You might say it’s only natural: after 50 years as a trailblazer in environmental research and teaching, Trent University is launching a School of the Environment that brings together vast expertise to spark the next generation of global environmental leaders in fields from aquatic science and Indigenous environmental studies to agriculture and food systems, sustainability and geography.

The Trent School of the Environment will enable and empower innovative thinkers and researchers who will put knowledge into action on the world’s most pressing environmental concerns: climate change, the quality of our water, sustainable agriculture and at-risk ecosystems. Hands-on research opportunities for students abound in the new school, allowing students to make their mark on the planet even at the undergraduate level.

“The Trent School of the Environment confirms Trent University's commitment to both excellence in environmental education and to environmental research that is recognized around the world,” said Dr. Stephen Bocking, director of the Trent School of the Environment and professor of environmental history and policy. “The school will enable us to build on our fifty-year record of leadership as Canada's outstanding environmental university.”

An Outdoor Laboratory and State-of-the-Art Facilities

The new school offers a rich learning environment at every level of study. At the undergraduate level, the Trent School of the Environment brings together over a dozen existing degree programs across the arts and sciences, from Environmental & Resource Science/Studies, one of the first environmental programs in Canada, and Geography, to Indigenous Environmental Studies – another first in Canada, Water Sciences, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, and more. The school also boasts a strong partnership with Trent’s renowned environmentally-themed graduate programs in Environmental and Life Sciences and Sustainability Studies, as well as several renowned research centres at the University, including the Water Quality Centre – North America’s leader in advanced technology to analyze organic and in-organic contaminants in water; Trent Experimental Farm; Institute of Watershed Sciences; Oliver Ecological Centre; and the Canadian Environmental Modeling Centre. Looking ahead, the school will grow and expand to include new programs and partnerships with other research centres and experts at Trent.

Students within the school will also benefit from extensive practical outdoor field experience at one of Canada’s most breathtaking campuses, as well as community-based research projects, encouraging them to apply the knowledge they learn to the real world.

The school will enhance opportunities for the entire community to come together to discuss solutions to environmental challenges, and offer teachers and researchers at Trent the opportunity to connect with colleagues in related fields, building important new collaborative research projects.

A Trailblazer in Environmental Research

Trent University has been a leader in environmental teaching and research since its inception in 1964. With over 65 faculty whose research and expertise are relevant to the environmental issues facing Canada and the world and with six Canada research chairs all experts in areas of environmental concern, including: Dr. Julian Aherne, Environmental Modelling, Dr. Céline Guéguen, Aquatic Sciences and Biogeochemistry, Dr. Dennis Murray, Integrative Wildlife Conservation, Dr. Mehdi Sharifi, Sustainable Agriculture, Dr. Aaron Slepkov, Physics of Biomaterials, and Dr. Paul Wilson, DNA Profiling, Forensics and Functional Genomics, Trent’s expertise in this critical area of study reflects the University's success in developing its capacity to understand and address these issues. Building on its core faculty in the Environmental and Resource Science/Studies Program and the Department of Geography, the Trent School of the Environment provides opportunities for collaboration in teaching and research among all environmental scholars at the University.

Making Headlines

Since its inception, Trent University has been making headlines for their innovative work in environmental research. A few of the most recent include:

• Trent University Receives $1.65 million federal grant to Train Next Generation of Environmental Professionals
• Harvesting a Sustainable Future: Trent University Embraces Local Food Movement
• Funding to Support New Innovative Sustainable Agriculture Research Lab
• Dr. Paul Frost Announced as the Inaugural David Schindler Professor in Aquatic Science

To learn more about the Trent School of the Environment, visit http://trentu.ca/environment

Trent’s Environmental Expertise

• 50 years of leading-edge research in the environment
• 65 environmental researchers whose research and expertise are relevant to the environmental issues facing our world
• Six Canada Research Chairs whose research is focused on the environment
• Five renowned research centres
• Over a dozen degree programs and more than 100 environment-related courses
• Located on 1,450 acres of land: one of Canada’s most sought-after locations for environmental research
• First university to offer Canada’s first bachelor of environmental science/studies degree
• Environmental and Resource Science program the first program to be officially accredited to the National Standard of Environmental Programs in Canada by the Canadian Environmental Accreditation Commission of the Environmental Careers Organization
• Only university in Canada to offer Indigenous Environmental Studies

Two New Schools

The Trent School of the Environment is one of two schools that have been developed and announced at Trent this fall. The new School for the Study of Canada, which unites Trent’s longstanding leadership in Canadian Studies under one umbrella and confirms Trent as ‘the’ place for the study of Canada, was announced earlier this month.

Posted on Wednesday, September 16, 2015.