School presentation program:
Science First has a goal of placing 101 scientists in 101 classrooms throughout Manitoba. Beginning in May, 2023 teachers from K - 12 will be invited to log in to our scientists database and choose the speaker and the topic to match their curriculum needs. We will emphasize a diversity of participating scientists including women, indigenous and minority groups to allow for a broader set of relatable experiences and backgrounds for the students.
Program details coming May, 2023.
Markus Brinkmann is a scientist at the University of Saskatchewan studying contaminants in aquatic organisms, including the influence of environmental and physiological factors, results from global change, and translating lab studies into real-life situations. Markus uses an interdisciplinary approach, using toxicology, environmental chemistry, and hydrology, to explore these problems. He earned a PhD at Aachen University in Germany, before becoming a research associate at the Department of Ecosystem Analysis, Institute for Environmental Research, at Aachen University. In 2018, he became an assistant Professor in Exposure and Risk Assessment Modelling in the School of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Saskatchewan. He is also Faculty of the Global Water Futures (GWF) Programme, and the newly appointed Director of the Toxicology Centre and the Global Institute for Water Security (GIWS).
Scott Higgins
Research Scientist, IISD-ELA
International Institute Sustainable Development (IISD)-Experimental Lakes Area
Dr. Higgins is a Research Scientist at the IISD-Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA), a whole-ecosystem research program based in northwestern Ontario, Canada focused on finding solutions to water-quality problems. He has worked at the Experimental Lakes Area since 2010, first with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and then with the IISD-ELA. His primary research interests focus on algal ecology, aquatic invasive species and the effects of climate change and contaminants on lake ecosystems and he has participated in many large collaborative projects on lake eutrophication, fish productivity, water diversion, climate change, and contaminants. He has authored or co-authored over 50 peer-reviewed scientific publications and book chapters and is an adjunct professor at several Canadian universities.
Elder Florence Paynter
Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) and Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba (TRCM)’s Council of Elders and Speaker Bureau
A Member of the Sandy Bay First Nation Treaty Territory 1 and a Norway House Cree Nation Treaty Territory 5A. Florence is a fourth degree Mide Anishinabekwe and holds a Masters Degree in Education from the University of Manitoba. Florence speaks Anishinabe fluently and has been involved in many language and cultural initiatives and ceremonies. She helps teach the cultural and spiritual knowledge and traditions of the Anishinabe people. Florence attended residential school and works hard to teach about the history of her people, the legacy of Indian residential schools, and its impact on Indigenous people.
Ali Khan
Canadian ambient artist
For World Water Day 2023, Canadian ambient artist Ali Khan brings his music to the Manitoba Museum. Ali integrates nature, electronics, minimalism and deep listening into a sound that invites listeners to slow down and just be. Ali is celebrated internationally for his meditative compositions and flowing approach to sound design on more than 20 album projects, which he releases using the stage name, Yoyu. For this event, Ali has curated a collection of water recordings from friends and field recording artists worldwide, including Bali, Iceland, Australia, UK, USA, Brazil, and more. Pure sounds of water in natural settings – streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans are looped and processed with Ali’s live electronic instrumentation. Through immersive sound, listeners are connected with the beauty of water and the importance of water security for all beings.
Tickets are $15 for the General Public, and $10 for Museum Members - click here to purchase tickets.Find the full event itinerary here:
https://manitobamuseum.ca/event/world-water-day-2023-public-event
More info:
Featuring:
Curt Hull - Project Director - Climate Change Connection
"Hydro has published estimates of the power and energy required to heat all of our buildings and fuel all of our vehicles electrically. Roughly speaking, those estimates call for a doubling of current generation. This has been justification for some to throw up their hands and say “See, it can’t be done”. We beg to differ. Not only must it be done, we believe that the analysis in Road to Resilience: Energy Solutions shows that it can be done. And it can be done without experimental technologies, new dams, or nuclear."
Department of Political Studies, Master of Science
Research affiliate of the University of Manitoba's Geopolitical Economy Research Group (GERG) (www.geopoliticaleconomy.org). Former Principal Economist with the Greater London Authority, England. Researches the Creative economy, the theory of value, Development Economics, Econometrics and Labor Economics. With Radhika Desai edits the 'New Cold War' website (www.newcoldwar.org) and co-directs GERG His academia website is at www.geopoliticaleconomy.academia.edu/AlanFreeman.
Venue: Winnipeg Free Press Cafe - 237 McDermot Ave
Time: 7pm - 9pm
Cost: Free to members, $10 to the public
Food: Free delicious appetizers provided for all attendees
Register: [email protected]
More info:
Join the UM Faculty of Science and Science First for an exciting lineup of FREE Virtual Public Talks in celebration of Science Literacy Week, Sept. 20 – 26, 2021.
Moderated by Dr. Brian Mark, Dean, Faculty of Science.
Event info:
-Come join UMSU, UMSU Green Team, Science First & Green Pack for a Zoom Webinar with Q & A.
-The event is open to the public/members of each constituency and are focused on the environment.
-UMSU Green Team’s aim is to promote and educate people on and around the campus of the University of Manitoba about the sustainable use of resources.
-GreenPAC is a non-partisan, non-profit that aims to promote environmentally conscious elected officials.
-Science First is a Winnipeg based non-profit that organizes events and media campaigns that promote science literacy, publicly funded science, ecological conservation and evidence based policies. Science First is a non-partisan advocacy group that aims to reduce and counter disinformation & misinformation to better strengthen our democracy.
-This specific Town Hall will have a sustainability theme and we’ll be taking questions from attendees related to the MP’s plans to promote environmental responsibility in the commons. As well, there will be questions on their plans for specific environmental concerns in their constituencies.
Date: May 20, 2021
Time: 7:00pm
Host: TBA
Discussion with:
-Terry Duguid
One of the goals of this event is to discuss how people can identify trusted sources of information and to help those around them avoid being duped by misinformation and disinformation. Additionally, we'll speak about new fact checking features on social media and the various problems advanced technologies are creating with misinformation in general. We'll also cover some different angles including predatory journals, fake news, political interference, AI bots etc.. This will be the first in a series of events over the next year promoting digital literacy, science based policies and ecological conservation.
As a keynote speaker, Ramona addresses international audiences on issues related to media, creativity, technology and social shifts. To date, she has advised diverse industries including various sectors in media, journalism, gaming, manufacturing, agriculture, insurance, social media and technology on understanding the new power structures of a data-driven economy, and surviving and thriving in an age of automation.
Ramona has spoken at events including Social Media Week, SXSW, NXNE, TEDx, Ignite, the World Future Society, the Toronto International Film Festival, Idea City, and Tribeca Interactive. Her work has been featured at i-docs in Bristol, UK, Power to the Pixel in London, UK, Sheffield Doc Fest, Hot Docs, and at TFI Interactive, part of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
Ramona is a technology columnist for CBC News and CBC Radio, with a weekly syndicated column on the social side of tech, examining the ways in which digital culture is changing every aspect of our lives, cities, and work.
Also featuring guest speakers:
Geoff Dembicki (New York)
Investigative climate reporter. Stories in @VICE @TheTyee and others. Author of 'Are We Screwed'?
Andrew Park (Winnipeg)
Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Winnipeg
https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/biology/people/faculty-staff/andrew-park.html
Event details: Online Zoom Event
March 3rd, 2020
Dianne Saxe is president of Saxe Facts, a business providing strategic advice and presentations on climate, energy and environment. She has given hundreds of well-received presentations across Ontario and beyond. Follow her on Twitter (@envirolaw1) and LinkedIn.
From 2015 to 2019 Dr. Dianne Saxe was the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO), an office that has since been abolished. She was appointed unanimously by all MPPs to report to the Legislature on Ontario’s environmental, energy and climate performance, and to be the guardian of the Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR). During her term, she improved the effectiveness of the Environmental Bill of Rights, increased public understanding of the urgency of climate change, and issued highly praised reports on a wide range of environmental, energy and climate topics.
Prior to her appointment, Dr. Saxe was one of Canada’s most respected environmental lawyers, with 40 years’ unparalleled experience writing, interpreting, and litigating Ontario’s energy and environmental laws. Dr. Saxe's career began with the Ontario Public Service and two major Bay Street law firms. She then established one of Canada’s top environmental law firms.
A Certified Environmental Law Specialist, Commissioner Saxe was recognized by all major legal rating services, including acknowledgement as one of the world’s top 25 environmental lawyers by Best of the Best, 2008 and as Best Lawyers’ first Environmental Lawyer of the Year for Toronto. Her numerous honours include the Award for Distinguished Service, the highest honour granted by the Ontario Bar Association; and the Gold Key Award for exceptional lifetime professional achievement, granted by Osgoode Hall Law School Alumni. Diane will speak about her experiences inside & outside of government and comment on current trends in climate policy & politics as we head towards a federal election this October.
Dr Mark Hudson
"My research focuses on the relationships between human societies and nature. I have primarily been interested in the ways in which capitalism, as a globalizing, dominant mode of production, structures human relationships with the natural world. This includes research on issues normally characterized as ‘environmental,’ such as oil sands extraction, climate change, and forest management, but my research also pushes into the broader question of how the organization of production and distribution through the primary mechanism of markets affects the sustainability of human relationships with the non-human."
Marianne’s is a health educator who started in recreation, sport, and fitness leadership but now champions community development. A focus on the social and ecological determinants of health is a common thread through her diverse roles. Marianne has been a high school guidance counselor, a government youth consultant, a Member Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, including Opposition Environment Critic. As a community advocate/mentor, she created a women’s empowerment program that was recognized as a top women’s leadership program in Canada. She has been a community animator/organizer, policy analyst,as well as a university contract faculty and college instructor in CD and CED. At UWinnipeg she organized contract faculty to form a union and negotiated their first contract. Marianne envisions green labour and green jobs as a solution to the climate crisis.
The recently announced “Marianne Cerilli Trail” recognizes her work to shift investment from vehicle infrastructure to active transportation infrastructure through the Transcona Trail Association which she initiated as MLA. Marianne’s current freelance consulting in community development emphasizes process design,using outside the box thinking,methods and engagement tools to create healthy organizations and healthy communities. She is passionate about linking personal empowerment with social innovation to transform systems for social change to a more equitable, sustainable, and peaceful world. Marianne is also a mother, poet, outdoor adventurer, and is currently the Chair of the Wolseley Resident Association in Winnipeg.
GEOFF DEMBICKI - Author of "Are We Screwed?"
Geoff Dembicki is an award-winning independent journalist and author. He is a regular contributor to VICE and The Tyee. His work also appears in outlets like the New York Times, Foreign Policy and the Guardian. Dembicki's first book, Are We Screwed? How a New Generation is Fighting to Survive Climate Change, was published internationally by Bloomsbury in 2017. It's won several awards, including the 2018 Green Prize for Sustainable Literature.David McLaughlin is IISD’s Director of Climate Change – Canada. With over 30 years of public policy experience in national and provincial government and the private sector, David is a Canadian policy expert on energy, economy, environmental and intergovernmental policy issues.
In his capacity as a public official, David has served as Chief of Staff to the federal Minister of Finance, the Premier of New Brunswick and former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. He has served as New Brunswick’s Deputy Minister of the Commission on Legislative Democracy, Policy and Planning, and Intergovernmental Affairs. Most recently, after running the PC Party of Manitoba’s election campaign in 2015–16, David served as Senior Advisor, Climate Change in the Premier’s Office for the Province of Manitoba.
In his sustainable development work, David has served as Strategic Advisor on Sustainability, Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo from 2013 to 2015 and President and CEO of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (2007–12).
Globe & Mail Article: October 9th 2018October 3rd, 2018 - MANITOBA'S CARBON TAX - Investing in Our Future?
Venue: The Fairmont Hotel - Harrow Room Guest speakers confirmed: Nazim Cicek PhD, PEng Colin Fast Terry Shaw Curt Hull Rob Altemeyer Robert Elms President Please remember to register to attend by emailing us at [email protected] This evening will be a critical review of the current "Made-in-Manitoba" plan for the carbon tax to be put solely towards tax breaks and/or PST reduction: |
July 11th, 2018: Lake Winnipeg Watershed - Science & Policy Update
