. Nolin) traveled to Takla First Nation during the week of September 14th with Bonnie Docherty of the Harvard Law School's Human Rights Program. JP organized and facilitated this research excursion in order to explore the human rights impacts of the free entry system of mining development in BC.

PhD student Kelly Giesbrecht (supervisor: C. Nolin) traveled to Smithers, BC for September 15^th & 16^th to attend the Skeena Salmon Habitat Conference which is sponsored by SkeenaWild Conservation Trust, Babine River Foundation, Driftwood Foundation. Details at: http://bvcentre.ca/events/detail/skeena_salmon_habitat_conservation/

 

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The first Geography Club meeting of the academic year is set. Everyone is welcome to attend. 

 

Date/Time: September 24th @ 4:00

Location: UNBC Library, 2nd floor seminar room 
Questions? Contact:

 

Congratulations to Christine Creyke (MA NRES student) who recently received the J. Michael Waldram Memorial Model Forest Fellowship for 2009 from the Canadian Institute of Forestry. 

 

Congratulations to incoming PhD student Kelly Giesbrecht (MA NRES-Geog, UNBC '04)  on the recent publication of her MA thesis, " Community Control in Resource Management: The Bulkley Valley Community Resources Board.' The new book is available through Amazon.com.  Abstract:

 

"Traditional public participation in resource management planning and decision making processes in British Columbia has often resulted in little or no public influence in the process, or over the decisions made. This study of the Bulkley Valley Community Resources Board (BVCRB) explores how public input through this body was conceptualized and incorporated into the Bulkley Land and Resource Management Plan (LRMP) process. This work explores the linkages between public participation, community conflict, community organization and community power. Community support and community representation are central to the BVCRB's influence in the development of the Bulkley LRMP. The goal of this work is to examine how a level of public input which went beyond tokenism was achieved and resulted in community control and community power. This provides insight into the legitimacy of community organization, community representation, and community support for public participation to influence resource management planning and decision making."
 

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Congratulations also to Christine Creyke & Lorraine Naziel on recent awards:

 

Christine Creyke (MA Natural Resources & Environmental Studies – Geography Stream; supervisor: Dr. G. Halseth) of the Tahltan First Nation was awarded a Northern Resident Award for Graduate Studies ($10,000) through the Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies (ACUNS). The awards supports Christine’s graduate thesis research: The Tahitan First Nation and our Consultation Process with Mining Industry; How a Land Use Plan can Improve Community Based Consultation. See: http://www.acuns.ca/cnstcurrentrec.htm

 

Lorraine Naziel (MA Interdisciplinary Studies; supervisor, Dr. C. Nolin) of the Wet'suwet'en First Nation was awarded a Minerva Education Award and invited to give a keynote address at the Minerva Foundation of BC Conference “Learning to Lead: Combining our Strengths” at St. John’s College, UBC, June 12-14.  The vision of this Leadership Development Program is to empower Aboriginal women, to create space for them to connect – with other women leaders and with themselves – and to enable them to gain deeper knowledge of their own values and passions. See: http://www.theminervafoundation.com/programs/ltl_cosprogram.html

 

Congratulations to Caroline von Schilling (2009) on her successful defence of her thesis “Entropy Debt: A Link to Sustainability?" in the MS Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (Geography) graduate program, 23 June. Supervisor: Dr. Darwyn Coxson (NRES Graduate Program).

 

Congratulations to PhD NRES student Matt Beedle (and his supervisor Brian Menounos) for the feature of their research in the June/July issue of Northword magazine. Here is the opening of the article:

 

"Last summer, student Matt Beedle stuck a pole in a glacier. The research technique may not sound like cutting-edge science, but the result was unequivocal: Nearly a month later, the pole, which had only a few millimeters showing when he planted it, was exposed nearly to his 5’11” height. Was he surprised at the results? “Ah, no,” admits the UNBC doctoral student. "

Congratulations to Matt Beedle (PhD NRES candidate, Superivor: Dr. B. Menounos) - right - who won the award for the best doctoral student presentation at the annual meeting of the Western Division of the Canadian Association of Geographers (WDCAG) in Washington State in March 2008. Matt is joined in the photo by Geography undergraduate student Mark Stephens who won the award for best undergraduate student presentation. Congratulations!

 

 

PhD Candidate Claudette Bois (left in photo to the right, Supervisor: Dr. C. Nolin) received a prestigious Pacific Leaders fellowship from the Government of BC. Congratulations, Claudette!

September - Successful Thesis Defence:

Congratulations to Rachael Clasby, and her supervisor Dr. Neil Hanlon, who successfully defended her thesis on 5 September 2007. The thesis is titled "Networks and Partnerships in a Resource Town:  A Case Study of Adapting to an Aging Population in Mackenzie, BC.  Rachael sucessfully fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (Geography).

 

Congratulations to Sarah Quinn, and her supervisor Dr. Gail Fondahl, who successfully defended her thesis on 29 August 2007. The thesis is titled "Locally Based Measures of Successful Forest Co-Management: A Case Study of Tl'azt'en Nation and the John Prince Research Forest." Sarah Quinn fulfilled the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (Geography).

Congratulations to Pamela Tobin and Jessica Place, and their supervisor Dr. Neil Hanlon, two very successful theses defences this month!

Pam Tobin's Thesis: "The Social and Cultural Experiences of Food Security in the Takla Lake First Nation: Informing Public Health" (MA Interdisciplinary Studies)	Jessica Place's Thesis: “Expanding the Mine, Killing a Lake:  A Case Study of Environmental Values, Perceptions of Risk and First Nations’ Health” (MA NRES - Geography)