The Ontario Institute of Agrologists has highlighted that the Faculty of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, has issued a Call for Research Projects, for their  capstone project.  You can contribute by providing an environmental problem/issue for the students to investigate. Logistically, the issues are typically addressed by teams of 5-8 students, representing the several majors within the Environmental Sciences program, between September 2020 and April 2021. This eight-month project provides the student teams with sufficient time to conduct comprehensive background research, visit sites and collect field data (if required), analyze existing or collected data sets, and preparing a final report.

Should you agree to participate, your research proposal submission should consider the following guidelines and objectives:

1. Propose an environmental problem/issue to be addressed by a team of students in the fall and winter semesters. This project should provide students with hands-on training and/or research experience (including research of the relevant literature).
2. The problem/issue has natural, physical and social science or humanities components since the student teams will include representatives from our diverse set of majors (Environmental Science, Economics, and Ecology).
3. The students can use an integrative scientific approach to the problem/issue, incorporating either or both quantitative and qualitative research methods.
4. Provide students with general background context to understand the problem/issue, identify important literature that may help to initially guide the students in their research, and communicate your expected outcomes from this partnership. These expectations should be realistic and feasible within the time frame that students are allocated.

Additional items for your consideration:

1. 1. Not all proposals will be selected for the current school year; this is contingent on the number of proposal submissions and student enrolment. In the event that a proposal is not selected, it becomes stored in a project repository for future consideration.
   2. Any and all confidentiality agreements/nondisclosure requirements will be honoured.
   3. There will be no costs to you for basic work done by the teams. Attendance at public meetings and presentations outside of the course requirements are not part of the normal student deliverables and will have to be discussed with the students if this is required by the client for the project.
   4. Students have a limited budget for the project, which is usually consumed by travel and final production costs.  Interaction time with your agency will be managed so as to avoid unnecessary cost/effort on your part.  Any financial and/or in-kind support from your agency/group for data acquisition etc. will be appreciated and acknowledged. Please contact me directly regarding this possibility.
   5. You will receive a copy of the final written report and may arrange to receive a copy of the poster from the students.

Should you have additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact either the course coordinator at alysonb@uoguelph.ca, or either of the course instructors, via email at jlongsta@uoguelph.ca or agiles@uoguelph.ca. Additional information is also available on the school website (www.ses.uoguelph.ca).