Widdifield students Emily Mah and Jazlyn McGuinty are going to Sweden, all expenses paid, after winning the main prize at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, held last month in Fredericton.
See: Widdifield students win at National Science Fair
The team had been short-listed, one of three teams selected, for consideration for the Canadian Stockholm Junior Water Prize.
The Stockholm Junior Water Prize is the world's most prestigious youth award for a water-related science project. It is open to all high school students in grades 9-12 who have reached the age of 15 and have conducted a water-science research project.
Yesterday, Emily and Jazlyn were told that they won the main prize for their project about purifying water containing heavy metals.
"I was so excited to be able to participate in this event," Jazlyn told BayToday. "I'm really grateful for the opportunity and really excited to present our research in Sweden."
She says at first they really didn't expect to win.
"As we got further into the competition we got a couple of more judges than anyone else so we thought we might have a chance of getting the prize."
Emily credits their teacher Ms. Peterson with getting the two on track with some research,
"We found a lot of heavy metal contaminated water around the world and especially in northern Ontario. We knew that heavy metals are dangerous to humans and plants so we wanted to find a way to solve this problem."
The focused, determined and dedicated young scientists' project “Using Tannin-Embedded Biopolymers to Extract Heavy Metals from Contaminated Water” was one of three projects selected to enter a final selection process.
At the North Bay Regional Science Fair, Mah and McGuinty won the TransCanada Award, the Greater Nipissing Stewardship Council Award - Intermediate or Senior, the Dr. J.M. Filion Environment Award, and a gold medal in the Senior Earth and Environment category.
"Throughout developing and developed countries, and especially locally in northern Ontario, the proliferation of mining and smelting operations continues to occur," says the Canadian Stockholm Junior Water Prize. website.
"This industry is crucial to the economic development and states of nations across the globe. This impact includes contamination of surrounding bodies of fresh drinking water with heavy metals. If accumulated in the human body, heavy metals can cause many health defects including irreversible organ damage. Exposure to heavy metals can also impact the rate of growth of plants.
"To scientifically address this concern, an eco-friendly biopolymer was embedded with mechanically isolated tannins from oak leaves. The biopolymer was then used to extract sample heavy metals from contaminated water. The results were measured using the change in mass, change in clarity, change in concentration of metal in water, and the effects on radish seedling germination. It was found that using a tannin-embedded biopolymer is an economically and eco-friendly way to remove heavy metals from water."
Both girls expressed gratitude for the support they've had from Widdifield science teachers.
"They were very helpful. We'd especially like to thank Ms. Peterson our mentor, and Ms. Page, our delegate who went with us to the National Science Fair in Fredericton and also our science teachers at Widdifield including Mr. Brouse, Mrs. Hawkins, Mrs. Fisher, and Mrs. Henshell."
Jazlyn hopes to get into med school and her "dream job" is to become a pediatrician. Emily also wants to go to med school with the aim of becoming a doctor.
