UWFSA first place winners, right to left, Tess McDonald, Kayla Maxwell, Nicholas Palaschuk, and Savannah Eidse
The UWinnipeg Forestry Students Association* (UWFSA) made history by winning the national quiz bowl competition at the Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF) annual conference Sharing Our Forests. Two teams attended the meeting in Kenora, ON, from September 14-18, representing and supported by UWinnipeg’s Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR) and Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences (DESS).
Organized as a round robin, UWinnipeg students beat out five other teams from the University of Alberta and Lakehead University to set-up a UWinnipeg vs. UWinnipeg final, thereby winning 1st and 2nd place. UWinnipeg students successfully answered a suite of questions regarding forest management and conservation, entomology, wildlife biology, soil science, hydrology, and geomatics, among others. The competition was adjudicated by CIF board members.
This is a particularly notable achievement as it is the first time UWinnipeg has entered teams into the quiz bowl, and they had steep competition. The students were very enthusiastic about participating, and put together convincing wins.
“I am very proud of how our students represented UWinnipeg,” said Dr. Ryan Bullock, Assistant Professor in DESS. “They beat out other schools that typically dominate these competitions, so they can be proud of their achievement. It was also a good opportunity to showcase their talents for the more than 200 delegates at this national conference.”
The conference included representatives from government, NGOs, industry and communities. The students’ historic win was acknowledged during the CIF business meeting and will be announced in the forthcoming issue of the journal Forestry Chronicle. The UW victory comes complete with the trophy and, of course, one years’ worth of bragging rights. The Manitoba Chapter of the CIF has indicated it will also host a celebration for the students this fall in Winnipeg, and the trophy will be on display at UWinnipeg.
Founded in 1908, The Canadian Institute of Forestry is “the voice of forest practitioners” and the main accreditation body for post-secondary forestry education in the country.
Dr. Richard Westwood, Chair of Environmental Studies and Sciences remarked that “the Forest Ecology and Forest Policy and Management programs offered through DESS are accredited by the CIF and provide undergraduate students with opportunities to develop skills and knowledge that are highly relevant to forest sector careers in Manitoba, but also in Canada and abroad. Our students are talented and get hired into forestry and conservation careers in many sectors. They are an important part of UWinnipeg’s vibrant and growing environmental community.”
For more information contact Dr. Ryan Bullock, Environmental Studies and Sciences, r.bullock@uwinnipeg.ca.
*The UWFSA students that participated were Tess McDonald, Kayla Maxwell, Nicholas Palaschuk, and Savannah Eidse. The second place team are Julia Lawler, Meagan Warkentin, Talia Bogaski and Sarah Thorarinson
