Team Freshwater MonitoringShelby Raycroft is from Arnprior, Ontario and is currently in her last semester at Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley in the Environmental Technician program. She has a serious interest in benthic invertebrates and how they can help to determine the quality of water. She has a passion to improve the quality of Canadian waters, so she thoroughly enjoyed working on this project.
Matthew Irving is from Gravenhurst, Ontario and is finishing his last semester in the Environmental Technician program at Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley. He is also a graduate of Carleton University with a Bachelor in Journalism. Matt is skilled at working with field equipment, which was an asset while working through this project. Also, he has an interest in how agricultural practices can affect the quality of surrounding water bodies. Ali Safdar is from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and is completing his last semester at Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley in the Environmental Technician program. He also completed the General Arts and Sciences program at Algonquin College. He is interested in how flora can affect the health of soil as well as water quality, and how land owners can positively influence the quality of their land by what is planted. Nicole Dignard is from Ottawa, Ontario and is currently in her last semester in the Environmental Technician program at Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley. She loves working with microscopes, and combined with her interest in algae and the effect it can have on human health, was an asset while working on this project. |
BioCord Remediation ProjectThe BioCord Remediation Project (BRP) members share a mutual concern for the future of this planet. However, one must start on a small scale and aspire to achieve global results. Each member specifically put this project on the top of their list because it is a fantastic opportunity to attain collect data and conduct testing in reference to issues currently experienced within our own community. There have been numerous sampling days where the team drove across Renfrew County to collect water samples from potentially contaminated sites. This provided the team members with valuable work and field experience that is beneficial to each member’s future career goals.
Freshwater quality is of paramount concern in our minds and in Canada. Clean surface freshwater is the most valuable resource on the planet. Our goal is to learn more about how fresh water in Canada is impacted by human activity. We wanted to learn where and how we could apply the knowledge gained from this program and the Bishop Water Technologies community project provided a great start. The team leader, Kate Graham, has been working with Bishop Water Technologies as a co-op student since summer 2013. Her experiences and familiarity with the company’s technology helped assist the students during their development of the BioCord Island/Phytoremediation laboratory experiment and during sampling collection and analysis. The team shares a great interest in combating lake eutrophication in Renfrew County. Learning about algal blooms and excessive nutrient discharge has generated motivation to try to reverse the process. Each team member enjoys recreational summer activities, and is irritated to learn that adverse activities influence beach closures and illness due to water contamination. In a way, we feel responsible for freshwater contamination because we are members of a society which directly impacts freshwater quality. We are compelled to use innovative research and find sustainable solutions to resolve environmental challenges. |
Team Shaw WoodsTeam Shaw Woods is a group that is interested in the biodiversity of the many forests of Renfrew County. We have a good balance of members whose main interest is flora and are quite skilled in the identification of many of the plants located around Renfrew County. We also have members who are fascinated with the fauna aspect of the forests of Renfrew County and have a strong knowledge of many species of the bird, fish and mammal located in Renfrew County.
Each member of the group chose this project because they believe that the Shaw Woods Outdoor Education Centre is an important teaching venue in Renfrew County and believe that the work that has been put into it by the members of the community that volunteer there has been exemplary. Our group not only wanted to assist the Shaw Wood’s staff by conducting a bioblitz to help give them an idea of the biodiversity for the new trail before construction, but we also wanted to create an association between Algonquin College and the Shaw Woods Outdoor Education Centre that can be used in the future to create more joint stewardship projects between the two parties that will benefit Shaw Woods. |
Team MuskratTeam Muskrat is made up of five Environmental Technician students from Algonquin College in the Ottawa Valley. Each member has incorporated their background knowledge and personal interests into this research project. Cassi and Garrett have an extensive background with Cyanobacteria and algal blooms. Paul, Rachel and Robert are local anglers and have a broad background in water quality control and the local water conditions.
Cassi, Paul and Rachel worked with Jaime in collecting the samples throughout Muskrat Lake using their knowledge of the YSI and proper sampling techniques. Robert and Garrett analyzed the samples in the lab using their knowledge with the HACH machine and proper laboratory techniques. All members of this team assisted in the collection and comparison of the results analyzed with previous studies done on Muskrat Lake. This project utilizes all members’ knowledge and skills and with collaboration has created this community-based project. |
Team Copper in BiosolidsMandy Raney is currently an Environmental Technician student at Algonquin College in Pembroke, Ontario. Living on a farm and understanding the importance of fertilizing and preserving the quality of soil in order to grow safe and productive food was the driving force for her on this project.
Josh Macmillan is an Environmental Technician student at Algonquin College with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Environmental Studies. He spent the summer of 2013 working as a co-op student for the city of Pembroke where he was introduced to the processes involved with Pembroke’s Pollution Control Centre and sparked his interest on the project topic. Bamidele Atteh is an Operator in Training with experience working at the Pollution Control Centre. He understands the plant process involved in producing biosolids. He holds a Bachelors of Science in Geology and he has a good chemistry background and he is currently a graduating student from the Environmental Technician program at Algonquin College, in Pembroke, Ontario. Sebastien Swann is currently enrolled at Algonquin College in the Environmental Technician. He has a background in environmental aspects, with a college certificate from the Algonquin General Arts and Sciences Environmental Studies program. He has done extensive and practical lab work throughout his schooling years, to accommodate for the lab work that is needed for this project. He is looking forward to working with new laboratory equipment and their respective protocols. |