Embedded Files
UPSTREAM INVESTIGATIVE MONITORING PROJECT (UIMP), 2022 - 2023
The Kawartha Lakes, or "Kawarthas" for short, are a series of interconnected lakes and drainage basins that drain from southeast to northwest. Linked by the Trent-Severn Waterway, these inland lakes are a tourist hotspot. Their bountiful recreational opportunities and geographic location ninety minutes northeast of Canada’s most populous region, the Greater Toronto Area, have fueled the economy of this rural region in south-central Ontario. For this project, I worked with the Kawartha Region Conservation Authority to develop/pilot from the ground-up a watershed monitoring program in the Kawartha Lakes region. The data I collected while working on this project was used in the synthesis of an Honours thesis, which focused on watershed limnology and hydrology, in my last year of undergraduate studies at Trent University. By analyzing the limnology, hydrology and contaminant loading trends across a longitudinal scale, we hoped to better understand how upstream catchment land cover is influencing water quality within these tributaries and the receiving Kawartha Lakes. More information about the project could be found on the Environmental Geoscience Research Group website.
My research interests in this project included:
Innovations and efficiencies in watershed and water quality monitoring
Impacts of land use change on catchment and freshwater resources
Modeling longitudinal relationships between water quality proxies and chemical water quality parameters in surface waters
HYDROMETRIC MONITORING OF STONEY CREEK, KAWARTHA CONSERVATION, 2020
I was working with Kawartha Region Conservation Authority (KRCA), in partnership with Fleming College, to perform hydrometric monitoring and analysis of a sub-watershed within KRCA jurisdiction. This was an educational experience which included the calculation of the sub-watershed's water balance and the assessment of water chemistry for use in the Conservation Authority's Watershed Report Card.
HYDROGEOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE LINDSAY STREET NORTH LANDFILL, 2019 - 2020
I was working with the City of Kawartha Lakes, in partnership with the Environmental Technology faculty at Fleming College, to help facilitate a hydrogeological assessment of an aquifer beneath a closed City landfill. Tasks included: monitoring groundwater chemistry, purging municipal monitoring wells, drafting geologic cross-sections, isopleths of relevant chemical analyses, and conducting aquifer measurements (infiltration capacity/ate, hydrologic conductivity, transmissivity via slug tests, pump tests, and constant-head tests.
HALIBURTON LAKE BENTHIC SURVEY AND BIOMONITORING, 2019
Assisted staff with field work related to monitoring the health of Haliburton Lake, Ontari. Using OBBN protocol, I collected water chemistry data, as well as Invertebrates, where I identified, classified, and enumerated them. I drew site maps, made field notes and collected reconnaissance information for future monitoring activities.
ulinks.pdfSmith Property Meadow Vole Population Study, Autumn 2019
This study was conducted for educational purposes while in my final year of the Environmental Technology program at Fleming College. The purpose of this project was to study current and projected population trends of the Eastern meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus) on private property due east of Sir Sandford Fleming College's Frost Campus in Lindsay, Ontario. Conventional mark-recapture estimation techniques were coupled with advanced GIS analyses to examine their population cycle in this location. Non-intrusive mark-recapture sampling was conducted by using feeding traps along several sampling transects that ran the perimeter of the property.
Port Britain Wetland Evaluation, Autumn 2019
This study was conducted for educational purposes while in my final year of the Environmental Technology program at Fleming College. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the ecological status of the Port Britain lacustrine wetland, on the northern shore of Lake Ontario. A full evaluation and delineation of the wetland complex followed the standards of the Southern Ontario Wetland Evaluation System (SOWES). This project gave me valuable experience classifying soils to texture and class, identifying and sampling native macrophyte and hydrophilic vegetation, delineating and mapping wetlands, and assessing/scoring the provincial significance of wetlands in accordance with the OWES.
City of Kawartha Lakes Municipal Waste Diversion Audit, 2019
In autumn 2019, I participated in a full audit of the City of Kawartha Lakes' municipal waste diversion system in the locality of Lindsay, Ontario. The audit consisted of inspecting, sampling, and sorting municipal waste diverted from the landfill to calculate overall diversion rates and to examine the success of the City's adaptation of the province of Ontario's municipal Blue Box program. The audit took place over several consecutive weeks for a neighborhood in Lindsay, Ontario, and was part of a larger experiential learning opportunity in my final year of the Environmental Technology program at Sir Sandford Fleming College. During this project, I garnered experience performing a standardized municipal waste audit, sorting and identifying different grades of plastic waste (plastic recycling grades), and summarizing data for public media releases and official reports.
Brownfield Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, 2019
In autumn 2019, I participated in a full simulated Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) of a previously industrial parcel of land located within the City of Kawartha Lakes. The ESA consisted of an excessive site reconnaissance, record of site condition assessment, a full records review, and a site visit. The compilation of data and the execution of the final assessment followed all regulatory requirements laid out by O. Reg 153/04 (Ontario's provincial standard for the assessment and cleanup of environmentally impacted land), and was part of a larger experiential learning opportunity in my final year of the Environmental Technology program at Sir Sandford Fleming College. During this project, I garnered experience performing a standardized Phase I ESA in accordance with stringent environmental legislation.
Phase I ESA (1).pdfGoogle Sites
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