MG360 Alumni, Family and Friends! Come join us next Friday for an inspiring afternoon as we connect and celebrate our shared passion for groundwater research. 🤩
Friday, June 2 from 1-3pm in the Adams Atrium, Thornbrough Building, University of Guelph
We hope to see as many familiar (and new) faces as possible to kick off the ground-breaking of our new research facility!
MG360 has long standing relationships with Sweden through Lund University and the Swedish Geological Survey (SGU) through collaborative research efforts at multiple field sites, where MG360 have deployed various components of the DFN-M field approach for site characterization.
In 2020, Dr. Beth Parker was awarded the Tage Erlander Visiting Professorship (checkout our January newsletter and this article to read more) which was accompanied by an 8-month sabbatical at Lund University in Lund, Sweden. However, due to Covid-19, this sabbatical was split into two trips, with the first half being in spring of 2022 and the second half during the spring of 2023.
During the second half of her sabbatical, Dr. Parker taught a 2.5-week intensive PhD-course in Hydrogeological Conceptual Models for Groundwater Use and Protection: Characterization methods and scaling considerations, in the Department of Geology at Lund University, from March 15-31st, 2023.
This course was designed to lean into hands-on education and incorporate lessons through lectures, field-work demos and real-world experience, case studies and student-led presentations.
As part of the Lund graduate course, MG360 helped conduct field demonstrations at two sites that were attended by the students along with participants from industry and regulatory bodies. These included the Raven site in Helsingborg, a former dry cleaner site, where MG360 have been conducting DFN-M investigations with SGU and their consultant Sweco since 2018.
Overall, 17 students from 9 different countries attended this PhD short course. It was an incredible learning opportunity and experience that the students and staff enjoyed and will carry with them throughout their careers.
We are excited to announce we will be hosting this years Darcy Lecture on May 3rd from 10:30-12:00pm in Richards 3504, at the University of Guelph.
Dr. Alicia Wilson is a professor of hydrogeology in the School of the Earth, Ocean, and Environment at the University of South Carolina. She has been selected as the 2023 Darcy Distinguished Lecturer by The Groundwater Foundation and the National Ground Water Association
You can read more about Dr. Alicia Wilson and the history of the Darcy Lecture here: https://lnkd.in/gGQgTrK3
This is an in-person event only, and is of course free of charge – no registration required.
On March 22 we celebrated World Water Day – Accelerating Change, by hosting a half day, hybrid (virtual and in-person) event, with an introduction by Dr. Ferdinando Manna, followed by talks from three guest speakers.
World Water Day 2023 Introduction by Dr. Ferdinando Manna from the School of Engineering, University of Guelph.
Dr. John Spoelstra, a Research Scientist from Environment and Climate Change Canada, started us off with a presentation on how artificial sweeteners can be used to track wastewater.
Dr. Bassim Abbassi, the Director of Ontario Rural Wastewater Centre, followed up with a presentation on phosphate removal in decentralized and onsite wastewater treatment systems.
Samantha Mehltretter, a PhD candidate from the School of Engineering, wrapped up our event with a presentation on respectful braiding of indigenous and western knowledge systems for freshwater ecosystem restoration. If you would like to learn more about her presentation and research you can checkout the full report here or connect with Samantha at mehltres@uoguelph.ca and Dr. Andrea Bradford at abradfor@uoguelph.ca.
The topics were diverse, and included something for everyone. They reflected on the broad range in which groundwater influences all of us, every day, in many (often unnoticed and underappreciated) ways. These stimulating talks highlighted some of ways we can accelerate change:
Eat local and support your community
Reduce your water consumption
Be curious and know where your water comes from
Protect nature, plant a tree or garden using native species
Fix your leaky pipes and empty full septic tanks
Stop polluting and be mindful about what you are putting down the drain
Clean up local rivers, wetlands and beaches
In addition to these presentations, we had some student posters displayed throughout the atrium, which provided opportunities for fruitful and engaging discussions.
We had a great turnout, with passers-by stopping in and a virtual audience who tuned in locally and globally, including listeners from Ukraine and Sweden.
The event was insightful, thought provoking and served as a reminder of the roles each of us play in making a difference, to protect and conserve our groundwater.
Thank you to our speakers for their time and knowledge sharing, and to everyone who attended in person and on-line. We look forward to seeing you all again next year!
If you want to learn more about the history of World Water Day, including the story of the Hummingbird and more ways you can help out, we encourage you to check out the UN World Water Day.
“‘One day in the forest, a fire broke out. All the animals ran for their lives. They stood at the edge of the blaze, looking at the flames in terror and sadness. Up above their heads, a hummingbird was flying back and forth to the fire, over and over again. The bigger animals asked the hummingbird what she was doing. “I am flying to the lake to get water to help put out the fire.” The animals laughed at her and said, “You can’t put out this fire!” The hummingbird replied, “I’m doing what I can.”’
This past weekend, March 18 and 19th, the University of Guelph hosted its annual College Royal event!
Students from across campus, from all different departments, had an opportunity to showcase their programs with hands-on activities and displays.
College Royal brings in more than 20,000 people over the course of one weekend and has been growing in popularity since it started in 1925.
Each year, MG360 proudly participates in College Royal and shows a few of the many amazing ways groundwater influences our everyday lives through fun activities such as aquifer and rock core demonstrations.
Although our MG360 team couldn’t be at College Royal this year, since a large group of us are over in Sweden (keep an eye on our blog to find out why), our friends at Creative Encounters in CEPS (College of Engineering and Physical Sciences, UoG) hosted a “Brain Break” booth at their Egg Drop Challenge, with activities geared towards groundwater.
It was a great turnout with a full Atrium! If you were there and picked up one of our MG360 booklets, here are the answers:
We want to say a big thank you to our friends at Creative Encounters (below is the team who ran the Egg Drop and Groundwater Brain Break station) for generously helping us participate when we couldn’t be there in person, checkout their website here to see what they are all about!
