Digital Commons Network^™

Dominion Or Destruction: Rereading Genesis In An Age Of Melting Ice, Benjamin Nunes

Consensus

This essay was written for the course “TH530A-A: God and Theological Reflection,” taught by Mary (Joy) Philip at Martin Luther University College, Fall 2025.

Planetary Care And Justice: From Rio To The Hague To Waterloo, Mary (Joy) Philip

Consensus

No abstract provided.

Wandering Towards The Self, Brandon Paterson

Consensus

This essay was written for the course “TH530A-A: God and Theological Reflection,” taught by Mary (Joy) Philip at Martin Luther University College, Fall 2025.

The Earth Charter As Green Fire, Mary (Joy) Philip

Consensus

No abstract provided.

Learning In/With The Land: Intersectionality, The Earth Charter, And The Trc Calls To Action In Theological Education, Héctor A. Acero Ferrer

Consensus

No abstract provided.

Climate Refugees: Justice And Global Warming, Tiana Kopilas

Consensus

This essay was written for the course “TH530A-A: God and Theological Reflection,” taught by Mary (Joy) Philip at Martin Luther University College, Fall 2025.

To Till And Keep: Encountering God Through Nature, Gloria Mele

Consensus

This essay was written for the course “TH530A-A: God and Theological Reflection,” taught by Mary (Joy) Philip at Martin Luther University College, Fall 2025.

Jesus And Trees: From Separation To Connection, Mark Zschocke

Consensus

This essay was written for the course “TH530A-A: God and Theological Reflection,” taught by Mary (Joy) Philip at Martin Luther University College, Fall 2025.

Wounds That Mend: Rebecca Belmore’S Fringe And The Healing Of The Earth And Body, Muznah Moiz

Consensus

This essay was written for the course “TH530A-A: God and Theological Reflection,” taught by Mary (Joy) Philip at Martin Luther University College, Fall 2025.

Embracing The Earth: Reconnecting With Nature Through Spirituality, Art, And Climate Justice, Mais Haj-Ayoub

Consensus

This essay was written for the course “TH530A-A: God and Theological Reflection,” taught by Mary (Joy) Philip at Martin Luther University College, Fall 2025.

One Earth Community: Navigating The Challenges Of Our Time, Akpezi Ogbuigwe

Consensus

No abstract provided.

Communities Of Caring: A Jewish Response To The Earth Charter, Bill S. Tepper

Consensus

No abstract provided.

Teaching Global Partnership And Responsibility Using The Earth Charter, M. Beth Mccutcheon

Consensus

No abstract provided.

Shaping Pedagogy And Praxis: The Earth Charter In The Classroom And Community, Debbie Lou Ludolph

Consensus

No abstract provided.

The Virtue Of Water: Daoist Ecological Wisdom In Fan Kuan’S Travelers Among Mountains And Streams, Juliet Zhao

Consensus

This essay was written for the course “TH530A-A: God and Theological Reflection,” taught by Mary (Joy) Philip at Martin Luther University College, Fall 2025.

Introduction To Sustainable Publishing Joint Issue, Rachel Jekanowski, Abigail Fields

The Goose

Editorial introduction to a special joint issue with Imaginations Journal on sustainable publishing.

At A Crossroads: Crisis, Vulnerability, And The Possibility Of Transformation Of Nature-Based Tourism In Canada, Brooklyn Rushton

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

We live in an era shaped by a global polycrisis, where climate change, pandemics, economic shocks, geopolitical tensions, and social inequities are converging to create complex, cascading, and compounding risks. For Canada’s nature-based tourism sector, situated at the nexus of social and ecological systems, the polycrisis both amplifies the vulnerabilities of tourism and highlights tourism’s role in perpetuating global risks. Recognizing this duality, this dissertation examines how crises amplify systemic vulnerabilities while also acting as leverage points for transformative change in Canada’s nature-based tourism sector, drawing on geography, systems thinking, resilience theory, regenerative tourism, and futures thinking scholarship.

The three …

Implementation Of A 3-Dimensional Hydrodynamic Numerical Model On A Large Northern Lake, Kirin Lorente

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Climate change is impacting high latitude regions disproportionately more than those at a lower latitude. With polar lakes being highly sensitive to changes in the climate, shifts in lake ice dynamics and hydrodynamics are indicators of such changes in regional and global climates. These changes impact future seasons in a positive feedback loop, where changes in winter ice cover impact open water nutrients levels and lake thermal structure. This highlights the importance for long-term monitoring. Despite the abundance of lakes distributed across Northern Canada, there has been limited research conducted on these sentinels of climate change.

Specifically, Great Bear Lake …

Cultivating Diversity In Sustainable Food Systems: Black Farming And Lived Experience In Rural Southern Ontario, Kadeem Jerofy Morgan-Adamson Mr.

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This research examines the lived experiences of Black food growers in rural Southern Ontario to understand how their perspectives challenge dominant narratives of rurality and inform broader discussions on food sovereignty in Canada. Grounded in postcolonial theory, the study highlights how historical dispossession and persistent inequities shape the access of Black communities to land and resources. Using a mixed-methods approach that includes surveys, semi-structured interviews, and reflexive journaling within a community-based research framework, the study documents the barriers Black food growers face. These include limited land access, insufficient funding, inadequate training pathways, and experiences of racial isolation in rural contexts. …

Impacts Of Burn Severity On The Hydro-Physical, Chemical And Thermal Properties Of Sub-Arctic Peat, Joshua B. Meyer Mr

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Under current climate change, summer season in the boreal regions of Canada is becoming increasingly warmer and drier. This shift is driving increases in the frequency and intensity of naturally occurring wildfires and allowing access to areas not normally susceptible to fire such as wetlands. In peatland areas, these increasingly large fires can create complex burn scars, which contain a wide variety of different burn severities across different landcover types. This variety calls for a greater understanding of how varying fire intensity affects the hydro physical, chemical, and thermal characteristics of boreal peat. This study aims to deepen that understanding …

Investigating The Impact Of Winter Exposure To Natural Environments On Perceived Health And Well-Being Using Geographic Ecological Momentary Assessment: A Case Study At Arrowhead Provincial Park, Faith M. Laing

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This study examined how winter exposure to specific natural environments influenced perceived health and well-being outcomes using Geographic Ecological Momentary Assessment (GEMA) in Arrowhead Provincial Park. Studies performed in the wintertime are limited, as is our understanding of how specific park features and/or activities impact health and well-being. To address this, GEMA was used with a video component to capture participants’ real-time experience and emotional responses in specific park locations defined by polygon boundaries. Two surveys were administered through participants mobile devices, one being an in-situ engagement survey triggered by entering a bounded location, which included a video and …

Permafrost Microtopography And Active Layer Hydrology In The Western Canadian Arctic, Tobias L. Leonhard

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The growing interest in Arctic regions will likely increase the use of nuclear energy in the Arctic. While this energy source has a high potential to improve economic opportunities in the Arctic, it also increases the release of radioactive material (radionuclides). Radionuclides are already found in the Arctic and are traced back to natural as well as anthropogenic sources. Water is one of the dominant transport vectors for solutes such as radionuclides or other contaminants. Therefore, improving our understanding of Arctic hydrology is important for assessing future environmental risks such as the release of radionuclides. Topographic and microtopographic features are …

Envisioning The Role Of Community-Owned Stores & Aligning Federal Food Policies: A Participatory Approach To Food Security And Food Sovereignty In Sambaa K’E, Denendeh (Northwest Territories, Canada), Narayan Subramoniam

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Northern Indigenous communities have relied on traditional food systems for meaningful, nutritious diets since time immemorial. But many Indigenous communities in remote northern regions of Canada still face disproportionately elevated levels of food insecurity due to climate change radically altering the availability for traditional foods, colonial food policies imposing Western diets, and the high costs of transporting store-bought foods. Extreme weather events such as wildfires further isolate fly-in remote communities increasing both the costs of transporting store-bought foods and the difficulties of harvesting traditional foods. There are many examples of community-based initiatives for supporting traditional and locally grown foods, however, …

Mapping Climate Risks & Building Resilience: A Participatory Approach To Harvester Safety In Kakisa, Nwt., Susan Kerubo Ombwori

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation (KTFN) community in the Northwest Territories is experiencing rapid environmental changes which are driven by climate change. These changes are threatening the community’s food security. The community is seeing a disruption to its traditional land-based food systems due to increasing climate risks such as unpredictable weather, thawing permafrost, wildfires, and flooding. These changes are reducing access to traditional foods and intensifying threats to harvester safety. Building on the existing relationship with the community through previous projects, this thesis examines the impacts of climate risks on the availability and access of the KTFN’s on the land …

Tenacious Resins And Residues: Oil Propaganda In Architectural Digest During The Energy Crises Of The 1970s, Banafsheh Mohammadi

The Goose

Architectural Digest was first published in 1920 by John C. Brasfield, a California-based publisher. In 1933, the magazine was purchased by Condé Nast and has since become a popular design magazine, particularly in North America, known for its visually vibrant and abundant advertisements. Car advertisements are among the most recurring ads featured in the magazine. Through an archival investigation of Architectural Digest magazines from 1973 to 1983, I investigate how, if at all, car advertisements in the magazine reflected the 1973 and 1979 oil crises.

The 1979 global energy crisis was a period of high energy prices and supply …

Video Poem: What Remains, Edie Steiner

The Goose

What Remainsis a three-minute poetry film I created to address the issue of “becoming-with” (Wright 2014). In the film, I document two large-scale, public-art spectacles I witnessed in Toronto, as historical markers of collective becoming-with. I contrast super-8mm film footage of the 1984 outdoor public performance “Shibola” at the Bell Trinity Square building in Toronto, by the Japanese Butoh dance group Sankai Juku, with digital video of “A Tribute to Toronto,” Judy Chicago’s 2022 Smoke Sculpture on the Toronto waterfront. I then intercut these images with digital recordings of ruins and relics, both ancient and modern, merging as …

Investigating The Thermal Stratification Patterns Of A Shallow Polymictic Boreal Shield Lake And The Effectiveness Of Models In Predicting Shallow Lake Thermal Profiles, Matthew Roberts

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Thermal stratification is a core process of lakes which plays a critical role in shaping the ecological dynamics of lakes, influencing major processes like nutrient cycling and oxygen availability. For shallow polymictic lakes, thermal stratification patterns present some unique differences due to the complex and variable nature of these lakes. In this thesis, I examined thermal stratification in a shallow polymictic lake in northwestern Ontario during the ice-free season of 2019 to investigate the frequency, duration, and driving factors of thermal stratification. The lake underwent 146 separate stratification events, with a median duration of 2 hours per event, with a …

Art/Place Making In A Settler Colonial Context: A Critical Place Inquiry On The Haldimand Tract/Kitchener-Waterloo From A White Settler Perspective, Haley Sheppard

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Although critical place scholars implicate artists in settler colonial processes of placemaking, there is little information on how white settler artists (WSAs) might use their creative practice to support practices of accountability and solidarity with Indigenous resurgence. This research responds to this gap by investigating the creative practices of WSAs located on the Haldimand Tract/in Kitchener-Waterloo (KW), and how they might approach critical, contextual practices in their creative work. A critical place inquiry was combined with ethnographic research principles and a transformative critical research paradigm. Six WSAs participated in mobile interviews, which took place in a location significant to them. …

Using Landscape Ecology And Spatial Statistics To Examine The Impacts Of Proposed Removals To Natural Heritage System And The Agricultural System Of Ontario’S Greenbelt, Brianna Downey

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The 2022 proposed removals from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Southern Ontario’s Greenbelt would have resulted in negative impacts including, reductions to the size and functionality of the Agricultural System and Natural Heritage System, which are components of protected Greenbelt area. Several removal sites were located either on or in close proximity to corridor areas of the NHS, reducing connectivity and negatively impacting the surrounding ecological area. The removal of Agricultural land primarily consisted of corn and soybeans, as well as large removals of woodland, wetland, and shrubland class areas. The removal sites on local Agricultural composition and configuration were …

Controls Of Wetland Hydrology In The Zone Of Discontinuous Permafrost, Northwest Territories, Canada, Iain Thomson

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Mean annual air temperatures are increasing rapidly in northwestern Canada, which is among the most rapidly warming regions on Earth (Box et al., 2019). Consequently, permafrost thaw within northwestern Canada is proceeding at a rate not found in the historical record (Pelletier et al., 2017), with areal thaw rates especially high in the peatland-dominated southern margin of discontinuous permafrost (Quinton et al., 2019). Permafrost thaw has caused vast land cover changes and transformed the permafrost underlain forest into permafrost free wetlands over much of Taiga Plains (Carpino et al., 2018; Jorgenson & Osterkamp, 2005). This land cover change has …