It is no surprise that Trent University, located in the Kawarthas (one of Ontario’s environmental treasures), hosts public events to discuss the importance of protecting and conserving our natural world.

On the second Tuesday of every month, the Trent Group in Communicating Conservation Science (TGCCS), led by Biology professor Dr. Jim Schaefer, hosts a Conservation Café, which brings in an expert speaker and connects scientists with citizens.

“It’s so important that we communicate our work to the public so they don’t think we’re egg heads in an ivory tower,” says Dr. Maggie Xenopoulos, an ecology professor at Trent University and member of the TGCCS. “Scientists don’t have an agenda, we transmit the facts, and we must communicate it jargon-free. What we do is for the public good and if [the public] doesn’t trust us, to me that’s a problem.”

On October 8, Dr. Justina Ray, president and senior scientist of the Wildlife Conservation Society and an adjunct professor with Trent’s Environmental & Life Sciences graduate program, delivered the presentation for October’s Conservation Café.

“We know there are conservation issues and we know we need to do something about them, and Justina is pointing us north,” says Professor Schaefer.

In her talk, Ontario’s Far North: A Global Conservation Treasure, Dr. Ray told a crowd of about 50 people about the global environmental significance of this province--450,000 square kilometres of unroaded forest and some of the world’s largest peatlands—and about some of the projects and environmental policy that is guiding development decisions.

“Conservation is more than science,” says Dr. Ray. “It’s a societal enterprise in a sense, and awareness is the key to action. Those who have awareness are more likely to act, and the Café appeals to both gee-whiz folks interested in the subject matter and those who really care about our world to do something.”

Samantha Morin, a graduate of Trent University’s Environmental & Life Sciences Masters program, said this wasn’t her first Café, and definitely won’t be her last.

“I’ve been to several and I return for the casual atmosphere discussing environmental issues,” says Ms. Morin. “I’d also heard about [Dr. Ray’s] work before, so I was interested in hearing her speak specifically. It was a little depressing, but also inspiring that work is being done to preserve amazing places like Northern Ontario.”