News and Events

November 30, 2023: IRES Faculty Seminar with David Tindall

Explaining Who is Perceived as Influential in the Canadian Climate Change Policy Network: A Hybrid Network Approach Time: 12:30pm to 1:20pm Location: TBA No food or drinks allowed in the Theatre.  Click here to register for Zoom link. Zoom will be terminated if we encounter tech problems 5 to 10 mins into the seminar. Talk […]

The underappreciated benefits of wild bees

Bees both pollinate natural systems and are extremely important for agricultural crops. Freethink features Dr. Claire Kremen to discuss how all of the benefits provided by native bees may be at risk.

Canada gave out free money to help homeless people. It reduced rough sleeping and busted stereotypes

Dr. Jiaying Zhao is featured in Big Issue for busting stereotypes. Her study found that unhoused people are more likely to spend a lump sum of money on rent, food, housing, transit and clothes, despite public perception otherwise.

Sep 9: Science in the field special | CBC Radio

Dr. Timothy Rodgers is featured by CBC Quirks and Quarks for a study he co-authored that found specially designed gardens could reduce the amount of a toxic chemical associated with tires entering waterways by more than 90%

Sep 9: Science in the field special

Aaron Aguire, an IRES masters student, is featured by CBC for his time spent walking around the city of Vancouver, studying bats. He was trying to understand how bats use urban and natural landscapes in the city and how this impacts their diversity and abundance. He also spent a lot of time happily explaining his work to curious onlookers.

Canada study debunks stereotypes of homeless people’s spending habits 

The Guardian features a study led by Dr. Jiaying Zhao which found that unhoused people are more likely to spend a lump sum of money on rent, food, housing, transit and clothes, despite public perception otherwise.  

Scientists and poets agree – we love the smell of fresh rain

Postdoc Dr. Sahil Bhandari (mechanical engineering) is featured in the Province and Vancouver Sun for why we love the smell of fresh rain. "The smell of rain, especially after a long dry spell kind of tells me: ‘I can do agriculture, there’s water here. My survival is not going to be at risk in this area now.’ The brain is saying: ‘This is a good place to live. We can live here now.'”

Coral reefs ‘may not be as vulnerable to climate change as previously thought’

" High-frequency coral bleaching can be fully mitigated at some reefs under low-to-middle emissions scenarios where, for example, the Paris Agreement commitments are fulfilled". Dr. Simon Donner, an IRES professor, is featured in Express for his co-authored paper that found coral reefs in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean have increased their thermal tolerance and adjusted to higher ocean temperatures.

Is climate change as dangerous as doomists make it out to be?

Dr. Simon Donner, an IRES professor, is featured in a podcast by iheartradio for how his research shows that courage and openness to transformation is necessary for solutions to climate change, not fear and gloom.

For these researchers, an ideal summer night is spent chasing bats through Vancouver’s parks

Aaron Aguirre is featured on CBC as part of a specialized team spending the summer gathering more information about the city's urban bat population to protect the mammals — and their billion-dollar benefit to the economy — as one of the deadliest wildlife diseases in North America creeps closer to the coast.

Climate Solutions Research Collective- Position for Program Coordinator | Deadline: July 24, 2023

The Climate Solutions Research Collective is looking for a Program Coordinator to manage and administer the Collective, and assist in the development of new research collaborations and funding proposals.

10 Minutes to Save the Planet – Dude, where’s my alternative to cars?

If everyone drove 10% less in the US, it would be equivalent of taking almost 30 coal power plants offline in a year. How can these moments be something humans want to do? Dr. Jiaying Zhao discusses how to make this powerful action enjoyable.

Anticipating Canada’s crisis response decisions can save critical time in future wildfire seasons  

Today, both Canada and the United States are dealing with unprecedented levels of smoke from wildfires. And while forest management practices and climate change are partly to blame, so is the failure of governments to give people the right tools to make effective proactive crisis decisions. IRES’s Robin Gregory is featured by breaking down preparation to 3 crucial factors. (Featured image: mikhail serdyukov/ unsplash)

Canada and U.S. cooperation needed to solve our wildfire crisis

IRES professor Robin Gregory is featured in the Globe and Mail as he argues that reducing the threat and damage from wildfires can happen - but not without implementing the well researched forest management policies that are co-ordinated among all levels of government.

Rain gardens filter out tire toxin lethal to salmon, B.C. study shows

A study co-authored by Timothy Rodgers, Amanda Giang, and civil engineering researchers found that ​​specially designed gardens could reduce the amount of a toxic chemical associated with tires entering our waterways by more than 90 per cent. 

The Right to Repair Sustainability Forum | UBC Robson Square | July 29, 2023 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

A panel of experts discuss the real-world applications of their research on the challenges facing community repair cafés, local and international policy models for a circular economy, and built-to-fail bicycles & e-bikes, including IRES's PhD student Neha Sharma-Mascarenhas!

Vulnerable groups need more support with poor Toronto air quality, say climate experts

IRES professor Amanda Giang discusses how low income, immigrant populations are more exposed to air pollution and many lack the resources to protect themselves.

The Shipping Climate Crunch – We count on goods from around the world. But they come with a price.

The global shipping industry — including those ships at the Burrard Inlet — is making decisions right now that will determine whether it helps or hurts efforts to meet climate change goals, say IRES researchers Imranul Laskar and Amanda Giang in the Tyee

These young Canadians are banging down the government’s door asking for climate jobs

Manvi Bhalla and a group of peers deliver mock job applications to the constituency office of Carla Qualtrough. Their message is clear: young people want green jobs, and those jobs could help Canada meet its climate commitments.

Featured Panelist- Indigenous Feminist Movements Leading Climate Responses and Solutions – Evelyn Arriagada Oyarzún | June 7, 1:40 pm

IRES PhD student Evelyn Arriagada Oyarzún will be a featured panelist at The Together | Ensemble at UBC - Advancing the SDGs in BC which focuses on key cross-cutting themes relating to decolonization, climate justice, education, and just transition. Her talk will start at 1:40 pm