Are you thinking about grad school? Are you interested in landscape reclamation and developing initiatives for climate positive design?
Profs. Heather Braiden, University of Montreal, and Robert France, Dalhousie University, are looking for a keen master’s students to answer the question: How will climate positive design initiatives improve the process of postindustrial and post-mining reclamation?
Why is this important?
Our aim is to ensure future rehabilitation projects become carbon sinks, develop approaches to climate positive design, and evaluate material ecologies of rehabilitation site to help future mining company administrators, landscape designers, restoration ecologists, recreation planners and park managers select planting materials that will reflect the local bioregion, survive in situ for carbon sequestration credits, and contribute to the overall rehabilitation and public end-use of these sites.
What will be involved?
Prepare a literature review on mining practices, extraction, and heavy industrial landscape rehabilitation from the perspective of the design professions.
Collect and test soil samples at two former industrial sites.
Review construction documents and analyse the material-ecology of hard- and-soft-scapes.
Develop case studies for climate-positive design in landscape architecture.
Attend and present at an academic conference.
Co-author a peer-reviewed publication.
Develop potential new policy recommendations for climate-positive design in landscape architecture.
The ideal student will have a strong academic record and a background in a relevant program that includes landscape architecture, landscape ecology, mining reclamation, climate science, or policy. Experience working on a research project, or an independent study is ideal. Critical thinking and writing skills are mandatory. We are hoping to recruit a student to start in September 2022, but a delay to January 2023 can be negotiated. We are offering a two-year stipend of approximately $20,000/year. In addition, we will work with students to secure additional scholarship and support to attend conferences.
If interested, please email heather.braiden@umontreal.ca and rfrance@dal.ca using the subject line Climate-positive
research project. Please include a cover letter describing your interest and background, a writing sample
(essay, report, or long-form exam answer), and copies of your CV and transcripts from your previous degree(s).
See PDF below for details in French: