UVic School of Environmental Studies

A barred owl checking out our ES staff member on her break. They're often seen in the beautiful campus Finnerty Gardens!

🤖 AI. Chatbots. Surveillance pricing. Naturemaxxing. AI slop.

What do these have to do with environmental studies?

Quite a lot, actually.

New for Fall 2026, ES 480 A02: Nature & Technology asks students to examine how technologies carry values, organize power, and reshape our relationships with nature—and with one another.

📅 Tuesdays, 2:30–5:20
👨‍🏫 Prof. Eric Higgs
🌱 ES 480 A02

Looks like orientation has started. 🦌

A local mom was spotted giving her twins a campus tour this week, covering the essentials:
• best grazing spots
• quiet study areas
• how to avoid 8:30 a.m. classes

We assume they'll be applying to Environmental Studies.

From UVic to France 🇨🇦➡️🇫🇷

Our Terroir Field School has wrapped after an incredible program exploring how geology, climate, agriculture, culture, and history shape the meaning of place.

Students learned in vineyards, farms, salt marshes, caves, markets, and historic landscapes — the kind of classroom that changes every day.

How do successful campaigns grow? What can land defence movements teach us about organizing for climate justice?

Join Indigenous Climate Action, Research for the Front Lines, and UVic's Transformative Climate Action program for the first event in the Organizing Climate Futures webinar series.

This conversation features Sleydo' Molly Wickham, Jesse Stoeppler, and Tia Kennedy, who will share insights from Indigenous organizing and land defence, exploring how movements are creating pathways toward more just and livable climate futures.

📅 Aug 13
🕛 12:00–1:30 PM PT

Register here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/EDU8nj2vRHGdBqYmda95aA

We hope you'll join us for what promises to be a thoughtful and inspiring discussion.

I'm getting excited to visit these cute little guys at Rocky Point (starts July 21), or on selected dates at Witty's Lagoon via MAPS!
https://rpbo.org/what-we-do/monitoring-projects-1/migration-monitoring/
https://rpbo.org/what-we-do/monitoring-projects-1/maps/

Every summer, Elk Lake hosts a small population of highly motivated aquatic mammals.

This particular specimen, Canis lupus familiaris, can often be observed swimming great distances in pursuit of endangered sticks.

Researchers remain unsure who keeps throwing them back into the lake.

Bread. Cheese. Wine. Salt. Cider. Cows. Castles.

The France Terroir Field School gave students a hands-on look at how food systems are shaped by landscape, climate, labour, history, and culture.

Also: excellent snacks. For research purposes.

How often do you stop to look closely at the smaller creatures that share our landscapes?

This striking insect is a ten-lined June beetle (Polyphylla decemlineata), recognized by the bold white stripes running down its wing covers and the impressive antennae used to detect mates.

Insects are essential to healthy ecosystems, contributing to nutrient cycling, soil processes, and food webs. Yet many species often go unnoticed compared with larger wildlife.

What's the most interesting insect you've spotted recently?