Chargée d’enseignement, Directrice des stages
T: 514-398-8749 | caroline.begg [at] mcgill.ca (Email) | Raymond Building R2-028a
Dr. Begg is also a Faculty Lecturer in the Department of Plant Science where she teaches courses in Ecological Agriculture, Ecosystem Management and Soil Science.
Degrees
BSc (Agr) (McGill), MSc (U.Saskatchewan), PhD (McGill)
Awards and Recognition
2022-2023: McGill Sustainability Faculty Education Fellow
2019: Award of Excellence, Honourable Mention- Outstanding Post-Secondary Educator, Canadian Network for Environmental Education and Communication
2016: Principal's Prize for Excellence in Teaching
2016: Macdonald Campus Award for Teaching Excellence
2013: McGill Faculty Award for Excellence in Alumni Activities
2012: McGill Office of Sustainability Award for Staff Contribution to Sustainability
2007: Canadian Association of Diplomas in Agriculture Programs Award for Teaching Excellence
2004: CANCID plaque in recognition of outstanding contribution to sustainability of land resources
Active Affiliations
Ordre des Agronomes du Québec
Professional Agrologists Ontario.
Canadian Water Resources Association (CWRA)
Canadian Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (CANCID)
Canadian Organic Growers
University Committees
AES Faculty committee on equity, diversity and inclusion 2023-2026.
Adjudication Committee - Principal's Prize for Excellence in Teaching (PPET) (2020-2024)
Steering Committee Member for the Margaret A. Gilliam Institute for Global Food Security of McGill University (2020-ongoing)
Bicentennial Student Sustainability Challenge (Impact200) Committee, McGill (2019-2021)
McGill Sustainability Project Fund Governing Council faculty member (2017 -2021)
Brace Centre for Water Resources Management Academic Committee
McGill Sustainability Coordinating Group
Procurement Sustainability Planning Core Team
Outreach activities
Mentor to the Macdonald Student-Run Ecological Garden. In addition, Caroline is president of Marché Ste Anne, a farmers market located in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, cofounder and vice president of École-O-Champ, an agricultural education organization which is the official representative of Agriculture in the Classroom Canada in Quebec, and president of the Neighbourhood Farm Schools Association in British Columbia, founded by a former student. She serves on the Board of Corbeille de Pain, a food security organization in the West Island and as an industry advisor to the board of 4-H Québec.
Courses
courses within FMT:
FMT4 001. Fall Stage (152-VSA-MC).
Credits: 1.33
Offered by: Farm Mgmt & Technology Program (Faculty of Agric Environ Sci)
Terms offered: Fall 2025
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Fall 2025 in Visual Schedule Builder.
Description
Objectives are to familiarize students with the workplace functions of a farm manager as well as the conditions under which they are exercised. Through classroom activities and a one-week internship on an agricultural enterprise other than the home farm or business, students are exposed to the job of a farm manager and the potential for entrepreneurial initiatives.
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FMT4 009. Soil Fertility (152-VSJ-MC).
Credits: 2
Offered by: Farm Mgmt & Technology Program (Faculty of Agric Environ Sci)
Terms offered: Winter 2026
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Winter 2026 in Visual Schedule Builder.
Description
Objectives are the interpretation of soil fertilization practices and amendments for crop production, in relation to the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of soils. Topics discussed include soil sampling, soil test reports, soil pH and liming, nutrient management and environmental concerns, sources of nutrients, microbe-soil and soil-plant interactions.
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FMT4 010. Winter Stage (152-VSK-MC).
Credits: 1.33
Offered by: Farm Mgmt & Technology Program (Faculty of Agric Environ Sci)
Terms offered: Winter 2026
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Winter 2026 in Visual Schedule Builder.
Description
Objectives are to develop the skills needed to analyze the operations; to determine the performance criteria that are related to the workplace functions of the farm manager and establish the relationships with the critical skills and knowledge required for their successful completion. Classroom activities and a one-week internship on an agricultural enterprise other than the home farm or business, expose the students to operations that are normally undertaken by farm managers during the winter months.
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FMT4 013. Agricultural Internship (152-VSN-MC).
Credits: 2
Offered by: Farm Mgmt & Technology Program (Faculty of Agric Environ Sci)
This course is not offered this catalogue year.
Description
During a 13-week summer internship on an agricultural enterprise other than the home farm or business, students analyze the tasks and management operations that are a function of the agricultural enterprise manager and determine the performance criteria used for each operation. Students, by working, completing the tasks and asking questions, establish the relationships between the critical skills and knowledge required for successful execution of the various tasks and the position of each task within the overall management of the enterprise.
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FMT4 017. Agricultural Systems (152-VST-MC).
Credits: 1.33
Offered by: Farm Mgmt & Technology Program (Faculty of Agric Environ Sci)
Terms offered: Winter 2026
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Winter 2026 in Visual Schedule Builder.
Description
An overview of the scientific, political, social and cultural aspects of agriculture and food. Topics discussed include agricultural sustainability, local food, food security, urban agriculture, permaculture, biodynamic and organic agriculture. Emphasis is on Canadian issues and perspectives.
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FMT4 018. Enterprise Management 1 (152-VSU-MC).
Credits: 2.33
Offered by: Farm Mgmt & Technology Program (Faculty of Agric Environ Sci)
This course is not offered this catalogue year.
Description
Objectives are to develop students’ ability to analyze the management practices, human resources, business operations, and the future potential for entrepreneurial initiatives, of the home agricultural enterprise or another agricultural enterprise during the 13-week summer internship.
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FMT4 019. Nutrient Management Plan (152-VSV-MC).
Credits: 2
Offered by: Farm Mgmt & Technology Program (Faculty of Agric Environ Sci)
Terms offered: Fall 2025
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Fall 2025 in Visual Schedule Builder.
Description
Objectives are to familiarize students with the environmental laws and regulations that oversee the development of a Nutrient Management Plan. Collect pertinent data for the realization of their own five year nutrient management plan, along with the nutrient management strategies selected to reduce the environmental impact of the agricultural activities of the farm.
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Undergraduate courses:
AGRI 215. Agro-Ecosystems Field Course.
Credits: 3
Offered by: Plant Science (Faculty of Agric Environ Sci)
Terms offered: Fall 2025
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Fall 2025 in Visual Schedule Builder.
Description
Through case studies and field trips, students will examine the problems and constraints within the Canadian agro-ecosystem, including the interrelationships among food production, the environment, agricultural policy and social issues. Research in this field of study will also be introduced.
- This course carries an additional charge of $29.98 to cover the cost of transportation (bus rental) for local field trips to agricultural enterprises. The fee is refundable only during the withdrawal with full refund period
- This course carries an additional charge of $65.29 to cover the cost of transportation (bus rental) for local field trips to agricultural enterprises. The fee is refundable only during the withdrawal with full refund period.
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AGRI 310. Internship in Agriculture/Environment.
Credits: 3
Offered by: Plant Science (Faculty of Agric Environ Sci)
Terms offered: Summer 2025, Fall 2025, Winter 2026
Description
Internship on working farms or in other appropriate businesses of the agri-food/environment industries.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken AGRI 201D1/D2.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken AGRI 201D1/D2.
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AGRI 340. Principles of Ecological Agriculture.
Credits: 3
Offered by: Plant Science (Faculty of Agric Environ Sci)
Terms offered: Winter 2026
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Winter 2026 in Visual Schedule Builder.
Description
Focus on low-input, sustainable, and organic agriculture: the farm as an ecosystem; complex system theory; practical examples of soil management, pest control, integrated crop and livestock production, and marketing systems.
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken AGRI 250
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AEBI 427. Barbados Interdisciplinary Project.
Credits: 6
Offered by: Plant Science (Faculty of Agric Environ Sci)
Terms offered: Summer 2025
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Summer 2025 in Visual Schedule Builder.
Description
The planning of projects and research activities related to tropical food, nutrition, or energy at the local, regional, or national scale in Barbados. Projects and activities designed in consultation with university instructors, government, NGO, or private partners, and prepared by teams of 2-3 students working cooperatively with these mentors.
- Corequisite(s): AEBI 421, AEBI 423 and AEBI 425
- Restriction(s): Restricted to students that are participating in the Barbados Interdisciplinary Tropical Studies Field Semester
- **Since this course is being taught abroad, the Victoria Day statutory holiday will not be taken into consideration. Therefore, students are expected to attend their lecture on Monday, May 18, 2020.
- **Due to the intensive nature of this course, the standard add/drop and withdrawal deadlines do not apply. Add/drop is the third lecture day and withdrawal is the sixth lecture day.
- Project course AEBI 427 runs concurrently with the other courses (AEBI 421, AEBI 423 & AEBI 425) and the Mondays of each week are dedicated to AEBI 427.
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PLNT 434. Weed Biology and Control.
Credits: 3
Offered by: Plant Science (Faculty of Agric Environ Sci)
Terms offered: Winter 2026
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Winter 2026 in Visual Schedule Builder.
Description
A study of the biology of undesirable vegetation as related to the principles of prevention and physical, biological, managerial and chemical control. Emphasis on the environmental impact of the different methods of weed control.
- Prerequisite: PLNT 201 or AEBI 210
- Prerequisite: PLNT 200 or AEBI 210
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Research
Dr Begg's main interest is in ecological agriculture; other research interests include the relationships between spatial patterns of crop and soil parameters in agricultural fields. Dr Begg conducts research on food security on the island of Montreal and on ecological agriculture practices focusing on soil and crop management. Her goal is to increase agricultural producers' awareness of variability within the field and the impact this has on crop growth and sustainable agriculture. Her additional interest is in the relationships between spatial patterns of crop and soil parameters in agricultural fields and using GIS to identify interactions.
Dr Begg's Research Gate profile.
Recent Publications
Luoh, Jen Wen, Caroline B. Begg, Rachael C. Symonds, Dolores Ledesma, Ray-Yu Yang 2014. Nutritional Yield of African Indigenous Vegetables in Water-Deficient and Water-Sufficient Conditions. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 5: 812-822.
Bernatchez, F., Jeannotte, R., Begg, C.B.M., Hamel. C. and Whalen, J.K., 2008. Soil fertility and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi related to trees growing on smallholder farms in Senegal. Arid Environments, 72: 1247-1256.