The Environmental Studies Association of Canada (ESAC) is an interdisciplinary professional organization of academics, professionals, both public and private, and engaged citizens. ESAC’s annual conference occurs concurrently with The Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences 2012, from May 30 – June 2, 2012 in Waterloo, Ontario.
University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario
May 30 – June 2, 2012
Environmental Knowledge: People and Change
The Environmental Studies Association of Canada (ESAC) is pleased to invite you to participate in its annual conference at the University of Waterloo as part of the Congress of the Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences 2012.
Bill McKibben will be this year’s keynote speaker at the ESAC Conference
Call for papers, panels and posters is January 20, 2012. NOTE: DEADLINE EXTENDED to February 20, 2012.
Register for the ESAC conference by first registering for Congress 2012.
Travel grants are available for students to get to and from Waterloo. Download the application form here and send it to esaceecom@gmail.com and esac@uwaterloo.ca by February 1st, 2012.
Download the ESAC Conference poster and post around your faculty or department (click image for full-size poster).
Join ESAC. Organize a panel. Present a paper. Create a poster.
If you are a student looking to attend the 2012 ESAC Conference in Waterloo, Ontario but need financial assistance to attend, look no further. Students are eligible to apply for travel grants to cover a portion of their transportation to and from the conference. Download the application form here and send it to esaceecom@gmail.com and esac@uwaterloo.ca by February 1st, 2012.
University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario
May 30 – June 2, 2012
Environmental Knowledge: People and Change
The Environmental Studies Association of Canada (ESAC) is pleased to invite you to participate in its annual conference at the University of Waterloo as part of the Congress of the Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences 2012.
As Canada’s leading association of interdisciplinary researchers and practitioners involved in a diversity of environmental fields, ESAC facilitates networking and dialogue across environment-related fields and practices. The 2012 ESAC conference provides a unique opportunity for delegates to take part in a lively exchange of ideas relating to sustainability among a broad range of students, academic researchers, members of NGOs, community groups, and the public and private sector academics, practitioners, policy makers, and activists.
We are pleased to announce a partnership with the Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication (EECOM). EECOM is Canada’s only national, bilingual, charitable network for environmental learning. EECOM works strategically and collaboratively to advance environmental to ensure Canadians are environmentally literate, engaged in environmental stewardship and contributing to a healthy, sustainable future.
As ESAC and EECOM collaborate with each other, the 2012 conference provides a unique opportunity for delegates to take part in a lively exchange of ideas relating to the environment among students, researchers, members of NGOs, community groups, the public and private sector, academics, practitioners, policy makers, and activists. All are encouraged to submit papers, panels or posters on a broad range of issues and case studies, including:
This year’s conference theme, “Environmental Knowledge: People and Change”, is reflected in the synergy of events at this year’s conference.
May 30: ESAC Opening Plenary and Program, Keynote Speaker in partnership with Alternatives Magazine: Bill McKibben of 350.org.
Making Ourselves Useful: Environmental Scholarship in an Unsustainable World hosted by ESAC and organized by Douglas MacDonald (UoT) and Tim Leduc (York). We hope to organize one or more panels to complement the conference on environmental scholarship. Papers on any aspect of that subject are invited.
May 31: Making Ourselves Useful, ESAC/EECOM Poster Competition and Wine and Cheese event
June 1: ESAC/EECOM joint programming
June 2: Joint ESAC/EECOM fieldtrips
The deadline for submissions is February 20, 2012.
Submissions should be made by email to esaceecom.2012@gmail.com (see detailed instructions below)
Submission instructions
Submissions could be for any of the following:
Submissions should include:
§ Object of study or theme of session
§ Theoretical framework, concept or research question/objective
§ Methodology or practice
§ Main conclusions
§ Relevance to the theme of environmental education and knowledge
Please E-mail general ESAC or EECOM submissions to esaceecom.2012@gmail.com
Please E-mail submission for Making Ourselves Useful to douglas.macdonald@utoronto.ca
All submissions will be evaluated by an ESAC conference committee and acceptance emails will be sent out in early March.
You must be an ESAC or EECOM member in good standing to present a paper, poster or panel at the conference.
All delegates should register at the Congress of the Federation of Humanities and Social Sciences
Conference registration begins in January 2012
ESAC Travel grants will be available to Graduate or Undergraduate students who are also ESAC members in good standing. You must complete and email the form available at esac.ca to chris.ling@royalroads.ca. Value of the grant awarded will depend on the number of eligible applicants; distance travelled and funding received by ESAC. Successful applicants will be notified with approximate grant value in early March.
*Publication of papers: ESAC is currently exploring options of publishing the proceedings of this year’s conference. Papers included in a proceedings publication will be peer reviewed prior to publication. To help solicit the level of interest in this project, please note in your proposal whether you would be interested in having your paper published as part of the ESAC Conference Proceedings.
Please visit www.esac.ca for further information and announcements.
For more information please email esaceecom.2012@gmail.com
Chris Ling and Shirley Thompson
ESAC 2012 Conference Chairs and Co-Presidents
The University of Waterloo’s Water Institute is hosting three of the world’s leading ecosystem specialists for a day of discussion on source water protection and restoration. “Innovations in Water Source Protection, Protected Areas, and Ecosystem Resilience” will take place on December 7, 2011. There will be a plenary in the morning that is open to the public and free of charge, followed by a series of workshops with the specialists to address, and develop possible solutions to, the issues brought up in the plenary.
Event Details:
Where: Environment 3, Room 1408, University of Waterloo
When: Wednesday, December 7: Plenary 9 a.m.-11:45 a.m. and workshops 1 p.m.-4:15 p.m.
Who: Keith Bowers (Former chair of the Society for Ecological Restoration International; founder and president of Biohabitats); F.Stuart (Terry) Chapin III (Professor Emeritus of Ecology in the Department of Biology and Wildlife at the University of Alaska Fairbanks; past-president of the Ecological Society of America); Jim Harris (Professor and chair in Environmental Technology at Cranfield University in Bedfordshire, UK)
The plenary is free, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Registration is required for the workshops. To reserve your spot, send a $20 cheque payable to Stephen Murphy. Fees will be put towards the food provided at the workshop.
Address:
Stephen Murphy
Department of Environment and Resource Studies (ERS),
University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West
Waterloo ON Canada
N2L 3G1
The Environmental Studies Association of Canada office is proud to be a stop on the “Passport to Sustainability” tour. The aim of the tour is for World Accord to introduce citizens to local partners in sustainability around the Waterloo Region; from Cambridge all the way to Stratford. Simply pick up a ballot at any participating location and collect stamps from at least four local partners for the chance to win a dinner for two with David Suzuki, or a week long trip to Honduras. The “Passport to Sustainability” tour is ongoing until October 15th, when the winner of the prize will be drawn at St. Jacob’s Market. Stop by the Environmental Studies Association of Canada at the University of Waterloo and say “Hi!”
More information on “Passport to Sustainability” can be found here.
ESAC members enjoyed an enthralling panel session at the 2011 Conference in Fredericton entitled ‘Where Art and Environment Intersect’, where they had the chance to explore the complex interconnections between art and the natural world. This stimulation panel discussion took place at the University of New Brunswick Art Centre, where ESAC members experienced firsthand two exhibitions by Fredericton artist Deanna Musgrave, examining the nature of water in Tropos and Liquid Measure.
Noteworthy artists who participated in the session include: Deanna Musgrave, Jennifer Pazienza and Janice Wright Cheney.
Tropos (2010) by Deanna Musgrave
“Deanna Musgrave’s paintings are investigations into the juxtaposition of visual structures, which have an inherent suggestion of sound. Her paintings could be described as a synesthesic landscape in constant fluctuation.”
Summer 2009 by Jennifer Pazienza
“Pazienza’s paintings are born from a perceptual process that involves dissolving the body and re-integrating it with the landscape at an elemental level. Her aesthetic perceptions transcend material and place to lift the viewer to a rich reciprocal regard for the interconnections between matter and spirit, mind and the land.”
Four Coy Wolves (2010) by Janice Wright Cheney
“Janice Wright Cheney’s textile-based installations investigate the cultural and historical ideas that shape western understandings of nature. She is particularly interested in the ordering of nature in museums and textbooks, analyzing how nature is made safe and knowable by science.”
If you missed out on the 2011 ESAC Conference in Fredericton, NB, you can now watch all of the Big Thinking Lectures from the comfort of your armchair. Two of the lectures are of particular interest to the environment: David Adams Richards on “Threatened Identity: What do we lose when we lose the sense of place?” and Andrew Weaver on “How Do We Build Resilient Communities in the Face of Climate Change?”
Watch them now!
Over 40+ people attended the Wine and Cheese Social held at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton, NB. The Beaverbrook is home to some of the later works of Salvador Dali, including the awe-inspiring Santiago El Grande (1957). The monumental masterwork (measuring 407.7 cm x 304.8cm) captivated many of our members, making it hard to walk away from such compelling detail and presence.
ESAC members had the night to unwind and reflect on the presentations and panel discussions they had attended earlier in the day with their fellow environmental colleagues from across the nation. The Wine and Cheese Social also marked the announcement of the 2011 winners of ESAC’s Annual Poster Contest. Read more on the Poster Contest here.
Observing the entries for the ESAC Poster Contest
Enjoying the wine, cheese and company at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery.
Watching the announcement of the poster contest winner, Durdana Islam.
“I really found the conference valuable for connecting with other environmental scholars from across Canada and learning about the diverse research occurring within the field. All of the speakers were excellent, the setting was beautiful and being part of the Congress truly makes you feel like part of the wider academic community.” -Emily McMillan, Secretary
“The presentations at ESAC 2011, although broad in research interests, created a cohesive multidisciplinary discourse on timely environmental issues. Panel discussions stood out especially well as they facilitated thought provoking insight into what continues to be complex and challenging concerns pertaining to the sustainability of Earth’s social and biophysical systems.” – Kira Jade Cooper, Member at Large
