Hi everyone,

Happy New Year!  The IRES Seminar Series resumes on Thurs, January 9 with 2 IRES Postdocs presenting!

January 9, 2025: IRES Faculty Seminar with Dr. Adrian Lu and Dr. Justine Townsend

Time: 12:30pm to 1:20pm

Location: Beaty Museum Allan Yap Theatre (Basement, 2212 Main Mall). Please check in at front desk on main floor before going downstairs.

No food or drinks allowed in the Beaty Museum.

Available on Zoom

Trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services along landscape and local complexity gradients in the “Salad Bowl of the World”

(in-person presentation)

Talk summary:

Biodiversity and agricultural ecosystem services generally benefit from landscape and local scale habitat complexity, but trade-offs and synergies among different ecosystem services such as pollination, pest control, crop quality/yield, and soil health are crucial for land managers. Relationships between ecosystem function and habitat complexity can also be complicated by interactions between complexity at different scales. In California’s Salinas Valley region, the source of nearly half of the United States’ strawberries, previous work has shown that pest control by birds and arthropods, as well as abundance and diversity of these service providers, benefit from multi-scalar habitat diversity.  The current project aims to reveal how habitat complexity at different scales may be managed to sustain biodiversity and facilitate a suite of ecosystem services according to stakeholder priorities.

 

     Dr. Adrian Lu, IRES Postdoc

Bio:

Adrian is a Postdoctoral Fellow working with Claire Kremen to explore the synergies and trade-offs between multiple ecosystem services along multi-scalar habitat complexity gradients in California’s Central Coast strawberry growing region.  At IRES, Adrian seeks to cultivate a deeper understanding of the relationships among traditional resource management, biocultural diversity, and human well-being. Trained as an ecologist and attorney, Adrian’s perennial challenge is to transform scientific findings into advocacy for the interests of marginalized communities.

Legal tensions and opportunities illuminated by Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) in Canada

(virtual presentation)

Talk summary:

The Province of British Columbia (B.C.), like most jurisdictions in Canada, currently lacks a proactive policy and legal framework that recognizes and supports the establishment of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) by Indigenous Nations and communities in Canada. Indigenous Nations have inherent authority to establish IPCAs under Indigenous laws; however, without additional protection afforded by Crown policy and legislation, IPCAs can be vulnerable to resource extraction and development. Indigenous Nations who are establishing and governing IPCAs in B.C. have faced multiple legal challenges. To overcome some of the limitations of existing protected area legislation, some Indigenous Nations in B.C. and Canada have pursued a multiple designation approach that uses Indigenous legal orders to establish IPCAs and Crown legislation to establish Crown protected areas. Together, these designations can be mobilized to advance legally pluralistic approaches and strong co-governance models.

    Dr. Justine Townsend, IRES Postdoc

Bio:

Dr. Justine Townsend is a Postdoctoral Fellow investigating knowledge mobilization practices in the conservation sector through a decolonial lens. This builds on her doctoral research on the possibilities for reconciliation through Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) involving community-engaged research with three First Nations in B.C. She holds a joint position, IPCA Planning and Research Lead, with the IISAAK OLAM Foundation, an Indigenous educational organization, and Vancouver Island University (VIU). She teaches in VIU’s Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas Planning Certificate. A political ecologist by training, Justine has a background in environmental assessments and community engagement.

See you on January 9 in the Beaty Museum Allan Yap Theatre! 

_______________________________________________________________________________

Bonnie Leung

RES Program Support (she/her/hers)

Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability (IRES)

University of British Columbia | Vancouver Campus | Musqueam Traditional Territory

Aquatic Ecosystems Research Laboratory (AERL Building)

Room 429 – 2202 Main Mall | Vancouver, BC | V6T 1Z4 | Canada

 

Email: bonnie.leung@ubc.ca

Tel: 604-822-9249

Internal Deadline: January 24, 2025

Please let me know about your intention to apply by Jan 15h, 2024 

Indigenous Graduate Fellowship (IGF)

The Indigenous Graduate Fellowship (IGF) offers multi-year fellowships to Indigenous Master’s and Doctoral students in all disciplines. Award winners are selected on the basis of academic merit through an annual competition, administered by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Opportunities are also available for (i) Indigenous PhD students in their fourth year to apply for a fifth year of funding and (ii) for research Master’s and PhD students to apply for research funding, which are also outlined below.

Please note that a distinct application deadline has been set for candidates, February 14, 2025 at 4:00PM PT, and the graduate program nomination deadline to follow two weeks later.

Indigenous Graduate Fellowships competition

Each fellowship provides a stipend of $25,000 per year for Doctoral students or a stipend of $17,500 per year for Master’s students. Additionally, IGF recipients are eligible to receive tuition funding. Tuition funding will not exceed the current value of the standard Doctoral or Master’s degree tuition fees. In all cases, continued fellowship support is conditional on satisfactory academic progress. Recipients of Master’s fellowship funding must re-apply to be considered for Doctoral funding.

All Indigenous students are eligible to apply, but priority is given to Indigenous students whose traditional territory falls, at least in part, within Canada. This includes Canadian First Nations, Métis or Inuit students and may include Indigenous students from Alaska and other states of the USA. The University may request further information to confirm Indigenous eligibility. Since January 2023, the IGF is also open to students in professional and coursework-only Master’s programs.

• Application Deadline: February 14 2025, at 4:00PM PT
• Graduate Program nomination deadline: March 3 2025, at 4:00PM PT
• For complete application and nomination details, see
  https://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/indigenous-graduate-fellowships

Note: On the IGF Nomination Form, graduate programs will be asked if they intend to recommend their doctoral nominees for funding from the 4YF program. If so, and the nominee is subsequently ranked high enough to be offered IGF funding, the applicant will receive a “4YF-I” (same value as 4YF, $18,200) plus a $6,800 per year IGF stipend top-up for the duration of the 4YF-I, to a total value of $25,000 per annum. In such cases, the 4YF-G returns to graduate program and may be offered to a different student as the 4YF-I is centrally funded by G+PS. (Note: if the nominee is not ranked high enough to be offered IGF funding, the graduate program will be responsible for providing 4YF funding from their existing 4YF allocation.)

IGF 5th Year Award

Indigenous PhD students in their 4th year are able to apply for 5th year funding through the IGF 5th Year Award. The award, valued at $25,000 per annum plus tuition, is awarded on the recommendation of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies to full-time Indigenous doctoral students from all disciplines to fund their 5th year of study, where research involves community-engaged methodologies and approaches.

IGF Research & Engagement Award

Funding in support of research and travel expenses for Indigenous graduate students has been made available through the IGF Research & Engagement Award to current holders of the Indigenous Graduate Fellowship. Recipients of the award will be engaged in work that contributes directly or indirectly to community engagement and relationship building with Indigenous communities. Successful candidates will receive a minimum of $3,000 for Master’s students and a minimum of $5,000 for Doctoral students.  Additional funding may be offered depending on budget availability.

• Application deadline for both awards: February 14 2025, at 4:00PM PT

For information on eligibility and application procedures, including application forms, please consult the G+PS webpages linked above. For questions, please contact Bree Wilson at bree.wilson@ubc.ca.

The UBC Sustainability Scholars Program is again offering UBC graduate students the opportunity to work on funded sustainability and climate action related internships. Projects begin May 1, 2025. Current UBC graduate students from all academic disciplines and all UBC campuses are encouraged to apply.

Further information on the available internship projects can be found on the Sustainability Scholars Program web page. Applications close at 11:59 pm Sunday January 26, 2025.

I am also holding information sessions on January 15 and 16. Details about the application deadline and the information sessions are below.

I would greatly appreciate if you would please circulate the details provided below to your grad students. If you have any questions about the program or projects, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for your help in notifying your graduate students about these opportunities!

Warm wishes for the holidays!

Karen Taylor

P.S. If you would like to be removed from my circulation list or if this should go to someone else in your unit, please let me know.

**********

 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS – UBC SUSTAINABILITY SCHOLARS (PAID SUMMER INTERNSHIPS) 

The UBC Sustainability Hub is pleased to offer UBC graduate students the opportunity to work on funded sustainability internship projects.

We are currently accepting applications for 50 internships that will commence May 1, 2025. Current UBC graduate students from all academic disciplines are encouraged to confirm the eligibility requirements and apply.

Successful candidates work under the guidance of a mentor at one of our partner organizations, and are immersed in real world learning where they can apply their research skills and contribute to advancing sustainability and climate action across the region. Each Scholar receives $31.25 per hour to complete 250 hours of work.

For more information on the available projects and to apply, visit the Sustainability Scholars Program website.

Applications will be accepted until 11:59 pm Sunday January 26.

We also appreciate your help in circulating this notice to anyone in your grad student network that may be interested!

SUSTAINABILITY SCHOLARS PROGRAM INFORMATION SESSIONS

Are you interested in . . .

• applying your research skills to solving real-world sustainability questions and challenges?
• getting paid while gaining valuable professional work experience?
• developing applied sustainability skills and knowledge under the guidance of a mentor?
• building a professional network of sustainability practitioners?

 

If this describes you, please attend the Sustainability Scholars Program information session on January 15 at noon or January 16 at 5:00 pm. At the January 16 session representatives from several of our partner organizations will speak about the kinds of opportunities Scholars can have while working in the program. We will also have former scholars and mentors there to answer your questions about what you can expect as a Scholar and what kinds of benefits the program offers in terms of skills and job prospects.

 

Details and to register: https://sustain.ubc.ca/scholars-program-events

 

 

– – – – – – – – – –

Karen Taylor  MA (she, her)
Senior Manager, Sustainability Scholars & Strategic Implementation | Sustainability Hub
The University of British Columbia | Vancouver Campus | Musqueam Traditional Territory
2343 – 2260 West Mall | Vancouver BC | V6T 1Z4 Canada
Phone 604 822 9362 | karen.taylor@ubc.ca | https://sustain.ubc.ca/scholars

We finalized next term’s IBioS Graduate Student Seminar Series, and we hope you can share the schedule below with the students in your departments.

Upcoming Seminars: (see full seminar description here:  https://ibios.ubc.ca/events-2/upcoming-events/)

Research Blitz: Grad Students Share Their Research on Biodiversity Conservation

• January 14th | 3:30-4:30
• March 4th | 3:30-4:30

Professional Development

• Your Future, Your Plan: Reflecting on an Individualized Development Plan, January 20 | 12-1
• Research to Impact – Skills, Tools and Practices for Knowledge Exchange and Mobilization, March 10 | 12-1
• Reflecting on Truth and Reconciliation with Dr. Warren Cardinal McTeague, March 25 | 3:30-4:30
• Public Scholars Initiative – Information Session, April 7 | 12-1

Career Paths in Conservation

• Elizabeth Nelson’s Path to Becoming a Science Advisor for Parks Canada, January 28 | 3:30-4:30
• Tahia Devisscher’s Path to Nature-Based Solutions Research, February 10 | 12-1
• Cole Burton’s Path to Mammal Ecology Research, February 25 | 3:30-4:30
• Emily Rubidge’s Path to Marine Biodiversity Research, April 22 | 3:30-4:30

 

Registration link: https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e9RaC45XK6YOSlo

 

We also created a flyer that can be printed and hung on bulletin boards, shared in meetings, and distributed to students.

 

I appreciate your support. Please let me know if you have any questions.

 

Kindly

Conny

 

Conny Scheffler, (hear it pronounced) Dr. rer. nat. (she, her, hers)

Program Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Biodiversity Solutions Collaboratory (IBioS)

AERL 443, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver BC V6T 1Z4

conny.scheffler@ubc.ca | ibios.ubc.ca

Thursdays 1400-1700, starting Jan 9 2025                                                                  Kai M. A. Chan, @KaiChanUBC

 

Ecosystem Services (RES 508):

Exploring Value, Influence, and Transformation

How do ecosystems provide clean water, sustain livelihoods, and inspire cultural connections? How can these benefits guide decision-making in a world shaped by diverse values, worldviews, and relationships with nature?

In RES 508, we’ll explore the concepts of ‘ecosystem services’ and ‘nature’s contributions to people,’ integrating perspectives from ecology, economics, ethics, and other social sciences. This interdisciplinary course delves into the debates, tools, and transformative possibilities of a field at the crossroads of science, policy, and society.

Through weekly seminars and a collaborative project with a partner organization, students will analyze real-world cases and grapple with tough questions: Can the concept of ecosystem services break free from colonial, reductionist roots to become a force for system change?

Dr. Kai Chan brings over two decades of experience in these fields with The Natural Capital Project, People and Nature, IPBES (the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services), and more. Join us on a provocative journey into the science and politics of valuing nature—and reimagining its role in our future.

Learning Objectives and Outcomes

Students who complete this course will be able to:

1. Explain to policymakers and lay people how ecosystems are crucial for human well-being and relevant to many policies;
2. Communicate how social and environmental change might affect several ecosystem services (and thereby human well-being), and how this is known;
3. Critically and constructively review academic papers and research reports pertaining to ecosystem services;
4. Constructively critique programs, policies, and institutions that impact ecosystem services, based on efficiency, equity, and sustainability;
5. Advocate and support their views on the pros and cons of economic valuation of ecosystem services as alternative inputs to decision-making.

 

Course Description

Through participatory lectures, discussions, debates, role-plays, and workshops, students will:

• Learn the history of thinking on ecosystem services and new developments in policy;
• Characterize the ecological dynamics underpinning numerous key services, and their relationship with biodiversity conservation;
• Critique environmental policies to increase benefits relative to costs, or equity;
• Identify opportunities for profit from ecosystem services, and the feasibility of creating markets for them;
• Describe the opportunities and impediments to laws, regulations, and programs for ecosystem services;
• Evaluate decision-making processes and economic valuation in light of social, cultural, and ethical considerations;
• Apply these skills individually and in teams, demonstrating the learning objectives and outcomes through assignments and presentations, including a group final paper.