Freshwater and coastal ecosystems near urban areas are subject to multiple stressors, including the impacts of pollution. In particular, chemicals used in consumer products and industrial practices can negatively impact aquatic ecosystems when they are washed down the drains in our homes and workplaces, and when rain carries them from outdoor surfaces into storm drains and then into receiving waters. Of increasing concern are contaminants found in road runoff, including the tire rubber byproduct known as 6PPD-quinone, which is acutely toxic to coho salmon. This presentation will focus on 6PPD-quinone fate in urban stormwater, and the potential for green infrastructure systems to mitigate the impacts of toxic road runoff contaminants.
Dr.Rachel Scholes,Assistant Professor, UBC Environmental Engineering
Bio:
Dr. Rachel Scholes is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering at the University of British Columbia. Her research focuses on emerging contaminants in water, with an emphasis on nature-based treatment systems. She earned an M.S. and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University. Prior to joining UBC, she conducted postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Bioproducts Research Unit, where she focused on green chemistry approaches to mitigate emerging environmental contaminants.
Cities are currently home to the majority of the world’s population and to over 80% of Canadians, with this proportion expected to grow. This city-led growth in population and economic activities is accompanied by complex, interconnected environmental risks. One such risk is exposure to hazardous chemicals—residents of today’s cities are exposed to thousands of chemicals through the food they eat, the air they breathe, and the water they drink. Cities also export many of these chemicals downwind through the air and downstream through water, harming communities and ecosystems. In this talk, I will describe how the movement of chemicals through the urban environment is affected by the design of our built-environments, and how increased urbanization can mobilize many contaminants from air to water, with serious consequences for human and environmental exposure. I will also discuss the role of stormwater green infrastructure in ameliorating these exposures. Overall, improving our understanding of chemical behavior between and within cities could help us build better happier, healthier, and more sustainable cities and communities.
Dr. Tim Rodgers, NSERC postdoctoral fellow in IRES
Bio:
I am a Postdoctoral Fellow in IRES here at UBC working with Prof. Amanda Giang. My research looks at how we can use the ways that chemicals move through different environments to inform the design of policy and engineered systems to reduce chemicals impacts on people and ecosystems. My current projects include modeling the emissions, transport and fate of organophosphate esters (OPEs) from global megacities; and assessing how stormwater green infrastructure systems can protect salmon from 6PPD-quinone, a compound found in urban runoff.
This session will introduce graduate students to the resources and supports available at the University of British Columbia. We’ll also cover actionable steps you can take during your graduate studies to prepare for your job search, and how to get started: when to start applying for jobs, norms around the job search, and tips and strategies. There will be time for Q&A.
Dr.Danielle Barkley, Career Educator, UBC Career Centre
Bio:
Danielle Barkley, PhD, is a Career Educator who works with the UBC Career Centre to support graduate students at UBC. She completed her PhD at McGill University and has previous experience as a university instructor and writing consultant. Danielle is an accredited coach with the International Coaching Federation, and is currently working towards a certificate in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion with UBC Extended Learning.
Among the numerous ecosystem services provided by wetlands climate regulation is identified as one of their most important benefits to society. Wetland ecosystems play an important role in the global carbon cycle; they provide the ideal environment for long-term storage of atmospheric CO2, yet they are also the largest single source of methane. Climate change could increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wetlands, however, the consequences of rising temperatures on wetland GHG exchange remains uncertain. Furthermore, preventing further wetland loss and restoring wetland ecosystems has been identified as important in limiting future emissions to help meet climate goals. This talk presents research that combines field-based measurements, remote sensing, and modelling to provide new insights into the controls of wetland GHG fluxes across a range of spatial and temporal scales and quantify the potential climate benefits of wetland restoration and conservation.
Dr. Sara Knox, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography
Bio:
Dr. Sara Knox is an assistant professor in the Department of Geography at the University of British Columbia. She received a B.Sc. in Earth System Science from McGill University, a M.Sc. in Geography from Carleton University, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy and Management from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Knox leads the integrated GHG Research and Observations in Wetlands (iGROW) research program, which takes an interdisciplinary approach to provide a better understanding of how wetland responses to climate variability and restoration can feedback to slow or accelerate future climate change.
Agriculture is at the centre of society’s most pressing challenges, including food insecurity, climate change, and labour inequity. Organic agriculture, when practiced according to an ethic grounded in ecology, health, fairness, and care, has been proposed as a remedy to these challenges. However, there remain significant gaps in knowledge about how organic agriculture is practiced relative to the principles on which it was founded, especially the principle of fairness. Drawing from interviews, census data, surveys, and organic policy documents, I investigate how organic agriculture is shaped and enacted by organic community members at multiple scales to assess its contributions to fairness with a focus on labour. I found little evidence that organic certification translates to improved conditions for farmworkers in practice. At the same time, governance and social movement efforts show potential to advance a more just and sustainable agriculture.
Susanna Klassen, RES PhD Candidate
Bios:
Susanna is a PhD candidate at IRES and is co-supervised by Hannah Wittman and Navin Ramankutty. She is an interdisciplinary social scientist, and her doctoral dissertation looks at the contributions of organic agriculture to socio-ecological sustainability and fairness, with a focus on food policy, agroecological diversification, labour and justice. Susanna holds a BSc from McGill University and a MSc from UBC’s Faculty of Land and Food Systems. She lives on the traditional territory of the Tla’amin Nation on the lower Sunshine Coast of BC.
In city planning documents, the City of Vancouver’s eastern neighbourhoods are often mapped as “equity zones” and as “areas in need of resources.” With higher climate hazard risk (e.g., sea level rise) and higher socioeconomic vulnerability (e.g., low-income), these equity zones have become high-priority areas for improvements, such as green infrastructure (GI) solutions like street trees and rain gardens. In this research, I turn to Vancouver’s equity zones and ask: what are residents’ self-identified GI priorities, challenges, and aspirations? Two participatory workshops were hosted with residents who live in equity zones. Participants shared how GI projects can be adapted to meet their needs as renters, immigrants, low-income individuals, and families. Second, participants stressed that improved liveability (namely through public transit and affordable housing) can improve their experience with GI.
Taya Triffo, RES MA Student
Taya Triffo is a Master of Arts student with IRES (supervised by Dr. Leila Harris). She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the University of Regina, convocating with great distinction and the President’s Medal. Taya is interested in how communities work together to articulate and envision resource transformations. She has participated in advocacy for the 100% Renewable Regina project — both as a community facilitator and as a policy researcher. She has also worked with the Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region, University of Regina’s Community Engagement and Research Centre, and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture.
