Welcome message from the Dean / Message de bienvenue de la doyenne
Dear Macdonald Campus Community,
It is with great excitement and gratitude that I begin my journey as the new Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and Associate Vice-President of the Macdonald Campus at McGill University. As I begin my term, I’m excited to connect with each of you - professors, lecturers, staff, learners, students, alumni, donors, and allies. Thank you for the trust you have placed in me.
Quebec wine sales surge after U.S alcohol boycott—comments from Pascal Thériault
Quebec wine sales have gone up since the removal of American alcohol products from the shelves of the SAQ last March and local producers are working hard to fill demand.
Seeds of Innovation: GEFSES Symposium Bridges Continents Through Genome Editing
In March 2025, the GEFSES program hosted its annual international symposium, "Harnessing Genome Editing for Resilient Agriculture," in Ludhiana, India. The event was held in collaboration with Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU).
Sacrifice Zones: Life along the fenceline between the land and industry
In a recent article exploring the environmental and health impacts of plastic pollution on Indigenous fenceline communities in Canada—residential areas that sit next to facilities that emit pollutants like noise, light, odours, chemicals, and even traffic—Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) spoke to Kanien’kehá:ka environmental advocate Lynn Jacobs about how plastic waste and industrial pollution have turned Indigenous homelands into “sacrifice zones.” Jacobs, who is
Radio-Canada reports on 15 years of McGill Feeding McGill
For 15 years, McGill University dining halls have been serving up fresh, local produce grown by students at Macdonald Campus as part of their agricultural and environmental sciences programs. Last year alone, 3.4 tons of tomatoes and almost 2 tons of onions ended up on students' plates thanks to the McGill Feeding McGill initiative.
Bioresource Engineering Ph.D. candidate pitches biogas to turn farm waste into renewable energy
In her presentation at a scientific symposium hosted by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre in June, McGill Ph.D. candidate Anjaly Paul highlighted the potential for Canadian farms to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions while generating renewable energy, by converting agricultural waste into biogas.
Natural Resource Sciences postdoc wins prestigious Banting Fellowship
Anaïs Médieu, a McGill University postdoctoral researcher working in Natural Resource Sciences Professor Kyle Elliott's lab, has been awarded a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship for her project on the interactive effects of climate change and plastic contamination on Arctic s
Bridging worlds as the ice recedes
McGill PhD candidate Alexandra Langwieder works with James Bay Indigenous communities to better understand polar bears
The first fully automated greenhouse in Canada—comments from Pascal Thériault
In Ontario, a fully automated greenhouse allows lettuce to be grown and harvested with virtually no human intervention—a first in Canada.
Haven Greens had to invest $50 million to make it happen. But the result is striking: the company can operate with just five employees in the greenhouse, whereas it would have required more than 100 pickers using the traditional method.
Local goods shop is filling the grocery gap in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue—comments from Prof. Daiva Nielsen
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que., residents have a new spot to do their groceries. After the suburb's only grocery store closed for the second time, B Factory, a locally owned beeswax products shop that had been on the verge of bankruptcy, expanded its space to include a small grocery section called Mon Marché Local.
McGill Joins Ghanaian Partners to Empower Youth and Transform Agrifood Systems
As part of the Nkabom Collaborative supported by the Mastercard Foundation, McGill University has joined forces with Ghanaian institutions in a bold initiative to foster youth leadership and transform the agrifood ecosystem in Ghana and beyond.
What are those fluffy seeds floating in the air? David Wees explains
If you've been noticing white fluff floating around Montreal lately, you're not the only one. Those are seeds from the Eastern Cottonwood tree and it's the season that they're spreading through the air.
CBC News spoke to David Wees, Faculty Lecturer and Assistant Director of the Farm Management and Technology Program at McGill University, to find out more.
Professor Michael Ngadi calls for enhanced capacity of smallholder farmers in Nigeria
McGill Bioresource Engineering Professor Michael Ngadi called for urgent action to address the challenges facing stallholder farmers in Nigeria at a recent public lecture at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike (MOUAU).
Macdonald alumna Stéphanie Naud heads to World Lumberjacking Championship
The athlete began this sport at McGill University, the only school in Quebec to offer the opportunity to do logging as a sport.
Stéphanie Naud, FMT’14, BSc(AgEnvSc)’17, is representing Canada at the World Timber Sports Championships in Wisconsin from July 16–19.
Simple texting platform helps farmers adopt greener methods, McGill-led study finds
Farmers who exchanged text messages with peers were significantly more likely to adopt sustainable agricultural practices, highlighting the power of peer learning in digital formats, a new study co-authored by McGill University Professor Aurélie Harou found.