News

The first round of the National Student Evaluation Case Competition, takes place this Saturday, February 6th, 2016 in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development.  As some of you may know, Rural Planning and Development students from this department have a bit of a reputation for winning this competition (2009, 2002, 1999, & 1998). This annual Canadian competition has established a reputation as a dynamic, hands-on opportunity for post-secondary students to learn about evaluation.

Canada has a long history of accepting refugees from around the world, and many of these refugees have come together in communities that form the diverse backbone of the Canadian population. With them they have brought new foods to the Canadian dinner plate, and products such as okra, eggplant and bok choy are now grown in Canada and enjoyed by Canadians of all cultures.

“We share culture and richness through food,” shares Valencia Gaspard, a first year student in the Rural Studies PhD program. “Food can be used to build communities and bring people together.”

In December 2013, members of Wayne Caldwell’s and Jennifer Ball’s Community Engagement class became involved with a community revitalization strategy in Vanastra, Ontario. After a successful Business Retention and Expansion (BR+E) initiative, the task of the students was to explore more closely what some of these revitalization strategies might look like for the Village.

"Meet Alex, MLA Student" is a recent graduate student profile on Alex Waffle who is one of our current Master of Landscape Architecture students.  See the Ontario Agricultural College article here.

The Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation (LACF) announced the recipients of its 2016 grants in support of research, communication and scholarship.   

Master of Landscape Architecture student, Emily French received a $2,000 grant for her thesis research on "Designing Seismic Resilient Landscapes".  

It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of our former SEDRD colleague, Dr. Mark Waldron. Mark has had a long and varied career. He started his professional life after graduating from McGill University as an agricultural extension agent in Lanark County and later joined the CBC as a farm commentator covering agriculture across Canada. In 1963, Mark returned to his alma mater as Director of Extension and in 1967, he was named associate director of Continuing Education for McGill University.

MLA student Adele Pierre presented a paper at the GIS Education & Research Conference hosted by ESRI Canada at Hart House, University of Toronto on November 30, 2015. The practice of Landscape Architecture is being transformed through the use of technology, and students are in a unique position to experiment with new software programs, particularly those integrating GIS data with 3D modelling.

On November 9, 2015, faculty and students gathered at the University of Guelph to present this year’s Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation (LACF) Andre Schwabenbauer Scholarship Awards.   Congratulations to landscape architecture students Emily French from the MLA program and Michelle Peeters from the BLA program who were the 2015 recipients.

MLA Award Recipient:  Emily French

Aislin Livingstone was recently awarded the 2015 Peter Klynstra Memorial Scholarship.  Aislin is a second-year Master of Landscape Architecture student in the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, University of Guelph.  The award recognizes Aislin’s ties to Atlantic Canada and her passion for the profession, which she has demonstrated in her academic work, employment and volunteer activities.