College Royal 2023

College Royal 2023

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:

Crosswords, word searches and colouring pages were provided by the Groundwater Foundation. 

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! 

Graduate Students Share Water Wisdom at College Royal 2022

Every year, the University of Guelph holds a massive campus-wide open house known as College Royal, the largest university event of its kind in North America. It has been a Morwick G360 tradition for our graduate students to take part in this celebration, teaching the general public and potential future students about how groundwater research is carried out and why studying this vital resource is so important.

Morwick G360 representatives Cameron, Felix, and Bradley prepare to teach visitors about groundwater science!

Quite a few families stop by, and many people were curious to hear about Morwick G360’s research. Popular questions from visitors concerned the nature of Guelph groundwater supply, possible threats and safety measures taken to avoid contamination and over pumping, and questions about water hardness.

The rock core and flow tank displays offered a bit of hands-on hydrogeological learning. Some younger visitors wondered what sort of undergraduate program would lead to a career in the field, while older visitors who were already well versed in geology were keen to talk shop and engage on topics of local importance with regard to groundwater protection.

Visitors of all ages stopped by to learn about rock cores, groundwater, geology, and get their hands on the miniature sand tank display.

A big thank you to the team of graduate students who came out to make College Royal such a success this year. As the first ‘in-person’ event for many of us after several years of virtual gatherings, it was great to see such enthusiasm. Groundwater is a key resource that’s worth understanding, for scientists and the public alike. We’re excited to continue to share our research through similar outreach activities going forward, and we can be reached anytime at communications@g360group.org.

Join us for World Water Day 2022

The Morwick G360 Groundwater Research Institute is hosting a day-long World Water Day workshop on March 22nd, in collaboration with GIER, OHI, and the School of Engineering at the University of Guelph. The theme this year, chosen by the United Nations for this global event, is Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible. All are welcome to attend for as much or as little of the day as they are able, and registration details are available here: https://g360group.org/events/world-water-day-2022/

We hope to see you there!

Introducing the Morwick G360 Groundwater Research Institute!

Since 2007, the G360 Institute for Groundwater Research has been a leader in research and innovation for global groundwater protection, contaminant removal, and water supply management. Today, we are excited to announce the next big step in realizing the Institute’s mission.

A generous $10 million gift from Edward (Ted) Morwick will enable significant capital improvements to the Bedrock Aquifer Field Facility – to be renamed the Morwick Groundwater Research Centre – making it a state-of-the-art facility for teaching and research. The gift also creates a new endowed Chair in Sustainable Groundwater Research at the University of Guelph. Finally, it will support the training of the next generation of water and climate change researchers through student research assistantships. Together, these initiatives will lay the groundwork for a bright future in global water research.

In recognition of this transformative donation, the G360 Institute for Groundwater Research will be renamed the Morwick G360 Groundwater Research Institute. To read the full press release and learn more, visit https://www.uoguelph.ca/ceps/water-protection

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