For Dr. Stefania Pizzirani, her duties as an assistant professor at UFV don’t fall into strict silos of teaching, research, and service. They all blend together. Her teaching includes service components. Her research is often based on grassroots community needs. And her service activities feed off her teaching, her research, and her relationships with students,…

A passion for studying the elements led Steven Marsh to his life’s work as a geography professor. Now, generations of students have benefited from the knowledge and skills he shared and are on the frontlines of resource management and academic research in climate-related disciplines. For his dedication to his profession and influence on students, Marsh…

Do you ever feel like you could do more to be sustainable but aren’t sure how? If so, you’ll be excited to know that this March at UFV will be full of events dedicated to sustainability. UFV’s Office of Sustainability, alongside 20 other departments and groups, will host the March for Sustainability event series again…

Practise what you preach. That’s the approach UFV has continuously taken after making sustainability a top priority by aligning with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals and forming partnerships and initiatives with students and different departments. Whether it is dropping plastic bags or implementing solar panels, UFV is actively seeking and implementing new ways of…

  The Drawdown Ecochallenge is a customizable and solutions-oriented engagement program focused on bettering our impact on the earth and ourselves. UFV is creating a team this year to challenge students & employees to create sustainable daily habits. Participants choose actions, track and share their progress through the online platform, and earn points for taking…

Inside Nerlap Kaur Sidhu’s classroom, there’s a giant sign that reads: If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you. Underneath are more than 30 colourful self-portraits neatly lined up and symmetrically organized into three rows. More important than the art quality is the diversity, the pride, and most importantly, the stories, derived from each…

Digital mapping. Satellite imagery. Statistical analysis. Sound intriguing? Lyndon Hunter sure thinks so. Whether it’s mapping travel plans or mapping weather patterns, Lyndon has been interested in mapping as far back as he can remember. Lyndon had never taken an agriculture course but that didn't dissuade him from accepting the chance to work as a…

UFV students help shape curriculum for a school with environmental focus Donovan Toews and Michelle Lefebvre are a part of something big. Ecosystem big. The UFV student duo stand in a forest beside a school playground on a rainy day in north Mission. On the other side of a fence separating Donovan and Michelle from…

A UFV professor who has devoted his career to looking at long-term change through examining soil samples will be presenting in the Science Talks community lecture series on March 2. Catch Dr. Olav Lian speaking on the topic From the Last Ice Age to 2021 and Beyond -- how our physical environment has adapted to…

If you could go back in time, what would you do? Food expert Lenore Newman would travel to ancient Rome and try silphium. It’s an herb that was “loved to death” by the Romans, and it’s not the only vanished victual featured in Lost Feast, Newman’s new book about extinct animals and plants that were…

Jesse Wegenast leads with love and compassion in all that he does. As a pastor with 5 and 2 Ministries and a resource person with Archway Community Services who serves as an intermediary for those who are unhoused, poor, mentally ill, aged, and struggling with addictions, Wegenast's actions have had a profound impact, helping to…

Dr. Ken Brealey, who joined UFV as a faculty member and later served in key senior administrative roles, passed away on August 14, 2019, after a battle with cancer. Ken is survived by his wife Norma and his three step-daughters. Most recently, Ken served as acting Associate Vice-Provost, Faculty Relations within Human Resources. Prior to…

Recently, UFV student Maegan McKay spoke about her experience as a Queen Elizabeth Scholar (QES) at a Government House reception in Victoria. The third-year Global Development Studies (GDS) was one of eight QES alumni at the event marking five years of the QES program. McKay worked in Kenya at Nairobi’s United Nations partnership development office…

As Leanne Julian stood outside as part of a group of geography students listening to Mt. Lehman community members explain how they wanted to present their community it to the world, she could literally see her father’s home community, the Matsqui First Nation, not far in the distance. But nobody else seemed to notice. Leanne…

Current and former students and colleagues of John Belec, an associate professor in Geography and Environment, know that he's an excellent teacher. Now he has received formal recognition. Belec was recently awarded the 2019 J. Alistair McVey Award for Teaching Excellence by the Canadian Association of Geographers. “The purpose of the J. Alistair McVey Award for…