International Geographers Coming to Lakehead U

(Thunder Bay - November 24, 2005) Lakehead University's Geography Department is hosting an international event in the spring of 2006.

The 55th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association of Geographers (CAG) will bring professional geographers, students, and researchers to Lakehead U from May 29 to June 2, 2006, to discuss issues focusing on the theme "Northern Complexities: Geography in the Canadian Hinterland."

"In anticipation of the up coming International Polar Year, our theme this year is on the challenges, hardships, and joys of living in the great northern Canadian heartland," says Dr. Will Wilson, CAG Annual Meeting Organizing Committee Chair and Lakehead U Geography faculty member. "We are arranging a wide variety of activities and presentations to showcase some of the many possibilities for academic and professional geographies in the North. This will be a dynamic and exciting event which will bring together an international group of geographers to Lakehead University."

The week-long event will be filled with fieldtrips, special events, presentations, and invigorating lectures. Some of the highlights of the week will include visits to the Sleeping Giant Provincial Park, Ouimet and Eagle Canyons, and Kakabeka Falls; discussions on coastal geomorphology, tourism on Lake Superior's North Shore, and redeveloping Thunder Bay's waterfront. There will be topical presentations on the Canadian and global north and other emerging issues in geography.

In addition to the CAG 2006 Annual Meeting events, two 8-day remote northern field camps will be offered. One will be to the Lower Winisk River and Polar Bear Provincial Park where the participants will explore the ecology, geomorphology, and cultural landscapes of the remote Hudson Bay Lowlands. The second field camp will be to the Albany River and Wabakimi Provincial Park. The topics there will encompass Boreal forest ecology and historic travel routes of the Albany River.

Students are encouraged to attend. To assist students who wish to take part in the CAG Annual Meeting, registration fees for CAG student members will be substantially reduced. As well, student travel grants will be made available.

"CAG 2006 will be a great opportunity to be involved in the activities of the discipline," Dr. Wilson says. "Not only are they encouraged to attend the event, we want them to take an active part. To promote participation, awards will be offered for best student presentations."

For more information or to register, visit http://geography.lakeheadu.ca/CAG2006/ or call the Lakehead U Geography Department at 807-343-8357.

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Media Contact: Marla Tomlinson, Office of Communications, 807-343-8177 or 807-472-9113.