Water in 12 Charlottetown ponds tested this summer

Twelve ponds in Charlottetown are under the microscope, literally, this summer as part of a Holland College project.

A student in the college's Environmental Science program is taking water and sediment samples at each of the ponds. The samples are then being analyzed to give a snapshot of the ecological health of the ponds.

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"To look at the water quality, the quality in the sediment and the invertebrate life quality in the ponds," said Bryan Grimmelt, learning manager for Environmental Science at Holland College.

"We're not looking for anything bad, just looking for what is objectively there."

Point of comparison

This is the first time this kind of testing has been done.

"We want a benchmark so as we proceed and if changes happen in the future, we'll have something directly to compare it to which we haven't in the past," said Grimmelt.

"We will have baselines based on this data."

The sampling is done once a month at the ponds, with the second round of tests just wrapping up.

"It's very interesting the variation in the twelve different ponds that we're looking at, I was quite struck by that," Grimmelt observed.

"It is a relatively small area but we're seeing a lot of different life forms and they do vary from pond to pond."

'It's fantastic'

The project has received financial support from the Ellen's Creek and Wright's Creek watershed groups, Skills PEI and the City of Charlottetown.

"I think it's fantastic, no one has ever looked at the ponds before in this way," said Norman Dewar, coordinator for the Ellen's Creek watershed group.

"We don't have the capabilities ourselves as a group to do this testing and to tap into the program at Holland College is amazing."

Dewar has also been impressed by the range of ponds.

"I think the amazing thing is the diversity and how different the ponds are," he said.

"We're seeing a lot of changes to the environment, climate change, and the ponds are such an important part of the city."

Good opportunity

Alex Silva, an international student from Brazil, is working on the project as an assistant researcher.

"I'm learning a lot of things that I will learn in the second year so I'm learning in advance so that's good for me," he said.

"It's a good opportunity to learn a lot about these ponds and they never had research about that before so I'm being the first one."

This fall, students from the program will return to the ponds to test them again, as part of a hands-on lesson in environmental science.

"We get to cover a lot, which is very important and very valuable for our students," said Grimmelt.

More respect

"One of the things we want to teach our students early on is respect for the environmentand I think that's where we can build the better stewards of our environment for the future."

Grimmelt also hopes that by sharing the results of the testing, residents of Charlottetown will appreciate the ponds more.

"Some ponds aren't respected," he said. "To build up appreciation is what we want."

The results of the pond testing should be available later this fall.

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