CoPEH-Canada Course and Webinar Series
2024 Hybrid, multi-site Field course on ecosystem approaches to health
May 9 to June 4 2024
New Site at Simon Fraser University!!
Discover innovative and dynamic approaches for better understanding the multiple factors which influence health – ecosystem approaches to health – with an experienced, pan-Canadian team in this blended learning experience. During this intensive course, you will learn methods for carrying out research and interventions on issues at the confluence of health, ecosystems and society.
This course is available to graduate students from all disciplines and also to professionals interested in these themes. Students from all universities are welcome to register. It is possible to register for the full course at participating universities, with credits transferred, or for the webinars only (not for credit, a certificate is provided). Learn more about our teaching style in our 2023 paper published in the Lancet Planetary Health.
Objective. The overall objective of this course is to provide participants with a working knowledge of ecosystem approaches to health, such that they can integrate the principles into their own work, as necessary.
Theme: Each year these activities revolve around a theme, which, this year, is “Climate Health Equity and Reciprocity.”
Content. A stand-alone webinair series: This webinar series covers the main orientations of the Ecosystem approaches to health (complexity/systems thinking, transdisciplinarity, (ecosystem) sustainability, social and gender equity, participation, and knowledge to action)
The graduate-level courses include:
- The webinar series (see above)
- Discussions and workshops on webinar topics
- Group work on a case study
- Activities to help students integrate new knowledge into their own projects (for example a thesis or an intervention)
- Assignments, readings and “listenings” (e.g. podcasts), both required and suggested.
Format. There are two ways to participate: as a student in one of the full-credit graduate courses held at four universities, the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), the University of Guelph, Simon Fraser University (SFU) and the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), or as a participant in the 8-part webinar series.
Schedule. The webinars, which run on Tuesday and Thursday from 1pm to 3pm Eastern time from May 9th to June 4th, are designed in collaboration with several Canadian universities and moderated by professors from a variety of disciplines and partners working in the field. It is possible to register for the full course at the participating universities, with credits transferred, or for the webinars only (not for credit, a certificate is provided).
- For those interested in following the webinar series or for general information*, please contact us at copehcanada <at> gmail.com
- For those interested in the course in Montréal, contact Jena Webb at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- For those interested in the course at Guelph, contact Jane Parmley at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- For those interested in the course at UNBC, contact Margot Parkes at margot.parkes <at> unbc.ca
- For those interested in the course at SFU, contact Angel Kennedy at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In 2024, the schedule for the webinars will be Tuesdays and Thursdays from May 9th to June 4th from 1:00 pm (EST), ending at 3:00 (EST). Contact the person responsible for the site above to inquire about the schedule of the full university course (which will include these webinars).
| Webinar | Topic | Lead |
|
May 9 |
Orientation to Hybrid Course/Webinar Series: Introduction & History of Ecohealth Principles | Maya Gislason, SFU; Margot Parkes, UNBC; Jena Webb, UQAM |
| May 14 | Resilience & Sustainability | Sandra Martin Harris, Wet’suwet’en and UNBC; Margot Parkes, UNBC |
| May 16 | Complexity & Systems Thinking | Jane Parmley, UofGuelph; Tarra Penney, York University |
| May 21 | Equity | Maya Gislason, SFU; Mumbi Maina, Manager of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Provincial Health Services Authority, BC; Cody Thomas, Mohawk Nation and Two Row Innovations |
| May 23 | Participation, relationships and power | Chantelle Richmond, Biigtigong Nishnaabeg, Western University; Johanne Saint-Charles, UQAM; Anne-Sophie Gousse-Lessard, UQAM |
| May 28 | Knowledge Exchange | Maya Gislason, SFU; Jane Parmley, UofGuelph |
| May 30 | Transdisciplinarity and knowledges | Anne-Sophie Gousse-Lessard, UQAM; Margot Parkes, UNBC; Johanne Saint-Charles, UQAM;Panel: Cécile Aenishaenslin, Université de Montréal; Diana Kutzner, Northern Health Authority; Tannis Reynolds, Stellat’en First Nation and UNBC; Imara Ajani Rolston, University of Toronto. |
| June 4 | Synthesis: Climate Health Equity and Reciprocity | Expert panel: TBD |
We would like to thank the Burroughs Wellcome Fund for their contribution to the 2024 course.
* The courses running out of the participating universities are considered full credit courses with associated credits. The webinar series alone, at 16 hours in total, does not constitute a full, graduate-level course in and of itself. However, if you are interested in using the webinars, readings and cross-site activities as part of an independent/directed reading course, please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
** Fees apply for the webinar-only option. Click here for fees and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have questions.
Lancet planetary health paper
Penned by 19 co-authors, including 11 alumni of CoPEH-Canada's training, and published January 4th 2023 in the Lancet Planetary Health, Transformative learning for a sustainable and healthy future through ecosystem approaches to health: insights from 15 years of co-designed ecohealth teaching and learning experiences discusses CoPEH-Canada's pedagogical leanings. If you are interested in taking our hybrid course or webinar series, this is a great way to learn more! Also, you can listen to part of a webinar given on the paper and our teaching to learn more.
Course participant Blogs and short stories
Each year, the participants of CoPEH-Canada's hybrid course write a blog or a short story on a topic of their choice related to ecosystem approaches to health and share with the other participants. Then, everyone votes on their top three blogs and the three highest scoring blogs are published here. Along with the votes, participants have to provide a tweet for each blog they voted for, which we then use to publisize the blogs from our @copeh_canada twitter account. You can read past year's blogs here.