Laurier hosting virtual symposium on water conservation for World Water Day

March 18, 2021

Wilfrid Laurier University researchers are marking World Water Day by hosting a virtual symposium on the protection of water resources. On Monday, March 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the Laurier Water Science Students Association and the Laurier Institute for Water Science will welcome a variety of professionals, students, researchers and community members via Zoom to discuss a wide range of topics related to water and its conservation.

Included in the agenda of speakers are representatives from local organizations such as RARE Charitable Research Reserve and Wellington Water Watchers. There are also six Laurier faculty and student researchers speaking on their areas of expertise:

• Vivian Gao, master’s student: “Environment: An assessment of the impact of macroinvertebrates in roadside lakes”
• Sophie Roth, undergraduate student: “Unique adaptations of the marine Ariidae catfish kidney for osmoregulation”
• Victoria Goodfellow, undergraduate student: “How might water quality changes caused by permafrost thaw affect chironomids in Canadian Arctic lakes?”
• Marie Hannan, master’s student: “Does construction and maintenance of roads impact invertebrates in Arctic lakes?”
• Aseel Al Nimer, PhD candidate: “Sustainable water by recovering phosphorous”
• Miguel Sioui, assistant professor: “Dehcho Collaborative on Permafrost Change and Matawa Water Futures”

Registration for the event is open to all and free of charge.

Designated by the United Nations, World Water Day is held annually on March 22 to raise awareness of water conservation and the 2.2 billion people worldwide living without access to safe water.

The Laurier Institute for Water Science is a multidisciplinary, collaborative undertaking among researchers in the Faculty of Arts, the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, and the Faculty of Science. The focus of the institute is on research in three interconnected water-related disciplines: hydrological sciences, ecology and biogeochemical sciences, and public policy and management.

Read about Laurier research on water and the systems that rely on it.