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Murder, homelessness, sandpipers, art
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April 7, 2008
Murders in Merritt
Latest on homeless count
New funding to track migratory birds
Young at art
Murders in Merritt
The community of Merritt is in shock over the apparent murder of three young children. The RCMP are searching for a man believed to be their father. SFU criminologists Neil Boyd and Ehor Boyanowsky can provide some perspective on the tragedy.
Neil Boyd, 778.782.3324, 604.947.9569 (h); neil_boyd@sfu.ca (available after 3 p.m.)
Ehor Boyanowsky, 604.921.6650; ehor_boyanowsky@sfu.ca
Latest on homeless count
Michelle Patterson, an adjunct professor of health sciences and a researcher in the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction (CARMHA) at SFU, can comment on Metro Vancouver’s latest homeless figures, slated to be released Tuesday. The City of Vancouver’s 24-hour homeless count in March, in which Patterson participated, coincided with CARMHA’s release of a study that found the annual count historically underestimates Vancouver’s homeless population by a factor of two or three. Patterson, CARMHA director Julian Somers and colleagues authored the study.
Michelle Patterson, 778.782.5279, 778.837.1321 (c), michelle_patterson@sfu.ca
Julian Somers, 778.782.5148, jsomers@sfu.ca
New funding to track migratory birds
Sandpipers are small birds, but these Neotropical migrants are becoming conspicuous by their growing absence. Neotropical birds breed in North America and travel to Latin America and the Caribbean in the winter, then head north in the summer to raise their young. North America’s two to four million Western Sandpipers are among many disappearing species of Neotropical birds. In collaboration with international scientists, SFU’s Centre for Wildlife Ecology (CWE) has been studying the fate of Western sandpipers for 15 years.
Funding ($425,000) from the American and Canadian federal governments and other institutions will enable a CWE research group to intensify its investigation of the pattern and timing of sandpipers’ migration. David Lank, an SFU adjunct biology professor and lead researcher in the CWE’s Western Sandpiper Research Network, can elaborate on how understanding chemical fingerprints on sandpipers’ feathers and their choice of wintering grounds may help scientists isolate and mitigate threats to the birds.
David Lank, 778.782.3010; dlank@sfu.ca (Port Moody resident)
Young at art
Catch nine young contemporary artists at the start of their careers during SFU Contemporary Art's annual BFA visual Art graduation exhibition opening Friday, April 11 at 7:30pm at the Alexander Centre Studios (611 Alexander) in downtown Vancouver. Innovative, creative, experimental and humorous, the show features a variety of art forms such as photography, sculpture, video and performance, and explores themes of disenchantment and transformation, darkness and light, isolation and engagement. The show runs daily (11-7:30pm) from April 11-20th. For more information: www.sfu.ca/sca and click on upcoming events.
Vivienne Bessette, 778.862.5316 (c)
Latest on homeless count
New funding to track migratory birds
Young at art
Murders in Merritt
The community of Merritt is in shock over the apparent murder of three young children. The RCMP are searching for a man believed to be their father. SFU criminologists Neil Boyd and Ehor Boyanowsky can provide some perspective on the tragedy.
Neil Boyd, 778.782.3324, 604.947.9569 (h); neil_boyd@sfu.ca (available after 3 p.m.)
Ehor Boyanowsky, 604.921.6650; ehor_boyanowsky@sfu.ca
Latest on homeless count
Michelle Patterson, an adjunct professor of health sciences and a researcher in the Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction (CARMHA) at SFU, can comment on Metro Vancouver’s latest homeless figures, slated to be released Tuesday. The City of Vancouver’s 24-hour homeless count in March, in which Patterson participated, coincided with CARMHA’s release of a study that found the annual count historically underestimates Vancouver’s homeless population by a factor of two or three. Patterson, CARMHA director Julian Somers and colleagues authored the study.
Michelle Patterson, 778.782.5279, 778.837.1321 (c), michelle_patterson@sfu.ca
Julian Somers, 778.782.5148, jsomers@sfu.ca
New funding to track migratory birds
Sandpipers are small birds, but these Neotropical migrants are becoming conspicuous by their growing absence. Neotropical birds breed in North America and travel to Latin America and the Caribbean in the winter, then head north in the summer to raise their young. North America’s two to four million Western Sandpipers are among many disappearing species of Neotropical birds. In collaboration with international scientists, SFU’s Centre for Wildlife Ecology (CWE) has been studying the fate of Western sandpipers for 15 years.
Funding ($425,000) from the American and Canadian federal governments and other institutions will enable a CWE research group to intensify its investigation of the pattern and timing of sandpipers’ migration. David Lank, an SFU adjunct biology professor and lead researcher in the CWE’s Western Sandpiper Research Network, can elaborate on how understanding chemical fingerprints on sandpipers’ feathers and their choice of wintering grounds may help scientists isolate and mitigate threats to the birds.
David Lank, 778.782.3010; dlank@sfu.ca (Port Moody resident)
Young at art
Catch nine young contemporary artists at the start of their careers during SFU Contemporary Art's annual BFA visual Art graduation exhibition opening Friday, April 11 at 7:30pm at the Alexander Centre Studios (611 Alexander) in downtown Vancouver. Innovative, creative, experimental and humorous, the show features a variety of art forms such as photography, sculpture, video and performance, and explores themes of disenchantment and transformation, darkness and light, isolation and engagement. The show runs daily (11-7:30pm) from April 11-20th. For more information: www.sfu.ca/sca and click on upcoming events.
Vivienne Bessette, 778.862.5316 (c)