Environmental Sciences

Nicole Latulippe is excited to bring her expertise in Indigenous knowledge, governance and laws to the University of Toronto – along with her experience with community-based research and advocacy.

Latulippe is joining the departments of human geography and physical and environmental sciences at �鶹��Ƶ Scarborough as an assistant professor. Last winter, she taught Indigenous Environmental Knowledges, a geography course.

“It felt good to know that the department and students were excited and welcoming of the course,” she says.

Latulippe, who has a PhD in geography from �鶹��Ƶ, grew up in Nipissing Territory and is from Robinson Huron Treaty Territory in North Bay, Ont. She is of French-Canadian and Algonquin ancestry.

After completing her master’s degree at Nipissing University, Latulippe worked for the Union of Ontario Indians, a political advocacy organization of the Anishinabek Nation that represents 40 Anishinabek communities around the Great Lakes in Ontario.

“That’s what spurred my desire to go back to school for a PhD,” she says. “I wanted to spend more time reading, understanding and doing research around the historic treaties and the state’s failure to implement the relationship.”

After working with Anishinabek communities for the last 10 years, Latulippe says her research is driven by the people she has spoken with and learned from over the years.

“I see what communities are doing, what they try to do in pursuit of their land-based interests and claims,” she says. “They’re really innovative in advancing their rights and responsibilities. I want to communicate that, and the successes, because it’s not what we necessarily see in the media.”

Latulippe collaborates with the York University-based Indigenous Environmental Justice Project – a platform for Indigenous activists, scholars and Elders to share information and to network. The project stresses the importance of understanding the environmental justice framework through Indigenous knowledge systems.

“I did my undergraduate in Nipissing University and �鶹��Ƶ Scarborough has that same smaller feel, like a very engaged and community-oriented place,” she says. “I also hope to get involved with the university’s partnerships and work on Indigenous place-making initiatives, for instance in the Rouge Valley, to restore the visibility of Indigenous geographies.”

Looking ahead, she’s continuing her research on Indigenous environments in Canada and is turning her PhD dissertation about the Nipissing First Nation fishery, and the community-derived law that governs it, into a book.

She says she will continue her community involvement and bring those experiences back into her research, and ultimately, the classroom.

Some like it hot: �鶹��Ƶ PhD student’s research takes him to active volcano in New Zealand

ullahnor — Fri, 03 Feb 2017 21:00:46 +0000

Some like it hot: �鶹��Ƶ PhD student’s research takes him to active volcano in New Zealand

ullahnor Fri, 02/03/2017 - 16:00

Cutline

David McLagan travelled to an active volcano off New Zealand to install passive air samplers (pictured to right of McLagan) to monitor mercury concentrations (photo courtesy of David McLagan)

Don Campbell

Author legacy

Don Campbell

Topic

Environmental Sciences

Chemistry

UTSC

Education

David McLagan’s research has taken him to some interesting places, but going to an active volcano tops the list.

“I’ve never been to a place quite like it,” says McLagan, who needed to deploy a series of passive air samplers on White Island, an active volcano 48 km off the coast of New Zealand’s North Island.

The �鶹��Ƶ Scarborough PhD candidate is working on developing passive air samplers that can monitor mercury concentrations in remote locations.

Working under the supervision of �鶹��Ƶ Scarborough Chemistry Professor Frank Wania and Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences Carl Mitchell, McLagan is looking at monitoring mercury in the air since it can last in the atmosphere for around a year, can be transported great distances and is linked to a host of brain and nervous system disorders.

New Zealand’s White Island, which spews out huge amounts of gas, is open to tourists but is only accessible by helicopter or boat.

McLagan received funding for the research trip from �鶹��Ƶ's Centre for Global Change Science (CGCS). In planning the trip, McLagan connected with GNS Science, a local public-private research organization that monitors volcanic activity on the island and across New Zealand. Along with crucial logistical support, GNS also provided extensive training on how to do research safely.

Masks are necessary to avoid passing out from noxious vapours continuously being vented. In addition to hard hat and boots, walking with a prodder was also important to avoid soft spots in the ground that can burn feet.

There’s also the ever-present risk of eruption, but McLagan felt reassured by the team at GNS who take extra precautions. They aren’t allowed to travel to the island if any unusual seismic activity is recorded, even if it’s deemed safe for tourists. The island was also once home to a sulfur mine where an eruption in 1914 killed all of the miners working there.

While in New Zealand, McLagan also deployed his air samplers at another site called Craters of the Moon, the largest geothermal field in the country. The site gets its name from its unearthly appearance, one that is barren yet bright with constantly shifting ground and endless steam vents dotting the landscape.

Since there’s no electricity in these remote locations – nor is it possible to supply tanks of argon gas that active air samplers rely on – the passive air sampler developed by McLagan uses the natural movements of air and a carbon material to capture mercury in the atmosphere.

As it works its way into unoxygenated sediments, the mercury can be transformed into methylmercury, which is the most toxic and concerning form from a human health perspective. A neurotoxin, it can affect fetal and infant cognitive development.

Another study by McLagan took him to a shuttered mercury mine in Italy to measure concentrations in the buildings and surrounding area. Emissions from this mine remain a concern because it’s located close to the community of Abbadia San Salvatore in Southern Tuscany.

He also witnessed small droplets of liquid mercury on the ground inside old mining buildings.

“In terms of exposure, there is a lot of mercury there so I wouldn’t want to spend a lot of time in those mining buildings,” he says. “We’re careful not to spend more than five minutes or so.”

While mining for mercury is no longer allowed in most parts of the world, McLagan says there’s been a rise in emissions from small-scale gold mining operations in the developing world.

He adds while active air sampling of mercury is common in affluent countries in the northern hemisphere, there are fewer than ten remote sites in the southern hemisphere that are currently monitoring mercury. The ultimate goal of his research, he says, is to help resolve these spatial imbalances that exist in mercury monitoring across the globe.

“Being able to go to these places and collaborate with researchers from around the world, it’s just a great professional and personal experience.”

Queen Elizabeth scholar from �鶹��Ƶ worked with an NGO in Tanzania

ullahnor — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 20:16:49 +0000

Queen Elizabeth scholar from �鶹��Ƶ worked with an NGO in Tanzania

ullahnor Thu, 01/12/2017 - 15:16

Cutline

�鶹��Ƶ Scarborough student Tumaini Shoo (third from right) worked with an NGO in Tanzania as a Queen Elizabeth scholar (photo courtesy of Tumaini Shoo)

Laurie Stephens

Author legacy

Laurie Stephens

Topic

Global Lens

�鶹��Ƶ Scarborough

Queen Elizabeth Scholar

International Development

Environmental Sciences

Human Geography

Physical Geography

Global

The opportunity to attend school is something that Tumaini Shoo has cherished. So when she went to Tanzania this past summer to work with six young women at risk, she was stunned by their reality.

“The thing that was so overwhelming for me was being with girls who can’t go to school simply because they can’t pay for it,” she says. “I know it’s a lived reality, but it’s different when you’re right there. You hear their stories. You’re with these girls who are so motivated and want to pursue an education but just can’t.

“That was eye-opening. I realized how privileged we are.”

Shoo, who is finishing up a double major in international development studies and human and physical geography at �鶹��Ƶ Scarborough, spent three-and-a-half months in Arusha, Tanzania, working with the non-governmental organization Green Hope. The opportunity came out of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship program, which allows students to complete a paid internship at an organization in a commonwealth country that focuses on social impact, literacy, scientific research, education, or Indigenous issues.

Green Hope provides life-skills training and support for young Tanzanian women who lack education or economic opportunity in an effort to deter them from taking up risky livelihoods, such as prostitution.

The students, ranging in age from 16 to 19, are taught English, computer skills, sexual education, nutrition, entrepreneurship and business planning.

Tumaini Shoo says she would like to continue with hands-on work in the development field (photo courtesy of Tumaini Shoo)

Shoo’s role with Green Hope was multi-faceted. As an economic empowerment officer and program coordinator, she helped compile lesson plans, scheduled lesson times and travel needs, and documented the curriculum for future use by the young women.

She explored with them a number of business ideas, including becoming a tailor or starting up a business collective in agriculture or jewellery-making using Masai rubies. She also supported home-based and socio-economic programs, such gardening and computer literacy.

“While we’re not providing them with money, we are providing the girls with a safe space where they can build a social network and learn useful skills,” says Shoo. “We also hoped to build their confidence in themselves so they could share the information they are getting from us in their homes and their communities.”

Shoo’s letter of reference for the scholarship was written by Adam Martin, an assistant professor in �鶹��Ƶ Scarborough's department of physical and environmental sciences.

He says Shoo was a perfect candidate because of her interest in environmental sciences and her desire to learn about the social and cultural context in which her placement was taking place.

He says the value of these programs is second to none because they provide context to seemingly simple issues.

“In Tumaini’s instance for example, it is critical to understand that environmental concerns don’t always play out as simply as they may appear to in textbooks,” he says. “Specifically, it’s crucial to learn how context-specific experiences with local environments shape how environmental concerns are actually addressed.”

Shoo says she tries to keep in touch with the group of Tanzanian women to see how they're progressing, and she hopes her continued support inspires them to keep pushing for positive change in their lives.

The internship has also helped her figure out what she wants to do after she graduates.

“I loved the work I was doing there, and I do think that I want to pursue the practitioner part of development where you’re working directly with people,” she says. “You may not be doing research, but you’re using the research that is there to help you in those moments of providing some sort of developmental assistance.”