Upcoming Events

APRIL, 24, 2012 - SES / OAC ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE FAIR: REACH AHEAD COMPETITION.
The Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) at the University of Guelph welcomes the opportunity to support environment SHSMs and high school classrooms, Eco schools and student clubs.
OAC and our School of Environmental Sciences invite you to join us on April 24th, 2012 at our Environmental Science Fair. This competition is designed for grade 11 and 12 students and exceptions can be made for grade 10 students.
Schools can enter a maximum of 2 student teams. Schools will be competing for educational prizes totalling $2000 to support your SHSM program or high school.April 24, 2012
Environmental Science Fair: Reach Ahead Competition

The Environmental Science Fair: Reach Ahead Competition provides a unique opportunity for high school students to showcase their academic talents. Competing in an interactive environment, the fair challenges students to apply and refine critical skills including teamwork, writing and communication.
Working in teams, students will develop an environment focused poster to be presented at the fair. Students will be evaluated and critiqued by faculty and graduate students from the School of Environmental Sciences and educational prizes totalling $2000 will be awarded to top placing posters.
During the competition, students have a choice to attend lecture and various labs and workshop demonstrations as part of the Reach Ahead experience in previewing opportunities in environmental sciences.
Enclosed in the following pages you will find:
  Fair schedule
  Registration information (Registration form attached separately)
  Poster design details
  Final submission deadline
  Lab and workshop descriptions
We hope to see you and your students at the event!

Competition Prizes
A total of $2000 will be awarded to top placing posters. We are interested in hearing from students and teachers about prizes of interest. Please send prize suggestions to tranv@uoguelph.ca

Registration Information
Schools can register a maximum of 2 confirmed teams (e.g. one grade 11 and one grade 12 team or both teams as grade 11 or 12). Teams should consist of 4-5 members. Confirmed teams are students that can commit to the entire fair and team expectations. Schools are able to register additional teams that will be placed on a waiting list. A decision and reply will be provided to all teams.
Teams must be registered by February 24, 2012. Teachers can register students by completing the attached registration form and send it back to tranv@uoguelph.ca.
Poster Design
Students are expected to work collaboratively in developing a poster that addresses a problem in our environment (e.g. air, water, ecosystem, urban, rural) by proposing a solution or study, summarizing previous work or identifying relevant issues. Students are encouraged to use previously submitted or in-progress coursework.
Students should consider the following headings in presenting poster information: introduction, background, methodology, discussion (strengths, weaknesses), conclusion.
Final Submission and Evaluation
Teams are required to submit a one page abstract of the research poster by April 3rd, 2012. Team will be evaluated on their ability to respond to questions during poster interview, and poster design and content. Note that judges will develop questions to be asked based on poster abstracts.
 April 24, 2012
Environmental Science Fair: Reach Ahead Competition
Time Event and description

8:30 – 9:25   Fair setup and display, Registration Rozanski Hall Concourse
9:30 –9:40    Opening Address Rozanski Hall rm. 101
9:50 – 10:50  Gr. 12 Student  Poster Interviews Rozanski Hall Concourse
Gr. 10/11 Lab and Workshop Demonstration
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agriculture
Dr. C. Wagner-Riddle
DNA The Building Blocks of Life
Dr. K. Dunfield
Sustainable Horticulture
Dr. Y. Zheng
The Wide World of Aquatic Insects
Dr. P. Sibley
Where Does Guelph’s Drinking Water Come From?
Dr. B. Parker
Biological Life Support for Space Exploration
Dr. M. Dixon
11:00 - 12:00 Gr. 10/ 11 Student Poster Interviews Rozanski Hall Concourse
Gr. 12 Lab and Workshop Demonstration
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Agriculture
Dr. C. Wagner-Riddle
DNA The Building Blocks of Life
Dr. K. Dunfield
Sustainable Horticulture
Dr. Y. Zheng
The Wide World of Aquatic
Insects
Dr. P. Sibley
Where Does Guelph’s Drinking Water Come From?
Dr. B. Parker
Biological Life Support for Space Exploration
Dr. M. Dixon
12:10 - 12:30 Sponsored Lunch Rozanski Hall Concourse
(20 minutes for lunch is only for the distribution of food. Students will consume lunch during the lecture)
12:35 - 1:35 Hammond Lecture
From hills to holes: eco-hydrological recovery of disturbed Canadian environments
Guest Lecturer: Dr. Sean Carey, McMaster University
Rozanski Hall rm. 101  1:30 – 2:00
Award Ceremony and Closing
Rozanski Hall rm. 101
2:00 - 2:15
Departure ( & poster pick up)

Lab and workshop demonstrations are described in more detail on the following page. Students must identify their top three choices as part of the registration form that teachers will submit to enter their students in the fair.

Lab and Workshop Demonstration: Descriptions
Details for the six workshops that are offered during the Science Fair are provided below. Students will have time to attend one session and must choose their top three as spaces are limited.

Biological Life Support for Space Exploration The Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility is Canada's main contribution to research and technology development in the field of biological life support for human space exploration. The facility tour and lecture will highlight some of the many project areas related to this initiative including specialized reduced pressure growth chambers, analytical laboratories and a variety of unique plant and environment sensor technologies.

DNA The Building Blocks of Life  See inside a real science lab and take part in a genetics workshops. In this hands-on demonstration everyone can try their hand at extracting DNA from a vegetable, solve the perfect crime with a forensics demonstrations, and learn how to ‘run a DNA gel’.

Where Does Guelph’s Drinking Water Come From Ever wonder where the tap water and bottled water you drink comes from? In this workshop you will learn about groundwater and the field-focused groundwater research we do to provide sustainable bedrock water supplies for Ontario communities. In this hands-on demonstration you will be able to see rock core that comes from the aquifer that supplies Guelph’s drinking water.

Greenhouse Gas Emission from Agriculture In this workshop you will get an introduction to the instruments used for measurement of trace gas exchange and an overview of the research on greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.

The Wide World of Aquatic Insects Aquatic insects are a highly diverse groups of animals. In North America alone there are almost 9,000 species; compare that to ~5400 mammalian species in the entire world! Thus aquatic insects contribute significantly to North American (and World) biodiversity. But aquatic insects are also used as indicators of their environment and constitute the backbone of monitoring programs whose goal is to assess the health of aquatic systems. In this workshop, you will have an opportunity to examine a wide range of aquatic insects, learn the basic elements of aquatic insect identification, and how they are used in monitoring programs.

Sustainable Horticulture This workshop will introduce the ideas and use of sustainable horticulture and using horticulture to improve our health and the living environment and will include a review of the Green Roof .