Another Great Water Festival at Ferme Drouin

Hundreds of Francophone students from 11 different Eastern Ontario elementary schools attended the Eastern Ontario Children’s Water Festival at Ferme Drouin on May 30 - June 1. Participants in the program learned about water resources, surface and ground water, water treatment, and distribution technologies. Students also gained a better understanding of the interaction of water with humans, plants, animals, soil and air. All information was presented by volunteers from École Secondaire Catholique de Casselman in more than two dozen fun and interactive discovery centers. The Festival is coordinated by the St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Sciences thanks to support from the Retired Teachers of Ontario, Eastern Ontario Water Resources Committee and Ontario Power Generation.

River Institute hosts Provincial Envirothon Competition

On May 9 - 12, the River Institute hosted the Provincial Envirothon competition. Students and educators from 23 schools across Ontario arrived in Cornwall for 3 days of environmental competition and educational experiences. The students planted trees and flowers, and installed nesting boxes and turtle basking logs as part of a 'renaturalization project' on the campus of St. Lawrence College. The overall winning team was Waterloo Collegiate Institute, who will continue to represent Ontario at the North American Canon Envirothon competition in Geneva, New York. The local team from North Dundas Secondary School was the winner of the aquatics station, and represented our region with style! Congratulations!

River Institute bids farewell to Bruce Doran

This spring, the River Institute reluctantly said “adieu” to Bruce Doran, a respected scientist, speaker and educator. Bruce has moved to Sudbury to work at Science North – we miss him, but wish him well in his new position.

The Plight of the Bee: The Buzz on Pollination and Conservation

Come to the Cornwall Public Library for the Science and Nature Speaker Series on Wednesday June 13 at 7 pm. The speaker will be Dr. Peter Kevan, from the Department of Environmental Biology at the University of Guelph. Dr. Kevan is a renowned entomologist and botanist. His interests also include apiculture, and especially applied pollination as it relates to crops

Conference 2007

The 14th International Conference on the St. Lawrence River/Lake Ontario Ecosystem took place at NavCanada Conference Centre on May 15 – 17, 2007. Over 150 delegates took part in panel discussions, special sessions, presentations, and exhibits related to the conference theme, “Making the Connection: Tributaries and Wetlands”. The conference banquet on May 16 was well attended by delegates and special guests, and the keynote speaker, Dr. Stuart Bunn, gave a revealing overview of the freshwater challenges and conservation efforts in Australia.

New Faces

The River Institute has recently hired a number of new employees: Julie Street, B.Sc. has recently moved to Cornwall from Montreal to join the River Institute staff as an educator and coordinator of the summer camp program.[top photo] Joining the laboratory staff is Crystal Veenstra,lab techinician is a recent graduate of the Environmental Technician program at St. Lawrence College. [middle photo] Sharon Van Den Oetelaar is the new administrative assistant, and is responsible for reception, accounting, and other administrative duties.[bottom photo]