Environmental Studies

A group of fourth year environmental studies students were challenged by Professor Kristen Lowitt to address food security issues within the local Kingston community as part of the Special Topics in Environmental Science course.

The result was six experiential learning projects that examined the impacts of COVID on the local food system, developed a local food strategy for Kingston, created lesson plans for food literacy, and developed land tenure models for Indigenous food sovereignty.

With the announcement of the Standing Whale project last fall, the Faculty of Arts and Science is preparing to offer students in the humanities, social science, creative arts and natural sciences the opportunity to engage with this unique art installation through the interdisciplinary projects course ASCX 400.   

It’s plan selection time in the Faculty of Arts and Science. Students are busy making the important decision of which area of study they wish to pursue during their time at Queen’s University.

From now until May 27, students who have completed 24 units or more must declare their plan in SOLUS. For upper-year students this may involve requesting to change their degree program.

Environmental DNA is becoming a mainstay for non-invasive, reliable, and cost-effective surveys of at-risk and invasive species, pathogen detection, and biodiversity assessment.

A total of 502 student-athletes have been named Academic All-Stars, including 206 undergraduate and eight graduate students from the Faculty of Arts and Science, an increase of 40 over last year in FAS. These student-athletes have achieved an 80 per cent average (3.5 GPA) or above over the past academic year and compete on a varsity team or varsity club.

Queen’s University researchers and partners are monitoring the health and movements of polar bears in an innovative approach to studying climate change in the Arctic.

International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2021 is an opportunity to recognize the achievements of women working in science and the motivation they are providing for young women just beginning or in the early stages of their careers.

The Faculty of Arts and Science celebrates 166 student-athletes as all-stars

A total of 426 student-athletes have been named Academic All-Stars, including 166 from the Faculty of Arts and Science. These student-athletes have achieved an 80 per cent average (3.5 GPA) or above over the past academic year and compete on a varsity team or varsity club.

This is a record high number and places Queen’s among the top five schools in Canada for the number of Academic All-Stars.

This year, 18 researchers from across the Faculty of Arts and Science were named as recipients of Insight Grant funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). 

A recent collaborative research project between scientists from academia and government agencies has identified climate warming as the dominant driver of an increase in algal growth in the Athabasca oilsands region of northern Alberta.

Researchers used dated lake sediment cores to reconstruct past algal production and industrial impact at 23 remote, helicopter-accessed lakes in the oilsands region. Snowpack samples were also used to determine the nutrient deposition across the landscape.

Joining colleagues and conservationists from around the world, Dr. Stephen Lougheed (Biology and Environmental Studies) recently traveled to China to deliver public talks for Shanghai International Nature Conservation Week and the grand opening of the Shanghai Museum of Natural History.

Dr. Stephen Lougheed is also the Director of the Queen's University Biological Station. 

Queen’s University professor Peter Hodson has joined a new Royal Society of Canada panel that will study oil spills and their impacts on freshwater and marine environments.

Peter Hodson has been named to a new Royal Society of Canada panel dedicated to studying the impact of oil spills.

Queen’s University today announced the creation of a “two-plus-two” degree program, in partnership with China’s Tongji University.

The program will see Tongji students study for two years at its College of Environmental Science and Engineering in Shanghai, before coming to Kingston for two years of study in Queen’s School of Environmental Studies. Graduates will earn a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental science from Queen’s.

Sophie Kiwala, M.P.P. for Kingston and the Islands would like to invite all Queen's students to join her for the announcement of the re-introduction of the Invasive Species Act on Friday, November 7th at 11:30am in Room 3110 of Queen's Bioscience Complex, 116 Barrie Street.

Invasive species such as zebra mussels and phragmites cost the province tens of millions of dollars a year. Others not yet in Ontario, such as Asian carp and the mountain pine beetle, are serious ecological and economic threats.

Nine Queen’s University faculty members have been elected to the Royal Society of Canada, the highest number of inductees the university has had in one year. Fellowship in the RSC is one of the highest recognitions for Canadian academics in the arts, humanities, and the social and natural sciences. Seven of the nine electees are from the Faculty of Arts and Science!

Queen’s University scientist Dr. John P. Smol goes deep below the surface of our lakes and rivers to uncover the secrets of our environmental history, written in mud and silt. His collaborator and half-brother, Dr. Jules Blais, is a University of Ottawa environmental toxicologist who studies the effects of industrial pollutants on ecological systems. Dr. Blais’ toxicological work helps define past environmental stressors, while Dr. Smol’s ecological work characterizes the ecosystem responses to these stressors.