Acadia University
At the K.C. Irving Environmental Science Centre and Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens, we investigate the natural world through environmental study in the Acadian Forest Region and its wetlands.
The Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens offer an exceptional opportunity for researchers to work within a living laboratory. This setting and its extensive resources – laboratories, gardens, greenhouses, and a world-class herbarium and seedbank combined with local businesses and agricultural partners – support students and faculty in leading-edge research.
Phytotrons, growth chambers, and mesocosms provide researchers with highly adaptable systems to understand the effects of environmental change and impacts associated with global warming. The Wetland Research Laboratory is specially equipped for the study of our unique Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy macrotidal environment. The hands-on study that these facilities provide is supported by analytical laboratories focused on the study of contaminants in the environment.
Student and
Faculty Research
To help inform the public and other students of the research that is being conducted In the K.C. Irving Centre, we ask researchers using the facility to prepare small informative posters, highlighting the nature of their early stage research projects.
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Mercury bioaccumulation in the Minas Basin: A comparison of soft tissues and shells as bioindicators
See My StoryThe Minas Basin is a part of the Bay of Fundy. It is east of the Minas Passage and runs to Truro, Nova Scotia. The Bay of Fundy is used for aquaculture, shipping, and fishing. As such, the Bay of Fundy has...
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Assessing arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization and rhizosphere carbon stocks across a chronosequence of restored and reference salt marshes in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia
See My StorySalt marshes are blue carbon ecosystems that accumulate and store high amounts of carbon below ground. Carbon can be accumulated from suspended sediment (allochthonous) and within the salt marsh through fixed carbon dioxide via photosynthesis by marsh vegetation (autochthonous). The carbon is...
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E.C. Smith Herbarium
Learn MoreThe E.C. Smith Herbarium houses the largest collection of dried plants and fungi in Atlantic Canada. These preserved plant specimens and associated data are available for scientific study and maintenance of biodiversity, particularly within the Acadian Forest Region.
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Seed and Tissue Bank Programs
Learn MorePlant biodiversity is threatened around the world, and our Acadia Seed Bank is a model for preserving it.
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Analytical Labs
Learn MorePollution is among the most serious threats to the natural world. Our interdisciplinary lab space brings together faculty and students from the chemistry, environmental science, biology, and engineering departments to study and measure environmental contaminants to provide the information required for effective management and remediation.