News Stories
Exploring the Importance of Snow to Vancouver Island Water Supplies
February 15, 2019
VIU researchers are helping devise new methods of assessing the quality and quantity of water sources in coastal mountains using drones. Vancouver Island University (VIU) researchers are taking a deeper look at snow packs in unique alpine forested watersheds on northern Vancouver Island, with the aim of using drone technology to fill a science knowledge gap on stream flows. VIU... Read more
VIU's Dr. Patrick Brouder Named BC Regional Innovation Chair for Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development
January 18, 2019
A VIU researcher will explore the impact of tourism development and how it relates to community resilience in rural areas across British Columbia. Vancouver Island University (VIU)’s Dr. Patrick Brouder has been named the new British Columbia Regional Innovation Chair (BCRIC) for Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development. “VIU is excited to have Dr. Brouder join the institution... Read more
Recognizing the Power of Place Names in the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region
January 17, 2019
Long before British Captain George Henry Richards named Mount Arrowsmith in the late 1800s, the largest mountain on southern Vancouver Island had many distinctive titles given to it, depending which side the 1,819 metre peak was viewed from. In 2000, the Arrowsmith moniker was used in the designation of the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region (MABR), a UNESCO recognized biosphere reserve. ... Read more
VIU Research Will Inspire Youth to Preserve Culture and Protect Salmon
January 16, 2019
Having the opportunity to go back to her community as a scholar to support the development of programs to preserve her language and culture is exciting to Vancouver Island University (VIU) Indigenous/Xwulmuxw Studies Professor Dr. Georgina Martin. Martin has been awarded a $50,000 dollar Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Indigenous Research Capacity and Reconciliation... Read more
VIU Researchers Aim to Develop Improved Mapping Methods For Canada's North
January 15, 2019
A Vancouver Island University (VIU) research project will provide a unique opportunity to examine the glacial landscape of Canada’s North, leading to new mapping methods that will help people identify sources of sand, gravel or minerals. Canada’s North is rich in natural resources and a major driver of economic growth in the region. Large mineral deposits could include diamonds, gold,... Read more
Coastal Communities Buoyed by New Fish-Health Lab
January 14, 2019
Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training News Release Communities dependent on fisheries are getting help in protecting British Columbia's fish stocks through the new, provincially funded Centre for Innovation in Fish Health at Vancouver Island University (VIU). “Our coastal communities depend on healthy fish stocks for their economic, social and spiritual well-being. For too long... Read more
VIU Graduate Student Researches How Libraries Impact People's Quality of Life
January 7, 2019
The value of public libraries goes well beyond the multitude of books lining the shelves. Assessing the role that libraries play in contributing to community completeness and increasing? quality of life, and how this can, in turn, help marginalized urban groups is what Vancouver Island University (VIU) Master of Community Planning student Dylan Thiessen aims to determine. Thiessen... Read more
VIU QES Scholar Proves All Dreams Can Be Possible
November 20, 2018
It has been a long journey for Avryl Brophy to realize she could achieve academically. “I grew up in foster care since I was 12 years old,” she says. “I never saw the opportunity as a youth that post-secondary education was in my future.” With a little courage and perseverance, Brophy changed that narrative. A single mother of two teenage boys, Brophy returned to the classroom in her... Read more
What is Happening to the Children?
October 17, 2018
By Aly Winks People who experience childhood trauma often describe the event as life-changing, and rarely for the better. Research suggests that early intervention after such events can make all the difference in a young person’s life. That’s where VIU Child and Youth Care students and faculty hope to make an impact. British Columbia is currently in the middle of a medical health crisis... Read more
Research @VIU: The Messages in the Medium
October 17, 2018
Every year, faculty and students at VIU go out into communities to participate in research that is having significant impacts on the region as well as giving students important experiential learning opportunities. Here are a few projects they engaged in this year. Project three of five. Historians can tell a lot about how people were thinking, feeling and living during a certain time period by... Read more