University of Waterloo Faculty of Environment

🎄🎄🎄 Did you know that the University of Waterloo is home to Canada’s first Christmas tree lab?🎄🎄🎄 Dr. Kelsey Leonard, professor in the Faculty of Environment is the director of the lab which was founded in 2022. There are 418 Christmas tree farms in Ontario and the farmers battle pests, rising temperatures, and extreme weather events, all of which adversely affect crop yield. Dr. Leonard conducts research on sustainability, climate change indicators and adaptive capacity in Christmas tree cultivation. “In countries like the United States, there are research extension programs that support the farmers in making advances to address industry science priorities from pest management to soil amendments. The creation of this lab is one step in providing Canadian farmers with similar support.” Read the article today! 👇 👇 👇

My team at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is hiring Co-op students for Junior Economist/Analyst roles! We’re looking for Master’s or PhD students with programming skills such as R, Python, and Julia to work on energy modeling and emissions analysis, and environmental policy. This is a great opportunity to apply your skills to real-world environmental challenges. For details, check out the attached poster, and don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. To apply, please submit all required documents by Friday, January 24, 2025, to the following email address: Coop.Ead@ec.gc.ca. #coop #energymodelling #EnvironmentalEconomics

Amongst the "Top 12 stories of 2024" from the University of Waterloo was “Study reveals Olympic Winter Games’ climate crisis", a news story that discusses a study led by Dr. Daniel Scott from the Faculty of Environment that highlights the growing threat climate change poses to the future of the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. If you missed the story, read it here: https://lnkd.in/gM5gEqEF

The City of Kitchener and GreenHouse at the University of Waterloo have teamed up to ignite youth-led climate action through Bloomberg Philanthropies’ $64,000 Youth Climate Action Fund. This initiative empowers young changemakers, ages 15–24, to create real solutions for their communities, from composting projects and sustainable trading platforms to flood preparedness and food insecurity workshops. “It’s important for youth to establish their sense of agency in climate change — to know their power, their voice and to engage in climate action," mentions Anna Marie Cipriani, M.A., MCIP, RPP, corporate sustainability officer, City of Kitchener.  "Allowing us to create processes that are representative of their demographic is important because they will be disproportionately impacted by climate change." More: https://lnkd.in/gw3YQvGD | #UWaterlooNews ----------------------------------------------- University of Waterloo Faculty of Engineering University of Waterloo Faculty of Environment University of Waterloo Faculty of Science

As 2024 comes to a close and no matter where you are or how you celebrate, we hope you can rest and recharge before January begins. Everyone has their unique ways of celebrating the holiday season and Dean Bruce Frayne reflects on his own South African traditions along with some reflections on the Faculty of Environment’s achievements, and his hopes for the year ahead. Please be safe, share in joy and generosity wherever you find it, and let’s look forward to a new year together 💚 Read his holiday message: https://lnkd.in/gAjyAzZV

Join us in congratulating Dr. Chantel Markle, Ph.D who is among the recipients of the Ontario Research Fund for her work on conservation and management strategies to address biodiversity loss in an era of global change. https://lnkd.in/g-9j4AWZ #UWaterloo

The University of Waterloo is excited to share that 22 researchers across five faculties have been awarded more than $10 million through the Ontario Research Fund (ORF) to tackle some of the most pressing challenges of our time. This funding supports projects that span sustainable 3D printing, 6G network advancements, and greener, more efficient electric vehicles—all with the goal of driving innovation and creating a brighter future. In addition to the ORF Research Excellence funding, 18 researchers received Research Infrastructure funding to advance innovative projects across health, environment, engineering, science, and mathematics. More: https://lnkd.in/gp74YfQ3 | #UWaterlooNews

We’re thrilled to share that the University of Waterloo has been ranked in the top 10% of universities worldwide for brand recognition in the Global University Visibility rankings developed by American Caldwell. Among Canadian universities, #UWaterloo stands out as: ▪️ #4 most popular website with 7.1 million visitors. ▪️ #5 largest social media following with nearly 700,000 followers. ▪️ #5 for news coverage with more than 8,500 news mentions. Globally, Waterloo ranks 64th, thanks to the remarkable achievements of our students, faculty, alumni, and the strength of our story which includes: ▪️ The world’s largest co-op program at a research-intensive university. ▪️ Canada’s #1 university for producing successful entrepreneurs. ▪️ Groundbreaking research and innovation shaping industries and communities. “Telling our story — showing the world what makes Waterloo unique — is an important priority in building strong global partnerships and recruiting the next generation of students,” says Eleanor McMahon (she/her), vice-president of University Relations. More: https://lnkd.in/gYQ2BENU | #UWaterlooProud 🖤 💛

University of Waterloo was recently recognized in the QS World University Rankings Sustainability ranking as being along the top 3% of campuses for its actions and achievements in sustainability in 2025. Among 1700+ participating institutions, this is an exciting achievement that speaks to the major efforts from so many people across campus, from world class research and teaching to major investments and commitments to operational improvements. Waterloo was ranked 60th overall, 96th in Environmental Impact, and 27th on Social Impact. There is of course so much more work to do, but this result (and even the fact that the ranking exists!) shows how important it is for higher education institutions to be at the forefront of our transition to a sustainable future. It has been exciting and humbling to be a part of this. Check out more: https://lnkd.in/g7SvteCr

🌍✨The Starfish Canada released their list of the '2024 Top 25 Environmentalists Under 25' winners.🌍✨ Amongst the list is Bethany Poltl, a student in Environment and Business in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. Bethany is a World Wildlife Fund Living Planet Leader, a See it Be it STEM it mentor, and an active contributor to sustainability initiatives like moderating the University of Waterloo Eco Summit and leading the University of Waterloo - United College green team (just to list a few of her significant contributions and achievements). Congratulations Bethany on this amazing accomplishment! #UWaterloo Read more about Bethany and the other winners here: https://lnkd.in/gys5wGCs