As part of the 2025 Knowledge Translation and Transfer Conference, Ryan Gibson shared reflections on the Rural Futures: Mobilizing Knowledge and Sustaining Partnerships initiative. The Rural Futures initiative ensured rural knowledge and experiences within the university were translated and mobilized to rural partners in local government, community-based organizations, charities/nonprofits, Indigenous communities, all levels of government, businesses, and ...
How can rural communities weather the current economic uncertainty? What can we learn from previous economic downturns that might provide insights for future strategies and activities? On May 7, 2025, Ryan Gibson share research insights on these topics as part of Dufferin County's Tariff Response and Business Resources.
The Weathering the Storm? Strategies for Rural Stability and Growth in Uncertain Times session took a closer look at Dufferin County’s ru
The latest issue of the Rural Review: Ontario Rural Planning, Development, and Policy is now available! This issue showcases graduate student, postdoctoral fellows, and community researcher led initiatives on a wide variety of topics related to rural environments, rural economies, Indigenous development, and rural peoples. The oral presentations and poster presentations were shared at the 2025 Rural Research Symposium on March 26, 2025.
Check out the recent Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health lecture on the Urban Exodus. The presentation features Sara Epp (University of Guelph), Chris Fullerton (Brock University), Ellen Sinclair (Rural Ontario Institute), Scott Taylor (County of Grey) and Ryan Gibson (University of Guelph). The presentation shares recent research on findings from a province wide survey of municipal governments regarding the impacts of the COVID pandemic.
Economic development practitioners, health practitioners, and researchers shared their insights and experience on twelve critical topics to the future of rural communities and regions at the Rural Talks to Rural Conference last week. The interactive session allowed conference participants to learn more about current best practices, learn about existing programming, and to hear about current research. Participants had the opportunities to migrate between ...
Throughout the week, the Rural Planning and Development social media accounts (Facebook, LinkedIn, and X/Twitter) are sharing reflections and contributions from the 2024 Rural Symposium. Presentation and poster contributions from the 2024 Rural Symposium can be found online - https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/ruralReview.
Details about the 2025 Rural Symposium are forthcoming - stayed tuned.
Four members of the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development shared rural research at the recent 74th annual Canadian Association of Geographers national conference in St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. With a conference theme of Edges, students and faculty contributed research on rural health, rural economic development, northern veterinary service provision, and rural workforce development. Presentations shared at the conference included:
Rural development practitioners are at the front line of facilitating prosperous rural communities, places, and environments across Ontario. Ensuring rural development practitioners have access to the most up to date knowledge it critical to facilitating decision-making on the future of rural places.
Leading rural development organizations, community innovators, elected officials, students, and researchers gathered at the North Atlantic Forum in Letterfra
Rural Ontario research was on full display at the recent North Atlantic Forum in Letterfrack, Co. Galway, Ireland. Graduate students and faculty from the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development at the University of Guelph showcased new and emerging rural development knowledge related to agri-food systems, housing, work force development, economic development, and rural transit:
Sara Epp & Regan Zink - Rural Communities, Agri
The Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation and Yukon University recently co-hosted the Northern Dialogues: Remoteness and Sustainable Livelihoods in Rural and Northern Canada Conference in Whitehorse, Yukon. The conference addressed the intersection of remoteness and sustainable livelihoods framed across three interrelated themes: (i) innovation and community development, (ii) education, health, and social systems, and (iii) culture, heritage, and wellb...
