Students and graduates from the Master of Arts in Island Studies (MAIS) program at the University of Prince Edward Island are making their mark in islands research around the world. Dolores LeVangie, Laurie Brinklow, and Kathleen Stuart have each received prestigious scholarships to study in the southern Chilean island of Chiloé, Tasmania, and Australia, respectively.

Master's student Dolores LeVangie has been awarded a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada graduate scholarship for her research on 'Medicine of the land: exploring the use and transition of medicinal practices in island communities of the Mi'kmaq in Eastern Canada and the Williche of Southern Chile.' She has also earned the Erwin and Joyce Andrew Memorial Scholarship and a Robin Rigby Trust Scholarship. In March, she will begin four months of field work in Chiloé to explore the many inter-related causes and effects of the decline in traditional/local medicine use. Her thesis supervisors at UPEI are Drs. Udo Krautwurst and Jean Mitchell.

Laurie Brinklow, who graduated from the MAIS program in 2007, has received a full-tuition Endeavour International Postgraduate Research Scholarship to pursue a PhD in the School of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Tasmania. Her research focus will be 'Islandness, sense of place, and the importance of 'story' in the islands of Newfoundland and Tasmania.' She will explore the possible connections between islandness and the creation of a strong sense of localized identity, which is then expressed through the arts. Her thesis supervisor is writer and political activist Dr. Pete Hay. Laurie will begin her PhD program in July with a year of study in Tasmania, followed by a year in Newfoundland.

Kathleen Stuart, a MAIS graduate who taught in the Island Studies minor program for three years, has been awarded a PhD scholarship and a Higher Degree Research Merit Scholarship from the Australian National University (ANU). She will research environmental history and related perspectives on biodiversity conservation on islands. Kathy will work with Dr. Libby Robin, Senior Fellow with the Fenner School of Environment and Society and Senior Research Fellow in the National Museum of Australia. She will travel to Canberra to begin her PhD studies later this month.

The Master of Arts in Island Studies at UPEI is an interdisciplinary, policy-driven program that is open to students from around the world. Its basis in comparative study provides students with the practical research skills and knowledge to succeed in a world increasingly defined by interconnections and interactions among peoples and regions.

Fourth-year nursing students from the University of Prince Edward Island are spending two months developing and applying their clinical skills in communities across PEI, in Nova Scotia and Alberta, and even as far afield as Florida, the Cayman Islands, and Kenya.

Forty-three students are enhancing their learning at the Queen Elizabeth, Prince County, Western, Hillsborough, Eastern Kings and Stewart Memorial hospitals, and at the Palliative Care Centre in Charlottetown. Others are honing their skills at the IWK Hospital in Halifax, the Nova Scotia Hospital in Dartmouth, and the Peter Lougheed and the Rockyview hospitals in Calgary. Six have chosen international experiences, including four who are working at the St. Teresa Mission hospital, at an HIV outreach clinic, and in a children's home in the village of Kiirua in Kenya.

These local, national, and international placements provide students with practical opportunities to integrate the nursing theory and clinical learning they have acquired over the four years of their Bachelor of Nursing program, and to develop personally as nursing professionals. The students will complete their placements at the beginning of April.

Award-winning poet Anne Compton returns to her native P.E.I. to read from her new book, Asking Questions Indoors and Out, on Tuesday, February 16, at 7:30 in the UPEI Faculty Lounge, Main Building.

Her reading is part of the Winter's Tales Authors Series sponsored by the UPEI English Department, with funding from the Canada Council for the Arts.

Born and raised in the farming community of Bangor, P.E.I., she won the Atlantic Poetry Prize for her first two books of poetry, Opening the Island and Processional, and the Governor General's Award for Processional. In 2008 she received the Alden Nowlan Award for Excellence in English Language Literary Arts. In The Globe and Mail, a reviewer called Processional "[A] rigorously intelligent work about the pains and glories of life and nature."

Dr. Compton teaches at the University of New Brunswick at Saint John and is director of the prestigious Lorenzo Reading Series. Her reading will be followed by a reception and book signing.

The Institute of Island Studies at UPEI will hold a workshop called "Time and a Place: Environmental Histories, Environmental Futures & Prince Edward Island" from June 13 to 18, 2010.

The deadline for registration is Monday, February 15. Registration is $150 for the whole week, including meals ($250 for meals and accommodation in a UPEI residence).

The workshop will bring together local, national and international participants to develop an understanding of P.E.I.'s environmental history; assist future environmental planning on the Island; and explore the value of islands for crafting comprehensive plans for sustainability. There will be workshops, field trips and public lectures.

Interested people are asked to fill out an application by February 15. Applicants will be informed by March 15 if their applications are successful. The deadline to pay the registration fee is May 1. Day passes will be an option, but those who wish to attend by the day need to pre-register.

Wrapped around this conference will be a unique, three-week UPEI course in environmental history for senior undergraduate and graduate students. Students will attend conference sessions during their second week. The Network in Canadian Environmental History is offering travel subsidies for students who wish to attend the conference and/or course.

For more information, contact Irene Novaczek, director of the Institute of Island Studies, at (902) 566-0386 or inovaczek@upei.ca, or visit the conference website.

The Town of Souris is partnering with ProfitLearn PEI to provide a computer skills workshop for local business people.

The workshop, 'Basic Computer Skills for Everyday Use in Your Business,' will take place on Tuesday, February 16, from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at the Holland College Centre on Main Street, Souris. Participants will gain fundamental computer skills needed to succeed in today's workplace.

Under the direction of trainer Patrick Ledwell, participants will explore topics such as researching business information on the internet, using desktop publishing for cards, correspondence and posters, and investigating software programs that are accessible at little or no cost. They will work directly on computers to build knowledge and understanding of basic computer programs.

The cost is $50 (plus GST) per participant. To register, contact Chrissy Conohan, Special Events Coordinator, Town of Souris, P.E.I., at cconohan@sourispei.com or (902) 687-2157.

ProfitLearn PEI provides business training for owner managers across PEI through a partnership between the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), Innovation PEI and the University of Prince Edward Island. For more information, contact ProfitLearn PEI at 1-800-270-4795 or visit http://profitlearn.upei.ca.

As they set off to showcase PEI to the world at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, members of the Confederation Centre Young Company proudly donned Panther T-shirts to celebrate their many connections as students, alumni, staff, and friends of the University of Prince Edward Island.

Other PEI artists being featured at Atlantic Canada House in Vancouver include Meaghan Blanchard, Lennie Gallant, Tim Chaisson and Morning Fold, Two Hours Traffic, Paper Lions, Catherine MacLellan, Chuck & Albert, Vishten, In-Flight Safety, John Connolly, Rose Cousins, Richard Wood, Gordon Belsher, The Grass Mountain Hobos and Brad Fremlin. Many are UPEI students and alumni, or they have close ties with the University through family and friends.

To read the Vancouver Sun's February 16 article about UPEI arts student Meaghan Blanchard, click here.

To view The Guardian's February 16 article about The Young Company, click here.

UPEI student Nicholas MacLeod has been named the 2010 Student Entrepreneur Prince Edward Island Champion by national charitable organization, Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) and program supporter, CIBC.

Since 2003, Nicholas has owned and operated Future Web Design, providing full service information technology services with a strong emphasis on customer service. Future Web Design provides clients with web development, hosting, domain registration, graphic design, photography and IT Technical Support. The company focuses mainly on small business by offering web development and IT services that are of high quality and add value to the company.

Nicholas's largest business accomplishments to date include being fully supported financially by the business, having a client base across the US and Canada including British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and all Atlantic Provinces as well as having an average of 60 per cent growth in revenue over the past three years.

'For me personally the award provides additional inspiration. It has taken an incredible investment of time and personal sacrifice to bring my business to this point', says Nicholas. 'Being recognized brings incentive for me to continue to work hard, set and strive for larger goals.'

As a provincial champion, Nicholas will now move on to represent Prince Edward Island in the regional round of competition taking place at the 2010 ACE Regional Exposition in Halifax on February 26, 2010. Provincial champions will each present their business to a panel of entrepreneurs and industry professionals who will determine two regional champions. Each regional champion will receive a $1,000 cash prize and move on to the final round of competition at the 2010 ACE National Exposition in Calgary on May 12, 2010. The national champion will receive a $10,000 cash prize and represent Canada at the international level of competition, the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards.

'With today's ever changing economic situation ACE is thrilled to continue to celebrate the achievements of young entrepreneurs who are simultaneously attending University or College, explains ACE president Amy Harder. These dedicated individuals will no doubt drive the Canadian economy for years to come.'

About ACE
Founded in the mid-1980s, ACE is a national charitable not-for-profit organization that is teaching and igniting young Canadians to create brighter futures for themselves and their communities. Working in partnership with business and higher education, ACE provides post-secondary students with the opportunity to gain entrepreneurial and leadership skills, outside of the classroom, through a team based program, Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) and an individual based program, Student Entrepreneur. Due to direct involvement with ACE, students move on to become entrepreneurs and business leaders who will make a meaningful contribution towards a better Canada.

CIBC became a founding corporate sponsor of ACE in 1995 and has sponsored the Student Entrepreneur Competition since its inception in 1997.

Media release courtesy of ACE

There will be a free public screening of the film Awra Amba, followed by a discussion, on Thursday, March 4, at 7 p.m. in the Main Building Faculty Lounge at UPEI.

This screening is the Canadian premiere of the film, which is currently being distributed to film festivals world-wide. Cindy Hanson, of the UPEI Faculty of Education, has worked in Awra Amba and will facilitate the discussion after the showing.

Awra Amba is an unusual and remarkable place situated in a rural, food insecure region of Ethiopia. The community has developed around goals of equality, hard work and non-violence. It demonstrates these goals by using local, indigenous knowledge in unique ways which include a culture of weaving, use of local building materials, and promotion of equality between men and women, and education for all.

Despite a history of persecution and personal strife, the community continues to grow, manage and operate in ways that model sustainability, caring and community development. As Zuma, one of the community leaders, says, 'We have to find ways of living and working together, and that is what Awra Amba is all about.'

In a global world searching for models of equality and development, Awra Amba provides an unusual example. While world governments try to build millennium development villages, for example, Awra Amba provides an example without external aid.

A trailer for the film can be previewed on Write This Down Productions' website or at www.awraamba.com

This screening is supported by WUSC, Cooper Institute, PEI Women's Network, CUSO-VSO, Women's Studies (UPEI) and UPEI Centre for Education Research.

Two of Canada's most popular, gutsy and gripping poets, Jeanette Lynes and Douglas Burnet Smith, will read on Thursday, March 11, at 7:30 p.m., in the UPEI Faculty Lounge, Main Building. Both teach literature and creative writing at St. Francis Xavier University.

Lynes' highly accessible, entertaining, and street-savvy poetry, and her vibrant performances, have earned her a nation-wide following. From The Aging Cheerleader's Alphabet (2003), to It's Hard Being Queen: The Dusty Springfield Poems (2008) and The New Blue Distance (2009), her poetry animates and grapples with issues familiar to us all, and in a language, voice and perspective that's delightfully feisty and sassy.

Her first novel, The Factory Voice (2009), long-listed for the Giller Prize, is set in Fort William, Ontario (now Thunder Bay), during the Second World War. The main character is based on one of Canada's most extraordinary women, Elsie McGill, a.k.a. Queen of the Hurricane, Canada's first female aeronautic engineer, who helped convert Canada Car and Foundry into a Hawker Hurricane fighter-jet factory.

Douglas Burnet Smith has published 12 volumes of poetry. His latest book is Sister Prometheus: Discovering Madame Curie. His Voices from a Farther Room was nominated for the Governor General's Award. The Killed (2000) is inspired by visits to the former Yugoslavia, and what he learned about the ravages and aftermath of the recent wars in that region.

The strong appeal of Smith's poetry results from its finely-honed intensity, unsparing honesty about its subjects and the poet himself, and stunning ironies. His poetry resonates with a potent moral vision, a remarkable awareness of humanity's capacity to veer between benevolence and brutality, love and hate, sublime creation and wanton destruction, wisdom and folly.

This event is sponsored by the UPEI English Department, with support from the Canada Council for the Arts. Admission is free, and a reception will follow.

Members of the public are invited to attend presentations in March by candidates for the position of Director of Environmental Studies at the University of Prince Edward Island.

Dr. Carolyn Peach-Brown of the University of Guelph will give a presentation called 'Community-University: Partners for Sustainability' on Monday, March 1, from 7 - 8:30 p.m., in the Atlantic Veterinary College, Lecture Theatre A.

The world today is faced with socio-ecological challenges related to climate change, deforestation, dependence on fossil fuels, over fishing, soil nutrient depletion and increasing disparity between the rich and the poor. Addressing the challenges requires an integrated approach that draws on a broad range of knowledge from government, differing sectors, non-governmental organizations and members of local communities. Drawing on her 20 years of work and research experience in Africa and more recently at the University of Guelph, Peach-Brown will show that universities have a pivotal role to play in fostering integration of the knowledge needed to equip society to meet these challenges.

On Monday, March 8, at 8 p.m., Dr. Kate Sherren of Australian National University (ANU) will give a talk called 'Integrating conservation and production: Beyond protected areas for sustainable grazing in Australia.' Sherren's talk will take place in the Atlantic Veterinary College, Lecture Theatre A.

In the 19th century, all but 15 per cent of Australia's temperate grazing land was cleared of its tree cover, with the biggest trees often left standing to provide shade for livestock. Today, those trees are dying, and the country faces a future bereft of scattered trees and the ecosystem services they provide. Current government policies and incentives prioritize the preservation of large patches and the planting of strips of trees. Sherren will discuss ANU's sustainable farms project, which worked with local graziers to confirm the scale of scattered tree decline and its risks, and to identify management options that may provide positive outcomes for tree restoration and agricultural production. The project holds lessons for integrative, participatory research with stakeholder communities and conservation policy.

Dr. Alison Neilson of University of the Azores, Portugal, will present 'Environmental Justice--Creative Collaborations for Challenging Stories' on Thursday, March 18, from 7-8:30 p.m., in McMillan Hall, W.A. Murphy Student Centre.

Neilson will explore the relevance of environmental justice to research, teaching and community development in PEI. She will also examine how seeking environmental justice can support innovative collaboration for dealing with complex environmental issues on islands, drawing from her research with environmental educators from Brazil, Iran, Colombia, Tanzania, Paraguay, and Canada; and fishers in the Azores, Portugal and outport Newfoundland. She will highlight concrete examples of practices that seek environmental justice and engage the audience in short activities for overcoming barriers of language and drawing out multiple perspectives.

For more information about these presentations, please contact Dr. Pamela Courtenay-Hall, UPEI Philosophy Department and Environmental Studies Program, at (902) 894-2838 or pcourtenay@upei.ca.