Features

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

By Ashleigh Weeden, PhD candidate, School of Environmental Design & Rural Development

Depending on who you ask, Canada’s 44th election is either poorly timed or urgent, inconvenient or generation-defining.

While political engagement and participation don’t start or end at the voting booth, elections represent moments where the relationship between people and our governments feels incredibly close as well as precariously prone to rupture.

Julia Romagnoli, a 2016 graduate from the Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Animal Science program. She is the founder and curator of Pride in Ag and now works as a Production System Specialist for John Deere based in Guelph, ON. We recently chatted with Julia to learn more about her University of Guelph experience. 

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is a specialized United Nations agency based in Rome. It is an international financial institution and the UN’s food and agriculture hub. IFAD is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries globally. Canada and IFAD have a long-standing partnership to end poverty and hunger. Both are invested in inclusive and sustainable transformation, particularly for rural populations.

People living in rural Ontario have experienced significant declines in mental health, employment satisfaction and personal safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a University of Guelph study.

Dr. Leith Deacon, professor in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, conducted a large quantitative survey with United Way Perth-Huron and Salvation Army, Listowel. They aimed to provide data to policy makers on how rural populations in Canada are underrepresented in COVID-19 emergency management policies.

Two University of Guelph research projects that seek to understand current mental health challenges in farming and rural communities have received $287,804 in funding.

Both projects aim to improve service delivery.

Dr. Leith Deacon, School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, received $231,554 in Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance funding for a major survey on the mental health impacts of disruptive events in rural Ontario.

Nokom’s House research laboratory to be located on the University of Guelph campus will be a permanent, Indigenous land-based and community-engaged space, believed to be the first of its kind at a Canadian university.

Wellness and good relationships will be at its core, say organizers.

“Nokom” is abbreviated from “nokomis,” an Ojibway word that means “my grandmother.”

Like a grandmother’s home, it will be a welcoming, nurturing and safe place to learn, gather, create and take part in ceremony.

Gordon Bell, a graduate student in the School of Environmental Sciences (SES), is researching soil health and the effects of climate change.

Bell began working with Dr. Claudia Wagner-Riddle, a professor in SES, as a field technician while completing his undergraduate degree. This collaborative work in the Wagner-Riddle lab inspired him to pursue his master’s degree.

A study of microbes beneath the world’s seabed hints at the diversity and ecological importance of bacteria living in a little-known habitat that makes up one of the largest biospheres on Earth, according to a new study led by a University of Guelph researcher.

David Gabric (Associate Diploma in Turfgrass Management, 2006) started working at golf courses while studying history at U of G. After completing his undergraduate degree, he returned to U of G as a turfgrass management student to pursue his passion. After working in the golf course industry for several years, he now works as a horticulturalist. We recently chatted with him to learn more about his role and experience working at the Wascana Centre in Saskatchewan.

Livia Sente, a graduate student in the Department of Food, Agriculture and Resource Economics (FARE), brings a unique perspective to her academic life, which stems from her interdisciplinary approach to looking at the ‘big picture’.

“I enjoy seeing the whole picture, asking the bigger questions, and getting involved with multiple areas instead of specialization,” she shares. “Specialization is undeniably valuable, but so is a better understanding of the bigger puzzle that we are looking at and how everything is interconnected.”