Alex Smith, Brianna Lunardi, Elizabeth GeorgePost-doctoral fellow Alex Smith and graduate students Brianna Lunardi and Elizabeth George of UWindsor’s Coastal Research Group are in Prince Edward Island surveying the damage to beaches in the wake of Hurricane Dorian.

UWindsor researchers surveying damage to PEI beaches by Hurricane Dorian

In the wake of Hurricane Dorian, researchers from the University of Windsor are on the storm-ravaged beaches of Prince Edward Island assessing the damage.

Post-doctoral fellow Alex Smith and graduate students Brianna Lunardi and Elizabeth George ─ members of science dean Chris Houser’s Coastal Research Group ─ arrived in Brackley Beach on the island’s north shore on the weekend.

“UWindsor is conducting these surveys to capture the amount of erosion following the storm,” Dr. Houser said.

The group first flew a drone over the shoreline to survey the devastation from the air. Over the next week, they will move on to Cavendish and Stanhope, also on the north shore.

Hurricane Dorian formed on Aug. 24, reaching the Caribbean two days later. It devastated the northwestern Bahamas before moving up the U.S. coast into Atlantic Canada.

Early surveys by Parks Canada estimate about two metres of P.E.I.’s northern coastline eroded in the storm. Structures and approximately 80 per cent of the trees in the Cavendish part of the P.E.I. National Park have been swept into the ocean.

UWindsor researches wanted to set out earlier, but they were hindered by downed power lines and closed roads, Houser explained.

The Coastal Research Group was in P.E.I. just weeks ago, mapping the beaches and collecting data on sand dunes. George was supposed to pick up on that research this fall, collecting drone data to determine where beaches end and where sand dunes begin. She has quickly shifted gears and will instead study how dunes recover after major storms like Dorian.

“It’s so important to see how these storms affect the coast and what that means for the resiliency of these systems,” Houser said.

Houser suspects his group was the last to survey the beaches before Dorian hit and is now the first to study the storm’s aftermath in depth.

He said Dorian makes him think back to his early career, when in 2004, he moved to Pensacola, Fla., just as Hurricane Ivan was making landfall. His was the only survey of the Pensacola beaches before the storm and the only one after.

He later studied beaches in the aftermaths of hurricanes Katrina and Dennis, and tropical storms Arlene and Cindy.

─ Sarah Sacheli

FRED, the Windsor Public Library BookmobileThe Windsor Public Library Bookmobile will set up shop outside the Leddy Library every third Wednesday this semester.

Bookmobile returning to Leddy Library

The Leddy Library welcomes the Windsor Public Library Bookmobile back to campus every third Wednesday, starting today — Sept. 18.

Nicknamed FRED as an acronym for “Freedom to Read, Educate, and Discover,” the vehicle delivers recreational and educational materials to students, faculty, and staff with a free public library card.

Library members can access popular books, DVD’s, magazines, games, newspapers, and thousands of e-resources including movies, eBooks, and audiobooks through digital streaming apps like Kanopy and Hoopla. FRED even boasts a tool lending library.

To claim your card, bring a valid UWinCARD, a government-issued photo ID, and a document with your current mailing address to the bookmobile during its campus visits: Sept. 18, Oct. 9 and 30, Nov. 20, and Dec. 11, from noon to 2 p.m.

Learn more on the Leddy Library website.

—Marcie Demmans

old-fashioned clawfoot tubMay the Good Lord Take a Liking to You, an autobiographical one-man play written by Marty Gervais, premieres this week at Sho Art Studios.

Play an account of Riverside boyhood

A new play by resident writing professional Marty Gervais, recalling his childhood growing up Catholic in 1950s Riverside, will debut this week in Walkerville.

May the Good Lord Take a Liking to You is a riotous look at that time, Gervais says, “bargaining with Satan just to find out he actually exists, exploring the sacred world of indulgences with the idea of getting out of purgatory, and being taught by stern-faced nuns from the Sisters of St. Joseph.”

The one-man show is set in a bathtub, as a poet composing his latest work thinks back on his experiences as an altar boy during the Cold War.

Directed by UWindsor drama instructor Barry Brodie, this production stars Mitch Snaden. It will run Sept. 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 at 8 p.m. in Sho Art’s Studio A, located at 628 Monmouth Rd. Tickets are $25, available at the door or by texting or phoning 519-977-4525.

snuffed candleUniversity Players presents the Shakespearean tragedy “Othello,” Sept. 27 to Oct. 6 in the Essex Hall Theatre.

Trivia contest sends triple winners to University Players show

Triple the winners means triple the fun for DailyNews readers who came out on top of Tuesday’s trivia quiz on the University Players production of Othello.

Drawn from all entries which correctly identified “The Moor of Venice” as the play’s subtitle, “One that lov’d not wisely but too well” as Othello’s self-description, and Iago as dubbing jealousy the “green-eyed monster,” were those of computing consultant Mathew Chandler, archivist Sarah Glassford, and biology student Kiirsti Owen.

Each will receive two tickets to the opening-night reception and performance, Sept. 27 in the Essex Hall Theatre.

The Shakespearean tragedy is a tale of trust, betrayal, and the pursuit of the truth. The play runs Sept. 27 to Oct. 6. For more information or tickets, call the box office at 519-253-3000, ext. 2808, or visit www.UniversityPlayers.com.

Detroit Tigers-UWindsor branded baseball capThis Detroit Tigers-UWindsor branded baseball cap is part of a package for those attending Saturday’s University of Windsor Night at Comerica Park.

Family and friends invited to join Tigers trip

Faculty, staff, their families and friends are all welcome to board the bus to University of Windsor Night at Comerica Park on Saturday, Sept. 21.

Baseball fans will have a chance to watch the Detroit Tigers play the Chicago White Sox.

The $40 admission includes:

  • round-trip bus transportation leaving campus at 4:30 p.m.;
  • a ticket to the game in downtown Detroit;
  • a Detroit Tigers-University of Windsor branded baseball cap; and
  • a donation to the Welcome Centre Shelter for Women.

Attendees must show a valid passport to enter the United States.

To purchase your ticket, stop by the Office of Student Experience in room 117, CAW Student Centre, or purchase online.

Funding available for campus safety projects

The Women’s Campus Safety Grant Committee is accepting applications for funding for projects to promote safety for women on campus. The committee invites creative, innovative proposals from members of the university community, including individuals or groups, faculty, staff, and student organizations.

The deadline for the next round of submissions for funding through the Women’s Campus Safety Grant is Oct. 31.

In accordance with the parameters set by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, submissions are required to support one of the following broad categories or objectives:

  • Awareness or education (e.g., workshops, websites, awareness campaigns)
  • Student services and supports (e.g., campus walk safe programs, sexual assault prevention initiatives, volunteer training, resource materials)
  • Facilities and equipment (e.g., lighting, mirrors, security cameras, emergency phones)

Funding requests are accepted on an ongoing basis by the Office of Human Rights, Equity, and Accessibility at:

Projects funded in the current round must be completed — and invoices paid — by March 15, 2020.

hand depositing coin into globeSeven local social enterprises will join in a pitch competition Thursday, Sept. 19.

Local social enterprises to pitch into competition

The second annual “Libro-EPIC Social Enterprise Pitch Competition” will see seven local social enterprises compete for money to grow their ventures, at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19.

Hosted by the Entrepreneurship Practice and Innovation Centre (EPICentre) in collaboration with Libro Credit Union, the program will pay as many as four successful competitors up to $8,000 each over the next four months.

“The Libro-EPIC Social Impact Initiative gives social entrepreneurs the tools they need to get their business off the ground,” said EPICentre director Wen Teoh. “We strongly believe in the power of community and collaboration. When people come together with the intention to make a positive change, amazing things happen.”

Community members are welcome to watch the presentations in the EPICentre, located on the second floor of the Joyce Entrepreneurship Centre, to a panel of judges:

  • Kent Walker, MBA director and professor at Odette School of Business;
  • Sydney Thompson, EPICentre program lead;
  • Carolyn Vsetula, regional manager agriculture and commercial, Libro Credit Union;
  • Clement Panzavolta, senior development officer at Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario.

Register for the event on the EPICentre website.