ULERN promotes partnerships.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: Upper Lakes Environmental Research Network promotes partnerships between Sault College and research and industry on environmental issues

Working alongside research scientists in studying how forest herbicides impact fish habitat or mapping out previously. uncharted northern rivers is the learning opportunity of a lifetime for students involved in an environment-based partnership program.

The Upper Lakes Environmental Research Network (ULERN) is moving ahead by leaps and bounds in their efforts to promote partnerships between Sault College and research and industry players for research and development projects in the natural resources and environmental spheres.

Margo Shaw, ULERN's director, says through their 11-member partners, the Sault College-based initiative has accessed more than $5 million in federal and provincial research dollars in the last five years and provided more than 120 student and intern jobs placements.

"The involvement is just a tremendous advantage to our students that they can put on their resume," says Shaw, by rubbing elbows with researchers and resource managers while doing actual field work as part of their course requirements.

About 29 students from the school's natural resources, water resources and geographic information systems programs were hired on in the past year for wage-subsidized projects. And as many as 100 students, says Shaw, work on a project-by-project basis at any given time, either in paid positions or as volunteers.

Their membership group includes the local offices of the Canadian Forest Service (CFS), Environment Canada, Fisheries and Ocean, and the Ontario Forest Research Institute (OFRI) combined with industry partners in Great Lakes Power, St. Marys Paper and more recently forestry giant Tembec.

"Tembec is a very forward-thinking company," says Shaw, in signing a five-agreement with OFRI and CFS to collaborate on research. "They've realized the value of working together with govenment agencies."

The program was formed back in the mid-1990's when college officials and a number...