A stepped water feature in the centre of campus surprises with its rich aquatic life and potential as a site for demonstrating biodiversity.
When an algae bloom occurred last summer in the water feature on University Boulevard, Doug Doyle, Associate Director, Municipal Engineering at Campus and Community Planning and Clayton McMullen, Head Plumber at UBC Building Operations pondered what to do about the issue.
“We thought the bloom was due to a buildup of nutrients from the collection and recycling of rain water harvested from Main Mall. Control and management of the algae with chemicals was not a sustainable practice.” said Doyle.
With the help of the SEEDS Sustainability Program, Doyle presented the problem to the Community Project in Environmental Science class (ENVR 400) taught by Michael Lipsen and Tara Ivanochko in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences. Each year, students in the project-based class collaborate with community partners to investigate environmental issues, and work with SEEDS to identify campus-based projects. Following Doyle’s presentation, fourth year students Melissa Lin, Jeff Sha, Samantha Lee-Wardell and Alene Wong were eager to take up the research challenge.
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Image via University of British Columbia (UBC).