Media Release - For Immediate Release
November 2 2010
Graduate Students Get Dirty WhileThey Learn
Ben Lemieux gets wet while he works. 
Jennie Graham takes a break after a morning of slogging through the mud. |
For some Saint Mary's University students the classroom is muddy, and rubber boots and waterproof clothing are part of the dress code.
That's the case for Ben Lemieux and Jennie Graham who spent the past summer immersed in Nova Scotia's vital and sensitive marshlands, both academically and physically, as part of their restoration work with CBWES.
The SMU graduate students (May 2010) are enrolled in the Applied Science Co-op Program. They are focused on the design and the implementation of projects to restore lost marshland in Nova Scotia.
They are also recipients of Industrial Postgraduate Scholarships from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
The students collect data on vegetation, fish, soils and other aspects of life in a salt marsh, in addition to their specialities. It's physically demanding but rewarding work. Daily work schedules
revolve around tides, not clocks.
Graham, a graduate of the College of Geographic Sciences (COGS) Advanced Diploma Program, is particularly focused on design and implementation of restoration projects. She holds a degree in environmental studies with honours in geography.
"The work I'm doing should help us to more effectively design and implement future restoration projects," she says.
"This is really exciting for me." Lemieux, a recent Saint Mary's Bachelor of Science graduate with honours in geography and a major in biology, is helping to develop a protocol for using low-altitude photography to monitor marsh recovery after restoration under the direction of Dr. Danika van Proosdij at Saint Mary's University.
The project, involving a helium-blimp and tower-based cameras, is a non-invasive way to document the recovery over a long period of time.
"Restorative ecology is something I've always wanted to do," Lemieux said. "It's a rich and rewarding field."
Graham and Lemieux have just wrapped up a summer of busy field work for CB Wetlands and Environmental Specialists. Research sites include part of the St. Croix Salt Marsh and Floodplain Wetland Restoration Project, and the Cogmagun River Salt Marsh Restoration Project, both of which are overseen by Halifax-based CBWES.
It is estimated that up to 85 per cent of the original marshland surrounding the Bay of Fundy has been lost since the late 17th Century. Research and restoration projects that are required for the protection and restoration of these vital ecosystems are still in their infancy.
There is a desire among salt marsh restoration managers in Nova Scotia to improve monitoring programs and try to understand ecological function in new ways.
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For More Information:
Steve Proctor
External Affairs
Saint Mary's University
(902) 420.5513
E-mail: steve.proctor@smu.ca
www.smu.ca
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