PETERBOROUGH -- Students in Trent's Environmental Science and Policy Course will present MPP Stewart with the final environmental report prepared as a course project. Professors Magda Havas and Stephen Bocking of Environmental and Resource Science had students in that course conduct environmental research that would be of value to local federal, provincial, and municipal politicians. MPP Stewart, MP Peter Adams and Mayor Sylvia Sutherland were all enthusiastic about the proposal and most co-operative. The students selected topics they were particularly concerned about.

The end-product is a total of nine executive summaries dealing with such diverse issues as the signing of the Antarctic Treaty, water levels and development, disposal of deadstock, and municipal issues regarding sidewalks and traffic in Peterborough.

MPP Stewart made a statement in the House on Dec. 7, 1999 related to this research, which Hansard recorded, in part, as: "I rise today to share a well-kept secret with all members of this House.

We all know the importance of always being up to date on the issues of the day and to have a talented researcher supporting us. Would you like to know where you can get great research in a way that would truly benefit all involved? An ideal place is from the people who are doing it all the time: our university and college students.

Dr. Magda Havas, a professor of Environmental and Resource Studies at Trent University, approached me earlier this fall to propose a very creative initiative whose purpose would be twofold. Dr. Havas proposed that her students would be given environmental issues that I, as the MPP, wanted researched. In her proposal, students would benefit by getting a chance to supply the theoretical knowledge they learn in their course, to sharpen their research skills and to see how their work can affect government policy.

In this partnership, I as the MPP stand to benefit from their top-quality research, giving me a better understanding of the environmental issues that affect my constituents in Peterborough.

Students at Trent are constantly displaying their high level of excellence in this and other fields."

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Distribution: Peterborough, Regional