GET OUR YOUR CALENDARS

COFFEE HOUR: Oct 12th. 10:00-11:00 BGSA room

PUMPKIN CARVING: Oct 31st during the day (exact time/place TBA)

BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT SYMPOSIUM:  Nov 29th, Thomson House

   inc Equity and Diversity Workshop

           This is a very exciting and important new event that you are extremely encouraged (read:required) to attend (we will be contacting profs to explain your absence from lab as well).  This will be a department-wide symposium focusing on speed talks from newer students but also including some senior students.  In the afternoon (after a free lunch!) we will have a workshop on equity and diversity in science run by guest speakers from Ontario.  A detailed schedule will come shortly, and if you are interested in presenting a speed talk please contact Tyler Moulton or Sarah Baldwin.

HOLIDAY PARTY: Dec 8th, Thomson House

    Guaranteed fun

We invite you to the GeoSpectives lecture by Dr. Fikret Berkes sponsored by the Department of Geography, Ford Lab and Bennett Lab.

Topic:  “Social-ecological systems and conservation: Putting people back into the picture”

Abstract: Conserving biodiversity depends on our understanding of social systems and their interactions with ecological systems (social-ecological systems). This is because most of the world’s biodiversity is not in protected areas (PAs) but on lands used by people. As there are limits to the numbers and size of PAs that can be created, biodiversity can only be conserved in partnership with the people living with it. This seems to be one of the working assumptions of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) before that. The notion of PAs which are effectively and equitably managed, taking into account the rights and livelihood needs of local and indigenous peoples, is a radical departure from the notion of people-free PAs. The change is both controversial and relatively recent. Some experts think that the paradigm shift only occurred in 2003 or so. This seminar will examine controversies, people issues and trends in biodiversity conservation, with examples from various parts of the world.

Presented by:  Dr. Fikret Berkes, Distinguished Professor and Canada Research Chair, 
Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba

For more details about speaker: http://umanitoba.ca/institutes/natural_resources/Faculty%20Members/nri_aboutFB.htm

Date:  Wednesday, November 2^nd, 2016

Time & location: From 1:00 to 2:00 pm, Room 426, Burnside Hall Building, McGill Downtown campus