Monthly News
December 2020
Changes at the ACSRC

Congratulations to Dr. Lars Hallstrom on his new position as Director of the Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy at the University of Lethbridge!  Dr. Hallstrom has been the Director of the ACSRC since its inauguration in 2009.  He has been the driving force behind implementing the Centre's mission and mandate, and has created invaluable impacts and community connections across Alberta and Canada.  Lars begins his work with the Prentice Institute on January 2nd.  We wish him all the best in his new endeavor! 
        
The Viking Bluebird Trail

Many years ago, the ACSRC supported a film being produced by Pres Winter of Viking, Alberta.  The film, entitled The Bluebird Trail and it's creator have been awarded two awards.  The Otis Award from the Battle River Watershed Alliance and a Lifetime Achievement award from the Alberta Emerald Foundation. Congratulations to Pres Winter!
        
Data from the Research

As part of the Health in the Watershed Atlas (ECHO Network) a series of fact sheets have been developed.  The fact sheet linked below outlines Alberta's Investment in Public Health  
Workshops and Webinars
January 6, 2021
9:30 - 10:30 AM MST

The Alberta Nonprofit Network (ABNN) presents an information session about the Government of Alberta's new Civil Society Fund grant program. This fund provides $20 million to expand civil society's capacity to address social problems for Albertans - of which $7 million is budgeted for 2020/21 to support civil society's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.        
February 10, 2021
1:00 p.m ET

The Arts brings life to our communities. It sparks joy. It teaches. It connects. It asks us to see things differently. But so often when the arts are used in community engagement activities it feels like an add-on, a sidebar. So how can the arts be integrated as the main event? What barriers or myths do we need to break down? Do we truly understand the benefits of an arts-based approach in order to advocate for it?
Join the Tamarack Institute  and their presenters, Hiba Abdallah and Chris Pandolfi, who specialize in community-engaged art. Hiba and Chris will share inspiring examples from their practice.
        

Public health research has a huge role to play in managing and alleviating the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic. The University of Alberta's School of Public Health considers new ways of thinking about what's needed for long-term health resiliency. Watch the webinars to learn more about how the pandemic might be affecting local and global communities, how you can protect your physical and mental health, and what we can learn from COVID-19.           
Conferences
January 6 - 14, 2021
Various times

The Minister of Advanced Education, Demetrios Nicolaides invites you to participate in a telephone town hall, which is the final key component of the formal consultations for the Alberta 2030: Building Skills for Jobs initiative. These upcoming events will focus on presenting the Alberta 2030 strategy and opening up the floor to listen to questions from participants.
March 9 - 10, 2021 
Online
 
The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Alberta Division is hosting our virtual workplace mental health conference on March 9 & 10, 2021. Working Stronger is designed to help Alberta's employers create and maintain mentally healthy workplaces despite the obstacles we've experienced in 2020.
Learn More

 

This report summarizes ten years of rural engagement and the ACSRC.
 
For upcoming events, conferences and workshops visit the events calendar on the ACSRC website.  This calendar holds events offered by the ACSRC and other organizations with a common goal of sustainable rural communities. 
 
   
Alberta Centre for Sustainable Rural Communities