CoPEH-Canada Course and Webinar Series

2021 Hybrid, multi-site course on ecosystem approaches to health

May-June 2021

Discover innovative and dynamic approaches for better understanding the multiple factors which influence health – ecosystem approaches to health – with an experienced, pan-Canadian team. During this intensive course, you will learn methods for carrying out research and interventions on issues at the confluence of health, the environment and society.

This graduate level course and webinar series on ecosystem approaches to health will be held at three “sites” in May-June: Montréal (UQAM), Guelph (University of Guelph), and an online “site.” Eight two-hour sessions are conducted as simultaneous webinars across the sites. The rest of the time for the two university groups will be locally run sessions, including group work and activities designed to help participants integrate their learning into their own work. These activities will revolve around a theme, which, this year, is “Working the hyphen: Navigating the space between advocacy and academia.” We are inviting participants in the 2021 edition of the CoPEH-Canada course and webinar series on ecohealth to engage with the narrative form (see selected books here) during the webinar series and course, providing new perspectives despite the context of confinement where we will not be able to interact in the field. We offer a rigorous, hands-on pedagogical approach. This blog describes how we adapted the 2020 course to the Covid-19 reality, while keeping it interactive: Tamped down or spruced up? How we ran a field course on health and ecosystems online during a pandemic.

This course is available to graduate students from all disciplines and also to professionals interested in these themes. It is possible to register for the full course for credit at one of the participating universities or to follow the eight webinars only, on-line (a certificate of completion is provided).

• For those interested in following the webinar series or for general information*, please contact us at copehcanada <at> gmail.com
• For those interested in the course in Montréal, contact Jena Webb at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• For those interested in the course at Guelph, contact Katie Clow at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

In 2021, the schedule for the webinars will be Tuesdays and Thursdays from May 13th to June 8th from 1:30 pm (EST), ending at 3:30 (EST). See below a tentative schedule; the order of the webinars is likely to change. 

* In certain cases fees apply. Click here for fees and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you have questions. 

** Logo image: Painted glass and pressed wild flowers, @evieshaffer (evies.com)

Course participant Blogs

Each year, the participants of CoPEH-Canada's hybrid course write a blog on a topic of their choice related to ecosystem approaches to health and share with the other participants. Then everyone votes on their top three blogs and the three highest scoring blogs are published here. Along with the votes, participants have to provide a tweet for each blog they voted for, which we then use to publisize the blogs from our @copeh_canada twitter account. You can read past year's blogs here.