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Preface | October 2011

What Students are Saying

Dr. Lucille Mazo

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Communicating about the Earth has always been an obvious choice for undergraduate students who care deeply about the state of their planet. Over the 17 years that I have taught at Grant MacEwan University, I have heard the passion and the need for students to express and share their ideas regarding the relationship between humans and the Earth. I have been privileged to listen to students’ voices and their unrelenting desire to know, as well as their insatiable curiosity to learn about the impact that humans have on the Earth. Recognizing the importance of providing a venue where undergraduate students have an opportunity to share their research and ideas about planet and human interaction, Earth Common Journal was created.

Earth Common Journal is an online peer-reviewed, undergraduate annual publication that focuses on three critically important and globally reaching topics: conservation, sustainability, and global warming. It was created and shaped by a group of dedicated and compassionate editors, reviewers, and authors who understood the need and the importance of sharing research and creative work in these three areas. Its mandate is to provide a communication instrument for undergraduate students from Grant MacEwan University to convey their research ideas with the intent on informing others about conservation practices, sustainable processes, and issues that affect global warming. In addition, Earth Common Journal includes an international section where undergraduate students, faculty, and community leaders exchange the research and work that they are doing in their educational and community institutions.

This inaugural issue, “What students are saying,…”, strives to continue the ongoing local, national, and international dialogue, discussion, and conversation that is occurring between student and student, student and faculty, and student and community. There is a plethora of knowledge that students offer through their deeply reflective thoughts, their innovative perspectives on issues and concerns about our planet, and their original ideas on current societal patterns of behaviour.

I invite you to listen to the voices of undergraduate students who care profoundly about the Earth. Listen to what the students are saying…

Acknowledgement

There were many dedicated, skilled, and creative individuals who helped to develop the inaugural issue of Earth Common Journal — What students are saying… I would like to extend my deep and heartfelt thanks to all those who participated in the process of making this journal a reality for undergraduate students, faculty, and international authors. Please accept my genuine and sincere thanks for the opportunity to work with you who share the same passion—to communicate your knowledge, understanding, and research about Earth. It has indeed been a journey of exploration. In contrast to Ryan Sims’ original music composition “We Arrived Safely Because We Stayed Too Close to Shore,” we chose to travel far from the shore in order to achieve our dream.

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About the Author

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