Sable Island Institute (SII) presents
the 13th Sable Island Update

Thursday, November 23, 2023, 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

Theatre Auditorium McNally Building, Saint Mary’s University Campus, 923 Robie St, Halifax.

This meeting is open to the public. Admission is free.

Program

6:30 pm – Doors open.

7:00 – Welcome and Introduction by MC, Mathieu D’Astous, Sable Island National Park Reserve

Two presentations:

7:15 – Fences in the Sand, Ecological Research on Sable Island, speakers Ruth Greuel and Kate Fredericks (SII).

7:50 – Bringing Sable Island to the Mainland – Looking to the Future, speaker Dov Bercovici (DCI).

8:15 – Q & A, followed by a draw for door prizes.

9:00 – Refreshments & Conversation.

9:30 – Doors close.

Speakers & Presentation Topics

First Presentation:

Fences in the Sand, Ecological Research on Sable Island
Speakers Ruth Greuel and Kate Fredericks

Fences in the Sand is a large-scale, highly collaborative project centred around grazing exclosures set up on Sable Island for a period of four years (2021-2025). The primary goal of the project is to develop our understanding of the ecology of Sable Island, including species interactions and landscape change, in relation to horse grazing. Ruth Greuel and Kate Fredericks will talk about the different components of the project and some of the work that has been done so far.

Ruth began as the Fences in the Sand project manager for the Sable Island Institute in April 2023, taking over from Dr. Krista Patriquin. Since 2018, Ruth has been working on her PhD on Sable Island horse diet as well as on the nutrient and vegetation dynamics of the island. She is delighted to have another opportunity to work on this amazing system, and getting to work on a project using grazing exclosures is especially exciting for her. She has previously worked on prairie grassland songbirds and boreal lichen recovery after fire.

Kate joined the team as an ecological field technician with Fences in the Sand for the 2023 field season. She will soon graduate from Dalhousie with a BSc in biology and plans to continue her education in graduate school. Throughout her degree, she worked on research investigating fish behaviour and the effect of variable temperatures on fish plasticity. She has a keen interest in all animals…especially insects!

Second Presentation:

Bringing Sable Island to the Mainland – Looking to the Future
Speaker Dov Bercovici

Dov Bercovici is the President and CEO of the Discovery Centre and CEO of Discovery Centre International (DCI) and has over 30 years experience in science education.

The Discovery Centre is a not-for-profit charitable organization based in Halifax whose mission is to stimulate interest, enjoyment and understanding of science and technology. Discovery Centre International advises clients nationally and internationally on the complex process of planning, designing, financing, and operating cultural attractions focussing on STEAM-based learning. These include exhibits, facilitated programming, curriculum-based workshops, and educational outreach.

In his talk Dov will speak on the new partnership between DCI and the Sable Island Institute, the goal of which is to establish a Sable Island interpretive and research centre on the mainland. This centre will bring Sable Island as close as possible to Nova Scotians and will be the next best thing to actually being on the Island.

Sponsors & Partners

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