Dr. Margot Parkes
Dr. Margot Parkes
MBChB, MAS, PhD
Note: News & Updates about Dr. Parkes' recent activities are listed below.
Canada Research Chair in Health, Ecosystems and Society; Assistant Professor, School of Health Sciences, UNBC; Cross Appointed Clinical Assistant Professor, Northern Medical Program, UBC.
My research orientation originated during training and work as a medical doctor in New Zealand and subsequently in public health, human ecology, and the emerging field of ecohealth, or ecosystem approaches to health. My interest in water-related determinants of health began with a focus on watershed management and public health in rural river catchments in New Zealand and has developed through work in Europe, Hawaii, Ecuador and Canada. My current research focuses on impacts of ecosystem change on social determinants of health especially in the context of watersheds in rural, remote and Indigenous communities. Another focus includes the design of education, research and governance options to address the converging objectives of health, social equity and ecosystem sustainability. Informed by the intersectoral, interdisciplinary and boundary-crossing nature of this work, I have specific interests in the collaborative and multi-stakeholder processes required to address complex issues at the interface of health and sustainability.
My ongoing commitment to developing and expanding the emerging field of ecohealth is reflected in my involvement as founding board member and past President of the International Association for Ecology & Health, as a co-founder of the Canadian Community of Practice in Ecosystem Approaches to Health (CoPEH-Canada) and as founding Managing Editor (2003-2007) of the international peer-reviewed journal EcoHealth published by Springer.
News & Updates
Kunming, China
Ecohealth 2012 International Conference
The Ecohealth 2012 Conference was a huge success! Visit Ecohealth-live.net to view conference archives (videos, posters and Powerpoints). Delegates and working groups at the conference explored how Ecohealth can contribute to the achievement of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the drafting of the International Association for Ecology and Health (IAEH) Kunming Position Statement.
The IAEH (Co-Author Margot Parkes) drafted a ‘Think Piece for Health in the Post-2015 Development Agenda’ called Integrating Health, Sustainability and Ecosystems in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
June 8, 2012
Northern Health's Position on the Environment as a Context for Health: An Integrated Settings Approach
The development of Northern Health's position paper on the Environment as a Context for Health was a collaboration between Northern Health and the University of Northern British Columbia and was directly informed by the “Ecohealth & Watersheds in Northern BC” Knowledge to Action Project, funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research. A copy of the position paper is available here.
June 1, 2012
Launch of the Ecosystem Approaches to Health Teaching Manual
CoPEH-Canada is pleased to announce the launch of a Pilot Ecosystem Approaches to Health Teaching Manual. The manual is the result of four years of collective teaching experience designing and facilitating a Short Course in Ecosystem Approaches to Health for graduate students and professionals, and is a collaborative project amongst core researchers, adjunct ecohealth researchers around Canada and course alumni within CoPEH-Canada. The manual is comprised of a series of modules designed to support people in designing, developing and teaching their own ecohealth courses. The manual is available here!
June 16-June 27, 2012
Moncton, New Brunswick
Ecohealth Short Course 2012
CoPEH-Canada will be hosting an 11-day short course entitled Ecosystem Approaches to Health (Ecohealth) in conjunction with l’Université de Moncton (U de M) and University of Northern BC (UNBC).The 2012 short-course will include a combined 3 ½ day workshop and 11-day field school. The event will attract graduate students, professionals and professors/instructors from across Canada.
Upcoming June 11-14, 2012
Edmonton, AB
CoPEH-Canada/ Ecohealth activities at the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) Conference
Several CoPEH-Canada/ Ecohealth activities were held during the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) Conference in Edmonton this summer:
- Pre-Conference Workshop: “Strengthening Capacity and Valuing Career Pathways that Link Health, Ecosystems and Equity”
- COPEH-Canada Workshop Session: “Navigating the interface between social and environmental determinants of health through ecosystem approaches to health”
- Panel Presentation Session: “Ecosystem and Human Health: From CPHA’s 1992 Report to Rio+20 and Beyond”
- Breakfast Session: “Canadian Community of Practice in Ecohealth: Building Capacity for Ecohealth Research”
pm - 12:00 pm)
- Oral Abstract Presentation: “Getting our hands wet and dirty: Engaging with watersheds as ‘settings’ for intersectoral health actions in Northern BC
- Duration of the conference, Information Booth: UNBC School of Health Science Department / CoPEH-Canada / International Association for Ecology & Health (IAEH)
March 20, 2012
Vanderhoof, BC
World Water Day Community Gathering
An event entitled" Watersheds & Health: Working together to support health, environment, and community" was co-hosted by the UNBC-Northern Health Ecohealth & Watersheds in Northern BC Knowledge to Action project and the District of Vanderhoof.
See poster for more details about the event.
Read a great article about the event from a Vanderhoof local news website: Omineca Online.
February 3, 2012
Prince George, BC
Dr. Margot Parkes presented about “Ecohealth, OneHealth Global Health: Why Diversity, Emergence and Resilience are Key to Responding to Wicked Problems” at the University of Northern BC Natural Resources & Environmental Studies Institute Colloquium Series.
March 20-21, 2012
Vanderhoof, BC
Health, environment, and community information in watersheds: Making the connections through maps and spatial tools
The ‘Ecohealth & Watersheds in Northern BC Project’, hosted a two-day 'knowledge-to-action' workshop designed in response to the ongoing 'knowledge to action' challenge faced by many organizations as they try to keep up with rapidly expanding bodies of knowledge and information about health, environment, and community issues, along with rapid advances in the tools and techniques to collect, organize, integrate, and share this information in order to take action. It attracted practitioners, academics, professionals, and students from across BC. The workshop was co-designed by Scott Emmons (UNBC), Martin Bunch (York University), and Margot Parkes (UNBC), with input from the project Steering Committee.
