Skiing, snowshoeing, stargazing and bird-watching are just a few items on the winter menu at local parks.
Winter in the West Island is a time when nature and leisure activities can dovetail beautifully.
Robert Prairie, a patrol leader at Morgan Arboretum, heads a team of volunteers that help to ensure a safe and fun experience for the many individuals and families who enjoy recreational destinations in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue.
In 2019 — with the help of the Borlaug Training Foundation — [Germination] put out the call to plant breeders asking them what they would do if they had $10 million to make the world a better place. Valerio Hoyos-Villegas, pulse breeder at Ď㽶ĘÓƵ, answered the call. He tells his story about how growing up around the coffee farms of Colombia set him on the path to helping feed the planet. Hosted by Germination editor Marc Zienkiewicz.
Les producteurs semblent plus heureux au travail que la majorité des Québécois. En effet, l’agriculture se positionne au 10e rang des 70 professions et métiers classés au palmarès de l’indice du bonheur au travail réalisé par la firme Léger. Les travailleurs agricoles ont très positivement évalué cinq des six facteurs principaux qui influencent le bonheur au travail : réalisation de soi, relations de travail, reconnaissance, responsabilisation et sentiment d’appartenance.
Appartenance et reconnaissance
Faire pousser des végétaux sur du béton? C’est possible, pratique et même très esthétique. Mark Lefsrud et son équipe, les chercheurs Sadie Moland et Intisar Syed Mahood, du Département de génie en bioressources de l’Université McGill, ont développé un mur végétal vertical nouveau genre : tomates, chou frisé, laitues et épinards poussent, non pas dans la terre, mais dans du béton poreux biocompatible. Ce substrat horticole original n’est pas encore commercialisé, mais il fait ses preuves depuis trois ans dans les serres de l’université.
Originaire des Andes en Colombie, Valerio Hoyos-Villegas a grandi en milieu agricole et a étudié l’agriculture partout dans le monde. Il comprend bien le défi que représente la production alimentaire.
Le programme en production de cannabis commercial de l’Université McGill, qui accueillera sa première cohorte en juin 2020, sera un moteur pour la recherche et les collaborations entre l’Université et le secteur privé.
Le nouveau diplôme a reçu le feu vert de la direction de l’Université, ce qui fait de McGill l’une des premières universités canadiennes à offrir un programme d’études dans le domaine.
La version française suit.
From: Professor Christopher Manfredi, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic)
Dear members of the McGill community:
It is my pleasure to announce the reappointments of Professors Isabelle Bajeux-Besnainou, Anja Geitmann and Bruce Lennox in their respective positions as Deans of the Desautels Faculty of Management, the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Faculty of Science.
« Depuis 30 ans, je prends soin du verger de McGill, confie fièrement Michael Bleho, coordonnateur du Centre de recherche horticole de l’Université McGill. J’adore travailler avec les pommiers! » Débordant d’enthousiasme, il annonce ainsi l’aboutissement d’un projet colossal : planter un nouveau verger pour l’université.
There is a strong need for it because the cannabis industry is desperate for qualified personnel, professor Anja Geitmann says.
Call it a sign of the times: Ď㽶ĘÓƵ will teach students how to grow the perfect pot plant starting next year.
McGill’s Diploma in Commercial Cannabis program launches in June and it’s meant to train biologists to cultivate cannabis, design strains, protect them against contaminants and understand the legal framework of Canada’s burgeoning weed industry.
Congratulations to all of the presenters in Wednesday’s Lister Family Engaged Science 3MT Competition!
Student researcher pieces together satellite data to help communities monitor wildfires
Morgan Crowley’s interest in sustainability took root early.
As a schoolchild in New Hampshire, she went to summer camp on Pine Mountain – so named for the stately evergreens that used to blanket the site. By the time Morgan started going there, “there were only two pines left” because the rest had fallen victim to a forest fire or to logging. As a result, “I grew up thinking very much about ecological sustainability.”
Congratulations to Ph.D. candidate David Leroux (BRE-Lefsrud) and fellow Cannafish team members, who were awarded the Agricultural Scholarship from Sollio Agriculture at Coopérathon 2019 held at Montreal’s Olympia Theatre. Coopérathon “is the world’s largest open innovation challenge that connects citizens, communities, entrepreneurs, researchers, academics and large institutions to develop, together, a socially responsible future.”
In the third installment of National Geographic’s “Into Water” 360 series, canoe through the sprawling Canadian wilderness with freshwater ecologist and National Geographic Explorer Dalal Hanna [Ph.D. candidate NRS (Bennett)]. She researches Quebec’s extensive freshwater systems, collecting samples from streams, rivers and lakes to assess ecosystem health, with the aim of protecting these precious resources. “Into Water: Canada” is the third stop on an around the world 360 tour that documents the work of female Explorers who’ve dedicated their careers to water related issues.
Keesha Ness’s family certainly knows farming – they’ve been doing it for nearly 100 years and plan to celebrate when they reach that milestone next summer.
Ness is passionate about farming, loves her cows, and plans to follow the family’s tradition.
“I’m definitely hoping to help out with the management side,” says Ness of her family’s Ayrshire dairy farm in Howick, Quebec.
“I really love the management side of it.”
Les conditions météorologiques, les grands vents et les parasites peuvent abîmer les cultures jusqu’à coucher les tiges au sol. On parle alors de la verse des plants. De la reproduction à la croissance en passant par la résistance aux intempéries ou aux chocs, c’est à l’échelle microscopique que se joue le développement des plantes et des produits agricoles.
