Four students from the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) will spend the summer working with two women’s groups in Kenya to help them and their communities lead healthier and richer lives.

The project is funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) through its Students for Development Program.

Working with Farmers Helping Farmers, the students will help the Ruuju and Muchui women’s groups in the Mount Kenya region learn to diversify their crops, establish a bookkeeping system and conduct dietary assessments for school-aged children.

Working on the bookkeeping project will be business student Billy MacDonald, of Charlottetown, and arts student Bobby Cameron, Hampton. Family and nutritional sciences students Sharla Goodwin, of the Magdalen Islands, and Doreen Pippy, of Hazelbrook, will be involved in the dietary project.

“I am greatly excited and honoured to be part of the Farmers Helping Farmers program north of Mount Kenya,” says MacDonald. “This will be a life-changing experience for me. I will grow as a person and a student from this experience, and hope to inspire more of my peers to get involved in great causes like Farmers Helping.”

The project will build on community strengths and information, with a focus on shared ownership and development of a “team-work” model among the participants. As well, this work promotes sustainability because the women can carry on what they have learned and use it to make informed decisions for the future in the education, health and business areas. With their new knowledge, the women will be able to improve their families’ lives and become leaders in their communities.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for these four students,” says Vianne Timmons, vice-president of academic development at UPEI. “It is the hope of UPEI that these students will inspire other students at UPEI to engage in international travel as well as to increase the diversity of knowledge within their classes. We are very proud of our students and the work that they are undertaking.”

The students will be accompanied by Teresa Mellish and Colleen Walton, of Farmers Helping Farmers, for the first three weeks of June.

Through the Students for Development program, Canadians work together to promote good governance and institution-building in developing countries. Farmers Helping Farmers is a P.E.I.-based non-governmental organization that partners with East African farm groups to improve agricultural production for sustainable development within communities. Together, they develop practical projects with small-scale farmers, primarily women. Farmers Helping Farmers has been a partner with the Muchui women’s self-help group since 1997.

For more information, contact Alaina Roach O’Keefe at 902-894-2842 or aroach@upei.ca.

The Tourism Research Centre (TRC) at UPEI’s School of Business today announced the release of a report profiling United States visitors to PEI during the summer of 2007.

“This report really highlights the differences among our American visitors. Those visiting PEI from New England are much more likely to be repeat visitors and are more likely to be ‘doers,’ rather than ‘seers,’” says Dr. Sean Hennessey, Faculty Director of the TRC. “Visitors from outside the New England region tend to be slightly older, retired, and spend far fewer of their vacation days on PEI.”

The report divides the US market into two sub-markets: visitors from New England and visitors from outside of New England.  
 
“Visitors from New England have a very different vacation style than those from other states,” he says. “New Englanders spend much less money per person per night here, but do stay on the Island for much longer. This actually evens out, and the total expenditure per party per trip is almost identical for the two markets. In reality, many characteristics of the New England market are very similar to our Canadian visitors from outside the Maritimes. Visitors from other states are more defined as their own distinct, unique segment.”

Some highlights of the US visitors profile report include:

•    The Island’s US visitors are divided almost evenly between those who live in the New England States (5 per cent of total visitors) and those who live in states outside the New England region (4.8 per cent).
•    Visitors from New England and from states outside New England were similar in that approximately 85 per cent of visitors from both regions were visiting the Island on pleasure trips, and about 12 per cent were visiting friends or relatives.  
•    Visitors from New England spent an average of 7.4 nights on PEI, which was equivalent to 78 per cent of their total trip away from home.
•    US visitors from states outside New England averaged 13.1 nights away from home. Their stays on PEI were relatively short, averaging only 5.2 nights.
•    New England visitors were unique in that they spent more than one half (54 per cent) of their total trip nights on the Island in cottages.
•    US visitors from outside New England were the opposite. They spent 32 per cent of their trip nights in hotel, motel, or resort accommodations. This was second only to international visitors.  Only 28 per cent of their nights were spent in cottages.  
•    Visitors from both US regions spent approximately the same share of their nights in Anne’s Land (New England 34 per cent of nights, distant states 37 per cent). However, only 28 per cent of travel parties from New England spent a night in Charlottetown, the lowest level recorded by all visitors when analyzed by place of origin.
•    US visitors from outside New England were very thorough sightseers. They visited all types of attractions and did the “touristy” things at above-average rates.  
•    Vacationers from New England visited National or Provincial Parks and historic and cultural attractions at above average rates, but their interest in any other types of attractions and especially those that could be considered “touristy” fell to well below average rates. A notable exception was attending live theatre and plays; 43 per cent attended – the highest of all visitor markets.  
•    Visitors from New England were the Island’s lowest spending visitors on a per-person per-day basis, spending an average of only $53.05 per person per day.
•    At an average of $92.35 per person per day, US visitors from outside New England spent 74 per cent more than those from New England.
•    The demographics and characteristics of New England visitors tended to resemble those of Canadian visitors from outside the Maritimes. More than one half (57 per cent) were making a return visit to the Island. One-quarter (25 per cent) were travelling as families accompanied by children and less than one-third (31 per cent) were retired.
•    Visitors from outside New England were considerably older (66 per cent were 55 or more years of age), almost one-half (49 per cent) were retired, a market low of 11 per cent were travelling as families with children, and only 25 per cent had been to the Island before.

The report is the sixth in a series of in-depth profiles based on comprehensive data previously released in the report “Overall Results of the 2007 Exit Survey.” The data is for the main tourism season of June 27 to September 30, 2007, and was collected as visitors departed PEI at the Confederation Bridge, Charlottetown Airport, and Wood Islands Ferry (seasonally).

Data is being collected for a full year, and the survey is being managed by the TRC on behalf of Tourism PEI. The Exit Survey gathers information on main purpose of the trip, length of stay, areas visited, accommodation used, size and composition of travel party, holiday activities, visitor spending, customer satisfaction, visitation data, place of origin, and traveller demographics. The results are based on 3,173 completed surveys collected from June 27 to September 30, 2007.

For a list of all reports released by the TRC on Exit Survey results please visit trc.upei.ca/exitsurvey. Three more reports based on main season results will be released over the next six weeks.

Further information about the report can be obtained from the Tourism Research Centre, School of Business, University of PEI, at (902) 566-6096 or trc@upei.ca.

World-famous author L.M. Montgomery drew inspiration for her writing from the beauty of her birthplace of Prince Edward Island. Now, writers at all levels – from the new to the frequently published – can experience the Island’s sea- and landscapes this summer as they explore their craft at the first annual SeaWords creative writing workshop.

Supported by the L.M. Montgomery Institute and the University of Prince Edward Island, SeaWords will take place from August 18-22 at Shaw’s Hotel in Brackley Beach, P.E.I.

To mark the 100th anniversary of the publication of Montgomery’s first and most famous novel, Anne of Green Gables, the workshop will focus on the theme, “Canadian women writers.” The faculty and guest writers include some of Canada’s top literary stars.

On the writing team are award-winning novelist and poet Anne Simpson, from Nova Scotia, author of Falling and Canterbury Beach, among other works; internationally acclaimed poet, novelist and non-fiction writer Karen Connelly, winner of the 2007 Orange Broadband Award for New Writers for The Lizard Cage; and novelist and playwright Ann-Marie MacDonald, author of Fall on Your Knees and the Governor General’s Award-winning play Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet).

Participants also will learn from Jackie Kaiser, former editor at Penguin Books Canada and now an agent with Westwood Creative Artists, representing some of the hottest Canadian literary talent today.

The week will include workshops based on writing submitted in advance by the participants, and lectures about the publishing industry, including effective proposal writing, “getting published” strategies and insights into the agent-author relationship.

Participants will have one-on-one time with faculty members to discuss their work with people currently in the industry. Other opportunities for personal growth include private writing time, social activities and the option to give, or hear, a short reading from their own work.

For information and registration, visit www.seawords.ca or e-mail seawords@upei.ca. Space is limited, and a special “early bird” price is available for those who apply before June 13.

SeaWords Faculty

Anne Simpson, faculty
Anne Simpson's second novel, Falling, was recently published by McClelland & Stewart. Her first novel, Canterbury Beach (2001), was a finalist for the Thomas Head Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award. Winner of the Journey Prize for short fiction, Simpson is also the author of three books of poetry: Light Falls Through You, winner of the Gerald Lampert Memorial Award and the Atlantic Poetry Prize; Loop, winner of the Griffin Poetry Prize and a finalist for the Governor General's Award for Poetry; and, most recently, Quick. She lives and works in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

Karen Connelly, faculty
One of Canada’s best-known and most successful younger writers, Karen Connelly is the author of seven best-selling books of nonfiction, fiction and poetry. She has read from her work and lectured in Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia. Her latest novel, The Lizard Cage, was published to international acclaim and won the 2007 Orange Broadband Award for New Writers. Other works include Touch the Dragon, Grace and Poison, One Room in a Castle, The Border Surrounds Us, The Disorder of Love, The Brighter Prison, The Small Words in My Body and Dream of a Thousand Lives.

Jackie Kaiser, faculty
Jackie Kaiser is an agent with Westwood Creative Artists, Canada's largest literary agency. Her clients include Caroline Adderson, Gail Anderson-Dargatz, Marilyn Bowering, Bonnie Burnard, Sharon Butala, David Chariandy, Denise Chong, Karen Connelly, Barbara Gowdy, Sandra Gulland, Robert Hough, Frances Itani, Thomas King, Alice Kuipers, Natalie MacLean, Kyo Maclear, Stephen Marche, Yann Martel, Stephanie Nolen, Beth Powning, Anne Simpson, Rosemary Sullivan and Eleanor Wachtel. For the decade prior to joining the agency in fall 2000, she was an editor at Penguin Books Canada, where she published Anita Rau Badami, Wayson Choy, Mark Kingwell, Nega Mezlekia, Beth Powning and Charles Wilkins.

Ann-Marie MacDonald, guest writer
Ann-Marie MacDonald is a novelist, playwright and actor. Her work has garnered numerous awards, including the Governor General's Award, the Chalmers Award, the Commonwealth Prize, a Gemini, and several Doras. Plays include Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) and Belle Moral: A Natural History. She is author of the internationally best-selling novels, Fall on Your Knees and The Way the Crow Flies. MacDonald lives in Toronto.

Atlantic Veterinary College’s internationally recognized fish pathologist, Dr. David Speare is the featured speaker of AVC’s new Community Workshop Series. Dr. Speare’s presentation, The Downside of Finding Nemo: Environmental and Conservation Issues Within the Aquarium Tropical Fish Industry, will take place on Tuesday, June 10, 2008, in AVC Lecture Room A from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.  

Ideal for tropical fish hobbyists and others interested in aquatic conservation issues, the workshop will provide a better understanding of where pet fish come from, what happens to them on their way to Canada, and how best to care for them once they are in display tanks. Making an informed choice when purchasing these pets is a great example of how our choices can have an effect on a gathering global environmental issue.

The global trade of tropical freshwater and saltwater fish is an enormous industry involving millions of fish and billions of dollars. Despite this, very little is known about the effects that harvesting techniques are having on wild populations of rare aquarium fish within the Amazon basin and marine reef systems. Additionally, little is known of the potential effects that these imported fish, and the diseases they might carry, could have on our local ecosystem.

A question and answer session will follow, and participants are invited to take a tour of the AVC Touch Tank Room following the session. Refreshments will be served. There is no charge to participate; however, donations to the Friends of AVC will be gratefully accepted.

Dr. Speare was honoured recently with the prestigious 2008 Pfizer Carl J. Norden Distinguished Teacher Award and the 2008 Pfizer Research in Excellence Award.
          
For more information, please contact Janice MacWilliam at 566-0589 or jmacwilliam@upei.ca.

The Board of Governors of the University of Prince Edward Island has asked President Wade MacLauchlan to extend his term for an additional two years, to June 30, 2011.

“This extension will enable the University to deal effectively with a number of key leadership transition issues," says Chair of the Board, Fred Hyndman. "The Board is delighted that President MacLauchlan has agreed to extend his term, and looks forward to UPEI's continued successes and development under his leadership.”

To UPEI chemistry professor Russell Kerr, the earth’s oceans have enormous potential to provide raw materials for drugs and pharmaceuticals beneficial to human health.

Marine invertebrates, such as corals, jellyfish and worms that have no backbones, are a proven source of new chemicals that often show intriguing and useful biological activities, he says. Scientists have described more than 200,000 species of marine animals with even more still to be discovered; yet, to date, only a limited number of these species have been explored as possible sources of therapeutic agents or “bioactives” as they are known.

For example, studies on gorgonians, a group of corals which live in tropical and subtropical oceans, have yielded a large variety of new bioactive natural products. These include compounds in a group called terpenes, which are valuable for their anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. But the development of these compounds has been hampered by the lack of an available supply, making it difficult to turn a new marine natural product into a commercial product that people can use.

Kerr is one of seven faculty members at UPEI whose research was recognized by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) when the 2008 Discovery awards were announced recently. UPEI received a total of $1,065,600 in grants and scholarships, divided into $841,400 in Discovery grants to faculty members and $224,200 in student scholarships.

With the help of his Discovery grant, Kerr will investigate the development of two complementary production methods of fuscol and fuscosides, a family of potent anti-inflammatory terpenes from gorgonian corals. This project is part of a larger research program that aims to develop a sustainable production method of fuscol and fuscosides that will not damage the environment.

Successful completion of this project will help facilitate the development of a wide range of terpenoid marine natural products that will benefit the health of the Canadian public.

Other 2008 Discovery grant recipients are Dr. Robert Hurta, biology; Dr. Michael Shaver, chemistry; Dr. Maxim Burke, mathematics and statistics; Dr. Cezar Campeanu, computer science; Dr. Balaji Ramanathan, biomedical sciences; and Dr. Don Stevens, biomedical sciences. More than 20 other faculty members currently hold NSERC research grants, which usually run from two to five years.

With annual research expenditures of more than $13.2 million and a growing reputation for research achievement, the University of Prince Edward Island ranks as one of the top ten research-intensive undergraduate universities in Canada.

That iconic red-head, Anne of Green Gables, turns 100 this year, and scholars and fans from around the world will gather in Charlottetown from June 25 to 29 to celebrate her--and her creator--during the L.M. Montgomery Institute's eighth biennial international conference.

Island author L.M. Montgomery's first and most famous novel, Anne of Green Gables, was published in 1908 by the L.C. Page Company in Boston; on June 20 of that year, Montgomery received her first copy of her book through the mail at her home in Cavendish. One hundred years and over 50 million copies later, the novel is the focus of a year-long celebration on P.E.I. that ranges from family-oriented festivals and theatre events to art exhibitions and the Institute's conference.

Entitled 'Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables and the Idea of Classic,' the conference, which is being co-chaired by pre-eminent Montgomery scholars Elizabeth Waterston, Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Epperly, includes over 40 speakers from 10 countries, including Finland, Italy, South Africa, Iran, Turkey, Japan, Sweden, Australia, Canada and the United States.

Presentations cover a wide array of topics, including The Power of the Imagination; Smart Girl Heroines and Smart Girl Sidekicks: the Shifting of Role of Intelligent Women in Classic Literature; Rethinking the Continuous Popularity of Anne in Japan; Male Redemption in the Writings of LMM; Reading a Classic, Writing like a Canadian: L.M. Montgomery, Jean Little and Literary Influences; and Teaching Anne of Green Gables in Iran.

Conference co-ordinator Elizabeth DeBlois encourages everyone who has ever been curious about the phenomenon of Anne to come out and sample what this dynamic conference offers.

'If you have loved this story, been intrigued by Montgomery or just been fascinated by the phenomenon that is Anne around the world then you should come and take in a session. There is truly something for everyone and you'll likely be surprised by what you find.'

In addition to the presentations, the conference will feature workshops, special events and entertainment. Of interest to Anne and Harry Potter fans will be a workshop called 'Anne at Hogwarts: Creative and Personal Responses to Classic Literature in the Classroom' by Trinna Frever, of the University of Michigan.

In keeping with Anne's literary bent, the conference will include a free book fair and official P.E.I. launch party on June 25 that is open to the public. The book fair will open with an address by Gretchen Moran Laskas, author of the recently released novel, The Miner's Daughter. The official launch of Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson, Imagining Anne by Epperly, and the anniversary edition of Anne of Green Gables, all published by Penguin Group, will follow. As well, on Sunday, June 29, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., Wilson will give a public reading from Before Green Gables, which will include a question-and-answer session.

Movie and history buffs will enjoy Silent Movie Night on June 26 when Jack and Linda Hutton from Bala, Ontario, give a presentation featuring magic lantern images and music based around the lost 1919 silent film version of Anne of Green Gables starring Mary Miles Minter. Guests are encouraged to dress in the style of their favourite silent film star for this entertaining event. Tickets are $20 per person.

The conference is being held at the Delta Prince Edward Hotel in Charlottetown. Registrations are being accepted until June 10. See here for a complete list of presentations as well as activities, registration options and costs. For information, e-mail us or call (902) 628-4335.

Photo: Montgomery scholars Elizabeth Waterston, Elizabeth Epperly and Mary Rubio, co-chairs of the L.M. Montgomery Institute's upcoming eighth international conference

Sarah Haberl, a Grade 11 student at Montague Regional High School, is the winner of the 2008 Pearson College Scholarship for Prince Edward Island.

This prestigious award covers full tuition and residence for two years of study at the Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific in British Columbia. The selection committee for the P.E.I. scholarship was comprised of UPEI's Tamara Leary, acting director of Student Services; student counsellor Rose Ellen Ghiz; and assistant registrar Darcy McCardle.

A memorial to the late Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lester B. Pearson, the college is located on the shores of the Pacific Ocean at Pender Bay on Vancouver Island. One of 11 United World colleges around the world, it promotes the cause of international understanding by creating an environment in which students from many countries and cultures come together to study and to serve the community. Each year, 200 students from over 80 countries, including representatives from each Canadian province and territory, attend Pearson College.

Haberl, the 16-year-old daughter of Iris Solomon from High Bank, P.E.I., and Franz Haberl of Montreal, Quebec, has wanted to attend Pearson College since she first heard about it in grade seven.

'I am so excited to go and start this new chapter in my life! I hope to make some great new friends and experience different cultures. All my life I have wanted to travel and work with impoverished people, trying to improve their lives and situations. This scholarship gives me just that opportunity. I want to do something in international relations or law in the future, so having Pearson College as part of my background will be an amazing head start.'

The demanding curriculum challenges the students to excel and leads to the completion of the international baccalaureate. Over the two years, students complete their last year of high school, and may earn credits toward their first year of university. In addition to the rigorous academic program, they are extensively involved in physical activities, the fine arts, social services and community projects.

This year, six exceptional candidates were interviewed for the one scholarship available.

'Nominating one candidate for the scholarship was a challenge because all six were motivated, academically strong and well-rounded individuals,' says Leary, chair of the selection committee. 'Sarah is very involved in her community, an athlete and a stellar student at MRHS. We are delighted that Pearson accepted our committee's recommendation and are confident that Sarah will be an excellent ambassador for P.E.I.'

Dr. Ian Holloway, Q.C., Dean of Law at the University of Western Ontario, will be the guest lecturer at the Chief Justice Thane A. Campbell Lectureship in Law on Thursday, June 26, at 7:30 p.m., at the University of Prince Edward Island.

The event, which is open to the public, will take place in the new School of Business lecture theatre 242.

Holloway’s presentation is entitled “The Canadian Lawyer in the Twenty-first Century.” He will discuss the challenges that post-Cold War social and market forces and the information technology revolution have presented to members of the Canadian legal profession, and the need for them to modernize.

“It is clear that there will always be a need for lawyers in Canada,” says Holloway. “But if the legal profession is to retain its stature among the learned professions, Canada's lawyers will have to be willing to undergo a concerted project of modernization – and to have a fundamental shift in outlook. In a word, the Canadian lawyer in the twenty-first century will have to be a very different person from his or her counterpart in the twentieth. And if it is to succeed, this project will have to involve a genuine partnership between Canada’s law schools and the practicing arm of the profession.”

A native of the Maritime provinces, Holloway has served as Dean of Law at the University of Western Ontario since 2000. Prior to that, he was Associate Dean at the Australian National University. Over the years, he has also been a Visitor at Cambridge, the National University of Singapore, the University of Hong Kong, NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad, and the universities of Delhi and Calcutta.

He is a graduate of Dalhousie Law School, the University of California at Berkeley and the Australian National University. He is a member of the bars of Nova Scotia and Ontario, and, before joining academia, he spent several years in private practice with a large firm in Halifax. In 2004, he was elected to membership in the American Law Institute.

The Chief Justice Thane A. Campbell Lectureship in Law is co-sponsored by UPEI and the Law Foundation of Prince Edward Island. In 1991 the Law Foundation of Prince Edward Island created an endowment at UPEI to provide a stimulating series of lectures in honor of Chief Justice Thane A. Campbell, former premier of PEI and first chancellor of UPEI.

Following the speech, there will be an opportunity for questions and discussion. There is no charge, and refreshments will be served.

The University of Prince Edward Island will hold a memorial celebration to honour the late Dr. C.W.J. Eliot, President Emeritus, in the Dr. Steel Recital Hall on Sunday, June 22, at 2 p.m.

Dr. Eliot served as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Prince Edward Island from 1985 to 1995, and was named President Emeritus in 1996. He was the third person to serve as president since UPEI was created in 1969. He passed away on May 20, 2008.

Bert Tersteeg, a close friend of Dr. Eliot and retired professor of music at UPEI, is arranging the music for the celebration. The music will be performed by Bert Tersteeg and Rick Tersteeg (cello), Qeturah Tersteeg and Frances Gray (piano), and Basil Phillips and Faith Dockendorf (violins). Speakers will be friends and former colleagues of Dr. Eliot: Dr. E. Lawson Drake, Joseph Revell, Myron Turner and Dr. Jack Whytock. President Wade MacLauchlan will be the master of ceremonies for the celebration.

All are welcome to attend the memorial celebration. A reception will be held in the Main Building Faculty Lounge after the celebration.