Hello Geographers!

Sorry for the belated listserv, though as you all know it's midterm season. And what a better way that to destress with... *smooth segue to the first event*

1. Research Assistant Position
2. Tutor for GEOG 205 needed!
3. Sustainability Research Symposium
4. Barbados Interdisciplinary Tropical Studies (BITS) 
5. Redpath Museum Cutting Edge Lecture
6. Farmers Market Vegetable Baskets
7. Mildy Interesting Map of the Week
8. Cool Thing of the Week

1. Therapeutic Painting with MUGS

Some therapeutic painting with your best buds! Come by the MUGS lounge at 5pm next Monday (the 20th) to paint, draw, make a macaroni replica of your favourite projection, you name it!

We also, by courtesy the one and only Michelle (your academic advisor on 3rd for those who may not know), will have an urban planning colouring book where you can colour street grids, and make those sad empty city pages beautiful! (City beautiful movement anyone?)

Be sure to check out the event, and hang out for a bit :)

2. Drop-in Advising Hours Change  

Speaking of Michelle (just nailing it with the transitions today), her drop in advising hours for next Tuesday (the 21st), will be cancelled and moved to Thursday 23rd from 1-4!

There will also be a sign on Michelle's office door for those of you who don't read the listserv... in which case this sentence doesn't address anyone :)

3. South American Agricultural Frontiers Talk

Interested in how consuming certain imported products leads to deforestation in South America? If not, you should as it's a facinating albeit depressing geographic phenomena we should all be aware of. 

Dr. Yann Le Polain de Waroux from Stanford University will be giving a talk about his research tomorrow (Feb 17th) from 10:30am-12pm in BURN426. Here's a blurb of what his talk will be about:
Anticipation, regulation and adaptation in South American agricultural frontiers
 
Global demand for agricultural commodities is driving rapid deforestation in various parts of the world, creating agricultural frontiers in previously forested areas. In South America, over the last decades, these deforestation frontiers have increasingly been driven by large-scale commercial operations, rather than by smallholder colonization. This shift in the actors driving frontier expansion poses a threefold challenge. First, it makes it harder to anticipate frontier development, because existing theories and models are primarily based on smallholder frontiers. Second, the greater mobility of large-scale commercial farming weakens our ability to regulate frontier expansion, by creating opportunities for leakage of deforestation from one region to another. Third, rapid expansion of commercial farming may lead to land degradation and the disruption of smallholder communities. In this talk, I will explore these three challenges using a perspective centered on the land-use and livelihood strategies of frontier actors, and propose ways forward.

4. Permaculture Design Course

Have you ever dreamed of taking a permaculture design course? P3 is offering a part-time Permaculture Design Certification over the course of 7 weekends in Montreal, from March 4th to May 14th, 2017, held at 10am-6pm on Saturdays and Sundays Through taking this internationally recognized course, you will learn to read landscapes, analyse problems, and design ecological solutions for the home, garden, farm, and city. Students taking this course will have the opportunity to plan, design and install the new Permaculture Showcase Garden right here on McGill University's MacDonald Campus! It doesn't end there, participants will also be eligible for a full time Garden Coordinator position this summer. 

With 6-10 people in our group, the discounted rate is $665 +tax, and with 11 or more students, the price drops to $570 +tax per person. Spots are limited! Email the McGill Permaculture Club to get a spot, and for more info www.p3permaculture.ca

 

7. Mildly Interesting Map of the Week

Check out the ultimate projection to show that special cartographer that they're the one for you (sorry for the post coming in late!). Nothing's quite so romantic as projecting Greenland proportionally to the African continent... maybe don't send this to an Australian love interest though.
Read more about the projection here, if you're curious about it.

8. Cool Thing of the Week

Ever contemplate how you would imagine political boundaries if you had never even seen a map? ...Just me, cool. Well, here's a tactile war map of Europe! Despite not being the most... accurate map, found it an interesting share! 

And there you have it, 

For those of you still battling with midterms, assignments, or just being snowed in, remember... Reading week is just around the corner! So stay strong, come paint with us next Monday and have a great end of the week :)

Noé Schultz
VP Communications
McGill Undergraduate Geography Society