Labrador Institute post-doctoral research fellow Dr. Rachel Hirsch, prepares some Arctic char for Nain’s community freezer.

Rachel Hirsch, the 2012 post-doctoral research fellow at the Labrador Institute, is learning something new every day from her co-workers in Nain.

“I try to approach new situations with my “eyes wide open” and to expect the unexpected … as I learn and meet new people I feel more connected to a place,” she said. “Everyone I have met – both in Goose Bay and Nain – has been more than somewhat extraordinary. My co-workers at the Nain Research Centre are some of the most dedicated, hard-working people I have ever met. I feel very blessed.”

Dr. Hirsch is focusing her efforts on helping to develop and evaluate a pilot youth outreach program in Nain through the Nain Research Centre and Community Freezer Program (CFP).

 The following appeared on March 13, 2012 in YFile.

Planet in Focus and York University present: the Focus on Sustainability Film Festival

Mar 19, 2012, 10am-5pm

Planet in Focus with York University present: Focus on Sustainability Film Festival,  an annual event with its premiere theme on water. This entertaining and educating experience features domestic and foreign documentaries, a panel discussion with filmmakers, activists and academics, as well as prizes provided by Mountain Equipment Co-op.

Join us in the York University Senate Chambers from 10am to 5pm. Now only $2 for all-day access!

The films include:

• Water on the Table (http://vimeo.com/14300743)
• White Water, Black Gold (http://vimeo.com/17123122)
• Carbon for Water (http://vimeo.com/30365384)
• The Clean Bin Project (http://vimeo.com/3301133)

This festival is brought to you by the Osgoode Environmental Law Society (ELS), Planet in Focus, The Institute for Research and Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS), and The Climate Consortium for Research Action Integration (CC-RAI). Many thanks to our supporters: The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) and The Centre for Human Rights.

Visit our websites for updates: http://planetinfocus.org orwww.irisyorku.ca/film-fest.

The following appeared on March 8, 2012 in YFile.

Is peace-building through environmental cooperation possible in the Middle East? Panellists will discuss this next week at an Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS) Speakers’ Series event.

The Environmental Cooperation and Israel-Palestinian Peace event will take place March 15 at 1pm at 280A York Lanes, Keele campus.

Environmental cooperation has been much-lauded as a force of peace in the Middle East and has been leveraged in support of Track I peacemaking processes between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. It has been pursued as a practice of peace-building, valued for its ability to foster partnership-building, cooperation, identity change and sustainability. Still, the Israel-Palestinian conflict persists, even manifesting through cooperative environmental relations.

Panellists Eric Abitbol (right), an international development, peace-building and dialogue researcher-practitioner, and Stuart Schoenfeld (left), chair of the Department of Sociology at York’s Glendon College, will present and discuss the issue.

The following originally appeared in YFile, on Wednesday March 7, 2012.

Difficult issues, such as climate change and poverty, are highly complex and defy traditional problem-solving approaches. York’s Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS) will tackle how to transcend the typical interdisciplinary research barriers to find solutions to these problems at its upcoming research showcase.

Transcending Interdisciplinary Research Barriers: Best Practices for Mobilizing Knowledge will take place Thursday, March 8, from 10:30am to 12:30pm, at 1002 Osgoode Hall Law School, Keele campus. Anyone who can’t attend the event in person can join electronically here.

Several speakers from the natural and social sciences, who have sought to move out of their comfort zones – their labs, field sites and libraries – will examine the issue of overcoming interdisciplinary barriers, as well as the power of interdisciplinary approaches. These approaches are widely touted by all universities and colleges today, although they have seldom been critically examined.

The following originally appeared in YFile on Wednesday March 7, 2012.

Help develop a plan for improvements to the physical environment to reduce barriers and increase accessibility at York University. Fill out the Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS) campus sustainability survey on accessibility and the built environment – Building the York University Community. All York students, staff and faculty are invited to participate. The survey is open until March 14. Fill it out for a chance to win a $75 gift certificate from the York University Bookstore. To complete the survey online, click here.

About the survey:
Because of the age of buildings and the size of the University, the work to reduce barriers and increase accessibility is expected to take place over several years. By completing the anonymous survey, you can help to identify needs and priorities. The information collected from this survey will help shape plans and priorities for improvements to the physical environment at York.