News Archives - Integrated Science

Prime Minister Carney Appoints Dr. Steven Cooke to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission

Michelle Santoianni — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 18:49:21 +0000

Prime Minister Carney Appoints Dr. Steven Cooke to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission

March 9, 2026

Time to read: 1 minutes

The post Prime Minister Carney Appoints Dr. Steven Cooke to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission appeared first on Integrated Science.

Invasive species in your Garden

Michelle Santoianni — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 15:12:20 +0000

Invasive species in your Garden

March 9, 2026

Time to read: 1 minutes

News

Dr. Joe Bennett talks about invasive species in Ottawa.

The post Invasive species in your Garden appeared first on Integrated Science.

Hooked On Urban Fishing in the Rideau Canal

Michelle Santoianni — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 15:10:13 +0000

Hooked On Urban Fishing in the Rideau Canal

March 9, 2026

Time to read: 1 minutes

News

Dr. Sean Landsman talks about fishing in the Rideau Canal.

The post Hooked On Urban Fishing in the Rideau Canal appeared first on Integrated Science.

Why the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission is trying to control the population of ‘vampire fish’

Michelle Santoianni — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 15:01:55 +0000

Why the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission is trying to control the population of ‘vampire fish’

March 9, 2026

Time to read: 1 minutes

News

Dr. Steve Cooke, discusses the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission work to control sea lamprey populations.

The post Why the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission is trying to control the population of ‘vampire fish’ appeared first on Integrated Science.

�Ӱ�ԭ�� Rises to #4 in Canada in Maclean’s Rankings

cuthemeedtr5 — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 18:43:49 +0000

�Ӱ�ԭ�� Rises to #4 in Canada in Maclean’s Rankings

March 9, 2026

Time to read: 1 minutes

News

�Ӱ�ԭ�� Rises to #4 in Canada in Maclean’s Rankings 

Maclean’s magazine has released their which once again highlight �Ӱ�ԭ�� University’s excellence.

�Ӱ�ԭ�� rose to No. 4 in Canada (No. 2 in Ontario) in the comprehensive category — universities with a significant amount of research activity and a wide range of programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including professional degrees.

“I am pleased that �Ӱ�ԭ��’s achievements continue to be recognized in these national rankings,” said �Ӱ�ԭ��’s Interim President and Vice-Chancellor, Jerry Tomberlin.

“The Maclean’s rankings highlight our strengths in research and the student experience which reflects our smart, caring community.”

�Ӱ�ԭ��’s leadership in research was again recognized as No. 1 in funding in the Social Sciences and Humanities.

Student support continues to be recognized as �Ӱ�ԭ�� secured top 5 rankings in the categories of Scholarships and Bursaries as well as Student Awards.

�Ӱ�ԭ�� is a home to top academic talent which is a testament to its ranking as No. 4 in Faculty Awards. In addition, �Ӱ�ԭ��’s Engineering program rose to No. 10 in the country.

The post �Ӱ�ԭ�� Rises to #4 in Canada in Maclean’s Rankings appeared first on Integrated Science.

Rachel Buxton talks about Bird and Tree Diversity

cuthemeedtr5 — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 18:42:24 +0000

Rachel Buxton talks about Bird and Tree Diversity

March 9, 2026

Time to read: 5 minutes

News

Want to Build Healthier Cities? Make Room for Bird and Tree Diversity

Lead image by Jeffrey Eisen / Pexels

By Rachel Buxton, Emma J. Hudgins and Stephanie Prince Ware

This article is from The Conversation under a Creative Commons licence. All photos provided by from various sources.

Rachel Buxton is an assistant professor in biology at �Ӱ�ԭ�� University.

More than — approximately one in eight of us — are living with a mood, anxiety or substance use disorder. The prevalence of mental disorders is on the rise,

The stresses of the city, , can even further.

When most people think about caring for their mental health, they may think about getting more exercise, getting more sleep and making sure they’re eating healthy. Increasingly, research is showing that spending time in nature surrounded by plants and wildlife can also contribute to .

Our research focuses on the importance of birds and trees in urban neighbourhoods in promoting mental well-being. , we combined more than a decade of health and ecological data across 36 Canadian cities and found a positive association between greater bird and tree diversity and self-rated mental health.

The well-being benefits of healthy ecosystems will probably not come as a great surprise to urban dwellers who relish days out in the park or hiking in a nearby nature reserve. Still, the findings of our study speak to the potential of a nature-based urbanism that promotes the health of its citizens.

Birds, trees and human connection

Across cultures and societies, people have . The beauty of their bright song and colour have inspired art, music and poetry. Their contemporary cultural relevance has even earned them an affectionate, absurdist internet nickname: “.”

There’s something magical about catching a glimpse of a bird and hearing birdsong. For many urbanites, birds are our daily connection to wildlife and a gateway to nature. In fact, even if we don’t realize it, humans and birds are intertwined. Birds provide us with many — controlling insects, dispersing seeds and pollinating our crops.

People have similarly intimate connections with trees. The terms tree of life, family trees, even tree-hugger all demonstrate the central cultural importance trees have in many communities around the world. In cities, trees are a staple of efforts to bring .

When the Australian city of Melbourne gave urban trees email addresses for people to report problems, residents responded by writing . Forest bathing, a .

Birds and trees as promoters of urban wellness

Contact with nature and greenspace have a suite of mental health benefits.

Natural spaces and offer places for recreation and relaxation for urban dwellers, but natural diversity is key. A growing amount of research shows that the extent of these benefits may be related to the .

For example, in the United States, higher bird diversity is associated with and longer . In a European study, researchers found that .

People’s connection to a greater diversity of birds and trees could be because we — one with more things to eat and more shelter. Biodiverse environments are also less work for the brain to interpret, .

To explore the relationship between biodiversity and mental health in urban Canada, we brought together unique datasets. First, we collected bird data sourced from community scientists, where people . We then compared this data with .

Finally, we compared both of these data sets to a that has interviewed approximately 65,000 Canadians each year for over two decades.

We found that living in a neighbourhood with higher than average bird diversity increased reporting of good mental health by about seven per cent. While living in a neighbourhood with higher than average tree diversity increased good mental health by about five per cent.

Importance of urban bird and tree diversity

The results of our study, and those of others, show a connection between urban bird and tree diversity, healthy ecosystems and people’s mental well-being. This underscores the importance of urban biodiversity conservation as part of healthy living promotion.

Protecting wild areas in parks, planting pollinator gardens and reducing pesticide use could all be key strategies to protect urban wildlife and promote people’s well-being. Urban planners should take note.

We’re at a critical juncture: just as we are beginning to understand the well-being benefits of birds and trees, we’re losing species at a faster rate than ever before. It’s estimated that there are in North America compared to the 1970s and invasive pests will .

By promoting urban biodiversity, we can ensure a sustainable and healthy future for all species, including ourselves.

Wide image by Line Knipst / Pexels

The post Rachel Buxton talks about Bird and Tree Diversity appeared first on Integrated Science.

ISAP Faculty-Dr. Rachel Buxton talks about Biodiversity on CBC Fresh Air

cuthemeedtr5 — Tue, 02 Jul 2024 15:30:27 +0000

ISAP Faculty-Dr. Rachel Buxton talks about Biodiversity on CBC Fresh Air

March 9, 2026

News

The science says biodiversity isn’t just good for the environment…it’s good for your mental health too!

Rachel Buxton is a �Ӱ�ԭ�� professor who was the lead author of the study that shows the connection between living in a neighbourhood with a greater variety of birds and better mental health.

Aired: June 29, 2024

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Dr. Rachel Buxton, ISAP Professor researches Bird songs may ease the blues

cuthemeedtr5 — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 14:37:34 +0000

Dr. Rachel Buxton, ISAP Professor researches Bird songs may ease the blues

March 9, 2026

News

By | 8 hours ago

The American robin, Michigan’s state bird, could be part of a legion of mental health therapists. It has been logged over 19 million times on the birdwatching app eBird. Image: Michigan Department of Natural Resources

By Daniel Schoenherr

The Great Lakes region’s more than 300 bird species may provide valuable mental health benefits.

A recent from �Ӱ�ԭ�� University in Ontario shows there are fewer mental health-related hospitalizations in Michigan areas with high bird diversity.

Previous have linked the presence of foliage to mental health, but the author of this study, Rachel Buxton, said this is not the only element of nature that could impact mental health.

“Birds need trees…so we thought maybe it was just green space that is driving this relationship,” said Buxton, who is an assistant professor of biology at �Ӱ�ԭ��. “And that wasn’t the case, which is interesting.”

“This is a first (broad) look at the relationship of very severe mental health outcomes…and biodiversity,” Buxton said.

Her study is one of many made possible by a popular bird watching app: . The app allows users to log an area’s birds, earning badges for recording sightings of different species.

Buxton’s study used eBird’s data to cross-reference the number of bird species in each Michigan zip-code with the number of reported mental health-related hospitalizations in the same year.

This chart shows bird diversity hotspots across Michigan. Areas on the coast of large bodies of water tend to have the highest number of species. Data from eBird.

Zip codes for coastal regions like Holland and Tawas City tend to have a higher number of species reported, while inland regions like Grand Rapids and Roscommon have smaller numbers.

The relationship between biodiversity and mental health is often reported in textbooks, Buxton said. “It’s coming up again and again.”

The connection is likely linked to sound and human evolution, Buxton said. “Humans are tuned to signals of safety and danger.”

An environment full of different species indicates that there is food, water and shelter nearby — things that both people and animals need to survive.

Fewer species in an area could mean that something is wrong. That could mean environmental needs cannot be met or danger is nearby, Buxton said.

Environments where everything has “gone quiet” could indicate danger and induce stress, Buxton said. “That has very negative downstream health repercussions.”

“Humans rely on sound, it’s the first sense we get as human beings in the womb,” she said.

There is tons of evidence that listening to nature — even on headphones — can have health benefits, she said.

Jenna Curtis, eBird project leader at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, said thousands of projects across the world use the data.

The app records information, including recent of flamingoes in Wisconsin. A team of eBird developers review and confirm the data submitted by users, Curtis said.

The app provides data for uses as diverse as high school science projects, training computer programs and fueling new legislation for protecting endangered birds, Curtis said.

Buxton said before eBird, researchers like her had very little data about birds to go off of.

“We used to have nothing, no information,” Buxton said. “(eBird) is opening up a world to scientists.”

Buxton said she wants to explore the connection between birds and mental health on a smaller scale.

“Nature is preserving our health,” Buxton said. We need to be looking at it as a reciprocal relationship…. How do we make sure we’re doing our part to preserve nature?”

You can find the eBird app at Apple’s App Store and Google Play.

The post Dr. Rachel Buxton, ISAP Professor researches Bird songs may ease the blues appeared first on Integrated Science.

EXPO �Ӱ�ԭ��-Tuesday, September 5th, Learn �Ӱ�ԭ�� Science Certificate Programs

cuthemeedtr5 — Tue, 22 Aug 2023 17:52:53 +0000

EXPO �Ӱ�ԭ��-Tuesday, September 5th, Learn �Ӱ�ԭ�� Science Certificate Programs

March 9, 2026

News

EXPO �Ӱ�ԭ�� will be on Tuesday, September 5th in the CU Fieldhouse from 1-4pm.

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Open to all �Ӱ�ԭ�� students and the �Ӱ�ԭ�� Community.

Faculty will be present to discuss our new Science Certificate programs

Certificate in Science Communication

Certificate in Science and Policy

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ISAP Director, Dr. Steven Cooke Awarded 2023 Research Achievement Award

cuthemeedtr5 — Thu, 02 Mar 2023 19:03:34 +0000

ISAP Director, Dr. Steven Cooke Awarded 2023 Research Achievement Award

March 9, 2026

News

The �Ӱ�ԭ�� University Research Achievement Awards are administered by the Office of the Vice-President (Research and International). The purpose of these awards is to recognize outstanding research achievements. The awards were established in 1989 to enhance the quality of research and to recognize research excellence. The recipients’ terms run from May to April.

Be sure to view past winners and the Teaching Achievement Award winners too!

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