Everyone is excited as interns and volunteers are embarking on the first fieldwork
season of 2021. Researchers from TerraHumana Solutions are particularly excited to continue their work with Nature Hudson on another ecological assessment of a sensitive wetland (Sandy Beach) area targeted for development. The first surveys on the Sandy Beach project to be conducted by Marian MacNair and volunteers are about amphibians and birds. Later in the summer, bat and reptile surveys will also be undertaken, along with five volunteers conducting plant surveys.
The president of Terra Humana Solutions, Dr. Isabelle-Anne Bisson, interviewed many fantastic applicants for the Sandy Beach Project, and discovered that very few of them actually had field experience. Dr. Bisson was inspired and, like a good scientist, she saw an opportunity to solve a problem. The solution was to create an incubator - Terra Humana Solutions offers environment students in undergraduate programs the chance to gain valuable field experience. ‘What is missing in environmental education today is field experience,’ says Dr. Isabelle-Anne Bisson. ‘ We are filling that gap and making it a part of our mission to help talented young scientists to get good hands-on practical experience in the field.’
Continued field sampling has also started for the studies on contaminants and health impact - these are part of the ongoing project in the Kanien'kehá:ka (People of the Flint) community of Kanesatake, a Mohawk community at the confluence of the St-Lawrence River and Ottawa River. ‘As part of this important project, our intern, Nikita Bhat, will be researching the history of contamination across Indigenous communities, synthesizing and organizing it into one place. After a season of meticulously collecting field data and conducting research, we are going to piece together a broader understanding of the issue and hope to find solutions to mitigate the impact of this long-term and ongoing pollution, ’says Dr. Isabelle-Anne Bisson.