Several Research Centres are associated with the Environmental & Life Sciences Program Graduate Program and Trent University and provide opportunities for our students to undertake research using world-class facilities:

Canadian Environmental Modelling Centre
The mission of the Centre is to contribute to improved management of chemicals in our environment, locally, regionally, nationally and globally, by acquiring and analysing appropriate data on chemical properties and developing, validating and disseminating mass balance models, which describe the fate of these chemicals in the environment. Web Site

The Dorset Environmental Science Centre
The Dorset Environmental Science Centre of the Ontario Ministry of the Environment began its scientific activities in 1975. Since then, the centre has grown in size and scope and investigates a wide variety of issues. The study area is comprised of a collection of lake basins located in south-central Ontario that have varying amounts of cottage development. The centre’s primary focus is on integrated environmental monitoring, experimentation and data recording.  Web site.

James McLean Oliver Ecological Centre
This field station is located near Bobcaygeon on Pigeon Lake. The waterfront property consists of 270 acres, and provides a location for study of various habitats on the property and in the area. Several Trent graduate and undergraduate students have conducted research on site, and undergraduate courses are held there annually. Web site.

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources
The relationship between the MNR and Trent University provides students with the unique learning and research opportunities. “The work done here will improve our understanding of Ontario’s fish and wildlife, and will help us ensure these resources are managed and sustained with the benefit of the best available science”. Web Site

Natural Resources DNA Profiling and Forensic Centre
The Natural Resources DNA Profiling & Forensic Centre (NRDPFC), located in the Environmental Sciences Centre, is a partnership between Trent University and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. The primary purpose of the NRDPFC is for the benefit of wildlife management and, as such, it is a non-profit organization. The Centre is equipped with instrumentation for robotic, high throughput, long-term genetic monitoring of natural populations. The NRDPFC is presently involved in collaborations to produce DNA profiling data bases on a number of Ontario species, including caribou, moose, white-tailed deer, wolves, black bears and elk. Web Site

Watershed Science Centre
The Centre's goal is to further the understanding of physical and ecological processes governing watershed function and to transfer this knowledge to support resource management decisions. The partnership fosters the application of peer reviewed, multidisciplinary, scientific research to resource management questions and the efficient transfer of that knowledge and related methods to practitioners. In doing so, the Watershed Science Centre provides a valuable source for watershed ecosystem expertise in the province of Ontario. Web Site

Water Quality Centre
The Water Quality Centre is located in the new Chemical Sciences Building. The Centre houses many state-of-the-science analytical instruments for determining trace quantities of substances found in natural aquatic environments including rivers, streams and drinking water. In particular, the Centre houses one of the largest collections of mass spectrometers devoted to environmental analysis in North America. The equipment is used primarily in the detection of trace pollutants, but finds application in a wide range of research areas including biochemistry and synthetic organic chemistry, gas-phase ion chemistry, ecology, limnology, hydrology and geochemistry. The facility provides research support to graduate students in the WEGP as well as to university scientists from across Canada. Consultation and analytical support services are available to any interested user. The mission of the Centre is to develop analytical techniques in response to the needs of individuals, governments and industry in all areas of water quality assurance. Web Site