About
Most samples will likely be collected in the City of Saskatoon, which has the South Saskatchewan River flowing through it. I spent every summer of my childhood at "the lake" (Lake Winnipeg) and have always had an appreciation for freshwater. Lake Winnipeg is not doing so well these days, which spurred me to do a Masters in Environment and Sustainability, looking at nutrient run-off into waterways in a Manitoba agriculture watershed. I'm also a paddler, and make a lot of use both on and near the river by my home - my river walks have been keeping me sane for a lot of years! I appreciate what being around water does for me, other humans, and of course wildlife, and want to help protect it.
Training
Fieldwork during my masters consisted of regularly taking conductivity, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and temperature readings with a probe on site. In the lab, I've tested for nitrogen content and ammonia in both water and sediment. I've also done additional testing with sediment and water slurries related to denitrification.
All parameters were tested in the lab as well with collected and preserved water samples to get an idea of sampling accuracy and the effects of environmental conditions.