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![]() Benthic Macroinvertebrate Biomonitoring Projects
(Multiple Projects Available - CLICK HERE FOR FULL LIST!) NOTE: These projects involve a field component. Benthic macro-invertebrates (or “benthics” or “benthos”) are aquatic, spineless organisms that live on the bottom of water bodies. Since the late 1980’s they have been used as biological indicators for common aquatic pollutants as they spend part or the entirety of their lives in the water. The use of benthics as an indicator of water quality is now used throughout the world and has been widely used in Ontario since the early 2000’s. These community-based research projects are ideal for an undergraduate student as a full-term project and will include field work early in the fall (COVID-19 health and safety policies from Trent University and U-Links will be in effect). Students are recommended to have OBBN certification or other previous field work experience. ![]() #5057 Windy Pine Shoreline Rehabilitation Action Plan
NOTE: This project involves a field component. Windy Pine Conference Centre is a property under the care of Canadian Studies at Trent University on Kushog Lake in the Algonquin Highlands. It acts as a recreational and academic site for Trent University and as a link between the University and Haliburton County. Concerns of erosion have arisen due to the naturally thin sandy soils along the roughly 300m rocky shoreline on the property. A baseline inventory was conducted in 2014 through Love Your Lake, and an initial CBE project (#4837) in 2019. This project is slated to expand on this inventory and give recommendations on how to best address problem areas on the site. ![]() #5020 Health Benefits of Natural Plasters
NOTE: This project can be completed remotely. Beyond Plasters, a natural plasters business based in Haliburton, Ontario, is looking for research on the health benefits of natural plasters. The student(s) will conduct a literature reviews on the health benefits of natural plasters vs synthetic plasters, and, if possible, conduct a lab analysis (VOCs) of the Beyond Plasters mix vs synthetic plasters under faculty supervision. It is hoped the research will bring to light the long-forgotten benefits of natural plasters and present them in the new context of healthy building practices in the 21st century. ![]()
#4480 "The Missing Element": Stories of the Mountain Street Red Cross Outpost NOTE: This project can be completed remotely. Canoe FM (local radio station) and Haliburton Highlands Land Trust (environmental conservation organization) are non-profit organizations working out of a historic building on Mountain Street in Haliburton that was once a Red Cross outpost. A small 1983 book by Martha Perkins,“A Hospital of our Own” was written about its history. The purpose of this project, hosted by Canoe FM, is to discover more about the building and the health professionals who worked there in order to develop a better understanding of the hospital’s connection to history and its contributions to the local community. Existing data will be augmented through oral history interviews with local community members and a visual media display intended for the office. This project is ideal for a small group of senior undergraduate students with a combination of graphic design and interviewing skills. ![]() #5029 Delineating the Velocity of Climate Change in the Haliburton Highlands for the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust
NOTE: This project can be completed remotely. The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust has as its mandate “to conserve plants, wildlife and clean water of Haliburton County to ensure a legacy of forests, fields and wetlands, and the species they nurture.” To achieve this goal the HHLT is acquiring lands of ecological and cultural significance for conservation purposes. Informed and science-based decision-making is necessary to acquire and manage these landscapes in perpetuity as is the main responsibility of HHLT. Analytical landscape evaluation processes and tools are seen to be key to HHLT decision-making for new acquisitions, land management, monitoring and stewardship endeavours. This project has as one its purposes to critically review one method available for estimating the velocity of climate change in the Haliburton Highlands region. A second purpose is to recommend how this method can be applied by the HHLT for achieving its mandate of landscape conservation. ![]() #5030 Watershed Mapping Profile and Protocol for the Haliburton Highlands Land Trust
NOTE: This project can be completed remotely. The Haliburton Highlands Land Trust has as its mandate “to conserve plants, wildlife and clean water of Haliburton County to ensure a legacy of forests, fields and wetlands, and the species they nurture.” To achieve this goal the HHLT is acquiring lands of ecological and cultural significance for conservation purposes. Informed and science-based decision-making is necessary to acquire and manage these landscapes in perpetuity as is the main responsibility of HHLT. Analytical landscape evaluation processes and tools are seen to be key to HHLT decision-making for new acquisitions, land management, monitoring and stewardship endeavours. This project entitled Watershed Mapping Profile and Protocol has as one its purposes to develop a spatial context of the HHLT properties and Haliburton Highlands surrounding areas in terms of their watershed composition. Watershed mapping in simple terms uses elevation and flow data to define catchment areas of water systems. Geographic information science is applied to generate the watershed maps. The protocol piece of the project has as its purpose the development of a workflow for using the watershed mapping products for such endeavours as habitat and land conservation. ![]() #5064 Virtual Adaptation of Abbey Gardens on-site Sprouts to Snacks Program
NOTE: This project can be completed remotely. Abbey Gardens is a non-for-profit organization with a mission to create opportunities to learn about living more sustainably, including learning about local food, gardening, energy, sustainable construction techniques, heritage agricultural animals, land restoration, and cooking techniques. The "Sprouts to Snacks" program ran successfully on site for two years with a local elementary school, engaging children in growing, harvesting, and preparing local food. The effects of COVID-19 and increased bussing fees has prevented the program from occurring on-site. The purpose of this project is to create a hands-on, mostly virtual version of the "Sprouts to Snacks" program, and offer a hybrid on-line/on-site program, where it is accessed and used by educators in a school setting, and concludes with a field trip to Abbey Gardens. |
#5070 Baseline Inventory Report for the Dahl Forest
NOTE: This project can be completed remotely. Habitat loss and degradation are the greatest threats to biodiversity in Canada today. To mitigate this process in the Haliburton Highlands, the HHLT acquires lands of ecological and cultural significance for conservation purposes. The project objective is to incorporate data from the previously established Permanent Sample Plots (PSPs) in the Dahl Forest to create a Baseline Inventory Report of the forest. Students will also develop a database that is spatially relatable to the existing GIS framework. Having a baseline will make room for additional data collection such as vegetation and soil data for each of the PSPs. |