New study finds gaps in environmental impact assessments of Canadian mining projects     

A new research paper was published on FACETS on November 3, 2025, analysing the environmental impact assessment process for Canadian mines. The paper presents the first complete list of IA laws that apply to mining in Canada; provides an open-source database of mine and quarry projects subject to IA; quantifies mining and IA trends; and assesses availability of information by jurisdiction. The database includes 266 assessments of 227 projects under 13 jurisdictions proposed from 1974 to 2023.

The article was accompanied by an op-ed in the Policy Options Politiques and a feature on the Quirks and Quarks show on CBCListen.

Alana Westwood, lead author of the report, said in a recent interview with CBC, “When we’re talking about starting new projects, there are what’s called ‘cumulative effects.'” “Pollution or contamination from a mine can build up over time, reaching dangerous thresholds,” she added.

Ben Collison, a Ph.D. student at Dalhousie University and Co-author of the paper added, “If that’s the case, I think we risk making decisions that are not well informed by evidence.”

For complete details on the project, you can visit the Mines, Mines and More Mines project page. 

Congratulations on graduating, Samantha Chu!

Samantha Chu is graduating with a Master’s of Environmental Studies from Dalhousie University. Her study explores how forest professionals in Canada currently engage in knowledge exchange, their preferred methods for acquiring knowledge, the barriers they experience, and the state of trust they have in research, including the factors that influence that trust. You can check out the full-length thesis on DalSpace.

We would like to wish Sam all the best in her future endeavors.

Citation:  

Chu, S. (2025). Planting the Seeds for Knowledge Exchange in Canadian Forestry Perspectives from Forest Professionals on Trust, Barriers, and Preferences. [Faculty of Graduate Studies Online Theses, Dalhousie University]. Dal Space. https://hdl.handle.net/10222/85410

Congratulations on graduating, Mary Legorburu!

Mary Legorburu is graduating with a Bachelor of Arts first-class Honours in Environmental Science and a minor in Gender & Women’s Studies from Dalhousie University. The thesis investigated the effects of forestry road crossings on stream habitat health in Napu’saqnuk (the St. Mary’s River watershed) in Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia). Historical and current forestry activities (e.g. harvesting, log driving, and roads) are expected to be degrading watershed health in Napu’saqnuk. Particularly, culverts and bridges in Napu’saqnuk disrupt aquatic food webs, sediment transportation, and impact spawning and breeding habitats for the at-risk Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). The findings can inform forestry road management and support stream habitat conservation in Mi’kma’ki.

You can check out Mary’s full-length thesis on DalSpace.

We would like to wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

Citation:  

Legorburu, M. (2025). Investigating the effects of forestry road crossings on stream habitat health and benthic macroinvertebrate communities in Napu’saqnuk (the St. Mary’s River watershed) in Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia). [Earth and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honours Thesis, Dalhousie University]. Dal Space. https://hdl.handle.net/10222/85096

Celebrating 2024-2025 awards and scholarships to Westwood Lab members    

Congratulations to Dr. Alana Westwood, Dr. Alana Lajoie-O’Malley, Samantha Chu, and Mary Legorburu for recently being awarded highly competitive awards. 

Dr. Westwood was awarded the Top Cited Article Award for the paper on “A systematic map of knowledge exchange across the science-policy interface for forest science: How can we improve consistency and effectiveness?” This paper was one of the top 10 most cited articles from 2023 in the journal Ecological Solutions & Evidence.

She also secured the SSHRC Exchange Grant for the project: What constitutes effective knowledge exchange in the science-policy interface?

This project aims to disseminate the findings of the Partnership Development Grant (PDG) project, “What constitutes effective knowledge exchange in the science-policy interface?” and provide training on effective Knowledge Exchange (KE) methods.

This will be achieved by two activities. First, informed by findings from the PDG project that subject-specific knowledge mobilization training yields better results, NGO Evidence for Democracy (E4D) will organize two capacity-building workshops on effective knowledge mobilization specific to forestry for government and university scientists involved in the PDG project. Second, based on the finding that in-person knowledge exchange activities yield better research uptake among forestry practitioners, a day-long in-person workshop will be organized on ecological forestry for foresters and forest researchers in the Maritimes to share results and use them to workshop new approaches to ongoing knowledge exchange.

Dr. Lajoie-O’Malley’s SSHRC Postdoc Project: Canadian ENGOs and the climate disinformation wars: charting new paths forward

This project aims to advance climate communications in Canada by addressing the complex interactions between evidence, democracy, and decision-making. It will draw on insights from science and technology studies (STS) and effective knowledge exchange to:

1. Investigate how Canadian environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) currently engage with evidence in their climate change efforts.

2. Pilot new approaches to engaging with evidence that enhance public trust and achieve policy wins.

The project specifically seeks to develop alternative strategies for countering climate disinformation that avoid the outdated “deficit model” of science communication. This model suggests that public resistance to evidence-informed policies can be overcome simply by improving understanding of the evidence. Instead, the project will explore more effective methods of engagement that reflect the complexities of public attitudes toward climate issues.

Alana also secured a SSHRC PEG Project: ‘Just transition’ in Canada: addressing tensions, filling gaps

Researchers at Dalhousie University are collaborating with Iron and Earth, an NGO founded by fossil fuel workers, to address tensions surrounding the concept of “just transition” in Canada. Often understood to have emerged from labor groups in the 1990s advocating for a fossil fuel phase-out that protects workers’ livelihoods, the term has evolved to encompass calls from environmental justice and Indigenous rights advocates for a transition that addresses existing inequities tied to carbon-intensive industries. The meanings of “just transition” can differ significantly between champions of fossil fuel workers and these advocates. This project aims to bridge these gaps by reviewing existing literature on “just transition” from governments and civil society organizations, facilitating a social learning process among stakeholders, and producing accessible briefing materials. These resources will assist civil society actors, government officials, and others approaching just transition from various perspectives—labor, environmental justice, and Indigenous rights—in collaborating more effectively and addressing the needs of diverse communities. Additionally, public-facing materials will engage the Canadian public in discussions about the topic.

Samantha won the following awards:

1st Place, Poster Presentation Award, Poster Symposium at the CIF-IFC National Conference and AGM

  • Samantha was awarded 1st place for her poster on her research, titled Effective Researcher-End-user Knowledge Exchange: Understanding the Preferences of Foresters, at the Poster Symposium at the CIF-IFC National Conference and AGM

Neil Munro Parks and Protected Areas Award 

  • Samantha received the Neil Munro Parks and Protected Areas Award honours the legacy of Neil Munro, a Parks Canada employee who advocated for science-based decision-making in the management of protected areas. This award supports graduate students conducting applied research related to the planning, design, policy, protection, or management of protected areas, including national parks, provincial parks, marine protected areas, and conservation areas.

Colin Stewart Scholarship for Studies on Parks and Protected Areas in the Acadian Forest Region 

  • Samantha received the Colin Stewart Scholarship which supports graduate research focused on the role of parks and protected areas in conserving the ecological integrity of the Acadian forest. Named after Colin Stewart—a strong advocate for forest conservation in the Maritime Provinces—the scholarship awards applied work that contributes to sustainable forest management and highlights the ecological value of protected areas in the region.

Mary Margeret Werner Graduate Scholarship 

  • Samantha was awarded Mary Margaret Werner Graduate Scholarship which was given to students who demonstrate high academic achievement. Mary was a Dalhousie-trained scientist from P.E.I. who worked as a Research Scientist with Atomic Energy of Canada and later at Statistics Canada. Her work contributed to radiation biology and public health research. Known for her intelligence and dedication, she remained passionate about science throughout her life .

Canada Graduate Scholarships – SSHRC

Samantha was fortunate to receive the SSHRC-Canada Graduate Scholarship which is a prestigious federal scholarship that supports students in master’s programs in the social sciences and humanities. It recognizes academic excellence and research potential, and provides funding to help students focus on their studies and contribute to knowledge in their field.

Mary was awarded the Faye Sobey Undergraduate Research Award, which established an endowment to provide deserving students the opportunity to work in a research lab.

Congratulations on graduating, Ali MacKellar!

Ali MacKellar is graduating with a Master’s of Environmental Studies from Dalhousie University. This thesis explores the connections between colonial resource extraction and queerness to fill a knowledge gap regarding the impacts of extraction on queer communities.

By retracing the establishment of extractive industries as instruments of settler state expansion, unmasking the persistent systemic racism, homophobia, and transphobia that fuel contemporary anti-queer movements. You can check out their full-length thesis on DalSpace.

Aly is the 500th student to graduate from the Master of Environmental Studies program at the School of Resource and Environmental Studies.

We would like to wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

Citation:  

MacKellar, A. (2024). From metropolitan centers to resource extraction sites: Analyzing the relationships between queerness, extractive industries, and settler colonialism. [Faculty of Graduate Studies Online Theses, Dalhousie University]. Dal Space. http://hdl.handle.net/10222/84361

EFRI Kickoff Workshop

The EFRI Kick-Off workshop was held from September 4-6, 2024. The first day of the workshop was an introduction to the Nova Scotia Forest Ecosystem Classification (FEC) Guide led by the co-author of the guide, Peter Neily. Students had an opportunity to learn in the field about how to classify a forest stand using the FEC guide and take soil samples using a soil auger.

The remaining two days of the workshop took place at Dalhousie University’s Agriculture Campus. The first day was facilitated by Tyler Colburn and Tania Cheng from Seahorse Strategies and focused on developing shared values and learn about decolonizing research and the second day consisted of members presenting the research projects that they are working on. Below is the harvest report of the activities on September 5, 2024.

EFRI Kickoff Workshop HarvestDownload

Congratulations on graduating, Rosie Bleyer!

Rosie Bleyer is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in environmental science and a minor in Indigenous Studies from Dalhousie University. Using data collected in the field over the summer of 2023, in her Honours thesis Rosie has worked to identify and prioritize barriers to Atlantic salmon habitat connectivity in Napu’saqnuk (the St Mary’s River) here in Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia). Her project received the departmental award for Best Honours Thesis. 

You can check out Rosie’s full-length thesis on DalSpace. 

We would like to wish her all the best in her future endeavours.

Citation:  

Bleyer, R. (2024, April). Identifying and prioritizing barriers to Atlantic salmon habitat connectivity in Napu’saqnuk (St Mary’s River), Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia, Canada). [Faculty of Graduate Studies Online Theses, Dalhousie University]. Dal Space. http://hdl.handle.net/10222/84014

Celebrating recent awards and scholarships to Westwood Lab members    

Congratulations to lab members Samantha Chu and Ben Collison for recently being awarded highly competitive scholarships from the federal tri-council funding agencies. 

Sam’s MES thesis proposal “Effective researcher-end-user knowledge exchange: understanding the preferences of foresters” earned her a Canada Graduate Scholarship – Masters from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for the upcoming academic year. She also recently won the inaugural Mary Margaret Werner Graduate Scholarship from Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Science for high academic achievement. In addition to these, she also won the Neil Munro Parks and Protected Areas Award and the Colin Stewart Scholarship for Studies on Parks and Protected Areas in the Acadian Forest Region.

Ben secured a Canada Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral award from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to fund his thesis research over the next three years, entitled “Ecological forestry in practice: informing forest management approaches to mitigate impacts to freshwater fish habitat in the Wabanaki forest region.” He was also awarded a scholarship as part of Dalhousie University’s 2024 OpenThink PhD cohort of top science communicators.

Sam and Ben are current trainees as Leaders in Energy Sustainability, with new lab member Mary Legorburu joining as an undergraduate trainee for the summer. Their enrolment is funded by the NSERC Collaborative Research and Training Experience (CREATE) program.

Fining big polluters can reduce environmental damage, but only if the fines match the crimes       

Some of the country’s biggest polluters are multibillion-dollar companies. Limited fines may not be enough to stop them, but other potential solutions exist.

Read the full article by Ben Collison on The Conversation or The Narwhal

Monetary penalties for breaking environmental laws continue to rise. Yet, many companies are failing to maintain compliance and pollution continues to flow. This is especially true in the case of water.

Water pollution from natural resource extraction can hinder economic drivers like tourism and fisheries, impair Indigenous rights, harm species at risk of extinction and perpetuate environmental racism.

For many businesses, a hefty one-off fine for breaking an environmental law is an unsettling wake up call. Responsible employers reflect on this seriously and take tangible steps to reduce the chance of their operations harming the environment in the future. But for wealthy repeat offenders, fines may be treated as nothing more than the cost of doing business. This is where the problem lies, and some of Canada’s richest corporations prove it.

New studies find Canadian researchers in the environmental studies and sciences are still experiencing interference in their work        

On November 30, two new studies were published in FACETS documenting researchers’ perceptions of the prevalence of interference in science, its sources, and effects and considered whether these perceptions differ by region, career stage, research area, membership to any scientific society, and social identity.

The articles were accompanied by an op-ed in the Conversation and a blog post in the Evidence for Democracy series on scientific integrity. The lead researchers were also featured in several radio interviews on CBC’s Mainstreet NS, Info AM Saint John, and City News 95.7 in Halifax. To hear more, check out this podcast interview on Mind Full.

Lead author of one study, Manjulika Robertson, was quoted in a Canadian Press article (picked up by more than a dozen other outlets) explaining that “there’s a wide array of researchers who say their work was interfered with,” emphasizing the conditions are particularly challenging for researchers who conduct work in specifically focused on impacts of climate change and pollution. 

In addition to this, lead of the other study Samantha Chu found that researchers with marginalized identities are disproportionately experiencing interference. For example, most marginalized groups, particularly researchers who identified as LGBQ2S+ and women, experienced significantly greater fear of misrepresentation by media and (or) fear of negative career consequences due to public commentary. Racialized and disabled persons reported greater external interference in their work (e.g., from management and workplace policy).

An article in the Halifax Examiner quotes Robertson as saying “for the researchers who experience it, there’s decreased job satisfaction, in addition to the increased anxiety, stress, and uncertainty it brings.” Additionally, “when researchers can’t conduct their work, …we lose out on the scientific knowledge necessary to inform our approaches to grand challenges (e.g., combatting loss of biodiversity, protecting our ecosystems, and mitigating the effects of climate change.”

For complete details on the project, you can visit the interference in science project page.