NSAC E-Bulletin

Please forward your submissions to the NSAC E-Bulletin to Stephanie Rogers (news@nsac.ca) by Friday at 2:00 p.m. for inclusion in the next week's edition.

SPEC4007 Gardens – Design through Time

This special topics course in garden design explores the cross cultural design styles and influences that have been carried forward, many of which are reflected in gardens today.

The role of plants in landscapes from early times to today’s urban landscapes will be investigated. The course looks at influential landscape designers and how they changed the vernacular landscape, and the plant explorers who forever changed the plant palette used to create gardens.

Students will be expected to research course topics and write a term paper on an approved subject. Design assignments will recreate period gardens using the appropriate plants.

Learning objectives:
Students will be able to recognize period design influence.
Students will understand the underlying societal pressures that resulted in design innovation.
Students will learn the origins and cultural importance of a wide range of plants.
Students will be able to discuss the design style of important period designers.
By learning what came before, students will be able to assess contemporary design and whether anything is really new in landscape design.

Assessment:
Class participation 10
Term paper 30
Presentation 20
Design assignments (4) 40

This course has no landscape studies prerequisites, but " 20 degree, technology or technical credits, including ENVS-2000 and ENVS-2001, and permission of the coordinator". The Coordinator for this course is Glenn Stratton. The course will be offered on Monday afternoons from 2 – 5pm.

Department Head - Plant and Animal Sciences

Dr. Leslie MacLaren, Vice-President Academic,is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Tarjei Tennessen to the position of Department Head, Plant and Animal Sciences. This is a five-year appointment, effective December 1, 2005.

Dr. Tennessen has been with the Department of Plant and Animal Sciences since 1984 and has some exciting ideas for the future of the Department. He is currently faculty advisor to students in the Pre-Vet Program and for those students planning to take part in the university’s exchange program with the Norwegian Agricultural University. He is also a long-standing member of the institution's Animal Care Committee and a member of the newly-created NSAC Enrolment Management Council.

Dr. Tennessen will be replacing Dr. Derek Anderson who has led the department for the past eight years.

Subscribing to the NSAC Noticeboard and Message Forum

It has now been a month since the NSAC Noticeboard and Message Forum at http://nsac.ca/forums has replaced the old Noticeboard. More and more people are tuning into the forum for news and information related to the campus community.

Registered users have the option of “subscribing” to the forum and receiving an e-mail with a link whenever a new message is posted. That way they are sure not to miss any new notices or messages. It is possible to subscribe to the entire Board or just to an individual discussion. Just like registration, subscription is optional. Check it out for all the details.

Annual Holiday Luncheon

Wander in out of the cold (?) on Friday, December 16th ( it just might be cold by then) and join us for the annual NSAC Staff Holiday Luncheon. This year’s menu features a traditional Turkey Dinner with all the trimmings! For those who prefer vegetarian, options will be available. Please RSVP to Theresa Blois (893-6720) or tblois@nsac.ca by noon, December 9th. Please make sure to pass this invitation along to those in your unit who do not have computer access.

Long Service Awards

North American Mobility Program - Request for Proposals

The Program for North American Mobility in Higher Education is a co-operative partnership among the governments of Canada, the United States and Mexico. The Program supports the development of international joint projects among universities, colleges and technical institutions in the three countries. The principal aims are to strengthen trilateral co-operation in post-secondary education, training and internship and increase student mobility.

Projects funded to date cover a wide range of fields, including architecture, business, engineering, health, law, geology, agriculture, veterinary medicine, tourism and environmental studies. The projects are carried out through multilateral groupings of institutions spanning the three countries.

A new competition has been announced with federal support of up to $160,000 per project over four years for the Canadian partner institutions. The application deadline is April 17th, 2006, with projects commencing in the fall term.

Guidelines and Application Procedures for Canadian applicants are available on the Program’s web-site:
/www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/hip/lld/lssd/iam/announcements.shtml#na

If you are interested in preparing a proposal or have ideas and contacts for a proposal, please contact Mary Breen mbreen@nsac.ca or 893 6252 at NSAC International.

Research & Graduate Studies Office Closed Over Holidays

They wish you and your families a joyous holiday season and they look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

NSAC Partners with Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia

NSAC is proud to announce the R&D partnership with the Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia. Christmas tree production adds nearly $30 million to the Nova Scotian economy and over 3500 producers are involved in the production and exporting Christmas trees.

NSAC will be involved in highly critical research on Needle Retention in Balsam Fir trees. Dr. Lada, in collaboration with Dr. Tom Smith, has initiated Needle Retention Research.

Mr. Len Giffen, Co-ordinator of the Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia states, "Dr. Lada, on behalf of the Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia, I want to thank you for partnering with us to conduct research on needle retention in Balsam Fir Christmas Trees. This is the single most important issue given by consumers in North America against the use of real trees. Anything we can do to reduce needle drop will be a significant boost to the industry."

We thank the council for choosing NSAC as their R& D venue of choice. For more information, please contact rlada@nsac.ca.

Update on Recruiment

The schedule of school visits coordinated by the Atlantic Association of Registrars and Admissions Officers concluded last week. Craig visited schools in the Annapolis Valley, Cole Harbour and Dartmouth last week and Nick visited schools in Dartmouth, Musquodoboit Harbour and Sheet Harbour. They joined with the recruiters from all the Atlantic universities at a scheduled wrap-up session on Friday. This week, weather permitting, we hope to do some follow-up visits in New Brunswick and in the local area.

A tip of the hat this week to Lauranne Sanderson for heading up the display promoting our new Diploma in Enterprise Management programs at the NSFA annual meeting Friday and Saturday. Thanks also to Gail Weeks-Bouma, Leanne French-Munn, Dara Pelkey-Field and Fraser Nicholson for staffing the display and responding to inquiries on our various programs of study.

Our next project is preparation for students to return to their home high schools over the holiday break. Students are encouraged to contact the Recruitment staff or Stephanie Rogers if they are able to make a contact at their home high school after exams. We will provide a scripted presentation and materials to take to hand out. A training session is being held today at noon for any students who are able to attend.

Brian Crouse