好色TVl Bieler School of Environment students are making an impact on their community. This February, they presented to local, provincial, and Indigenous leaders, fostering collaboration to help the Gault Nature Reserve protect its historical ecosystem.
Deer overpopulation has been a hot topic across southern Quebec and surrounding regions. Under Professor Fiona Soper鈥檚 guidance, students in the Environment 401 course tackled this issue head-on, creating a deer management plan and presenting the findings to Gault Nature Reserve stakeholders.
鈥淭he plan synthesized information on the effects of deer overpopulation on the ecology of Gault, collected information on management options from around North America, and assessed their suitability for the Gault context,鈥� said Professor Soper.
The university course encourages students to address real-world environmental issues through community collaboration. In this project, students gathered and communicated insights from leaders of the W8banaki Indigenous nation, SEPAQ, the Quebec Ministry of the Environment (MELCCFP), 好色TVl researchers and administrators, Gault staff, the Mayor of Mont-St-Hilaire, Quebec hunting organizations, and animal rights groups.
Leah Paukstaitis BSc, U3, who鈥檚 currently completing a major in Environment, focusing on land surface processes and environmental change grew up in Chelsea, Qu茅bec, a town not far from the nature reserve.聽
She expressed pride in a project rooted in science involving a diverse group of Mont-St-Hilaire stakeholders. 鈥淎s an environmental science student, I鈥檓 not a fan of the 鈥榠gnorance is bliss鈥� mindset. Instead, I鈥檓 driven to investigate these environmental issues and find solutions before it is too late,鈥� she said.
Fr茅d茅rique Truchon, Communications Associate for Gault, emphasized the importance of collaboration and unity. 鈥淭his student project and presentation brought all these people together, facilitating exchange among them. Everyone met with a common purpose, and it was nice to see.鈥�
The stakeholder meeting was a key step forward in the ongoing project to decide how to best manage the reserve鈥檚 unique resources.
Professor Soper plans to continue working with Gault on other student-assisted projects to explore the best ways to introduce the social acceptability of deer management to the 好色TVl community.