St. Lawrence River Institute
2 St. Lawrence Drive K6H 4Z1 Cornwall, ON, Canada

River Symposium (Virtual) The 27th annual river symposium is coming up fast! On October 28th we will be hosting a virtual community day which will feature a Science Q&A with Dr. Jeff Ridal, Dr. Alison Derry (UQAM) , Dr. Jérôme Marty, Lawrence Gunther (MSc), & Matt Windle (MSc). This will be a great opportunity for you to ask your most pressing questions about the health of the environment. ... Join us on Teams by registering on our website. https://symposium.riverinstitute.ca/communityday2020/

In the spirit of Thanksgiving , the Education Team wants you to learn and laugh about Wild Turkey with these two fun facts. 1 Did you know that turkey can actually fly? They will fly up in a tree at night to sleep. This fact is not fun enough for you. Check the next one! ... 2 You can identify the gender and the age of a wild turkey by looking at its dropping . If it’s spiral shaped, it means it is a female , while J-shaped dropping mean it is a male . Also the bigger the dropping, the older the wild turkey is. Have you seen wild turkey lately? Let us know in the comment below

Thank you Thursday This week's BIG thank you goes to the Ontario Trillium Foundation for a capital grant awarded to the River Institute for the purchase of a new boat. Our new boat ‘’ ( ‘ ') is used extensively for conservation and monitoring projects that also provide training and experience for students and volunteers.

Join us tonight - online - for Science + Nature UNTapped! 7pm! What are the objectives of wetland restoration programs for the governmental agencies? Why do landowners choose to restore wetlands? Are wetland restorations similar to natural wetlands in terms of hydrology and water quality? ... Do they provide quality habitat for wetland-associated plants and animals? If the answers to these questions interest you or if this has piqued your interest, join us tonight from 7 8 pm for Science + Nature UNtapped as guest speaker Tom Langen navigates these questions. This is a free online event that is open to the public https://www.riverinstitute.ca/ontap/

Drone video of the Long Sault Parkway October 2020 courtesy of our drone pilot - Matt Windle!

School is back, and so are our education workshops! Classes can join us for virtual workshops on a variety of topics ranging from fish biology to rocks and minerals . Some of our workshops have even been adapted for you to follow along with a hands on activity from the comfort of your own classroom, get dirty with soil geology or take a peek under the microscope with aquatic invertebrate ecology . Check out our website for more details!... ... La rentrée scolaire est officiellement commencée, tout comme nos ateliers pédagogiques ! Les classes peuvent se joindre à nous pour des ateliers virtuels en ligne sur une variété de sujets allant de l’écologie des poissons aux roches et aux minéraux . Certains de nos ateliers ont même été adaptés pour vous offrir des activités pratiques à faire avec nous dans le confort de votre classe. Venez vous salir les mains avec notre atelier sur la géologie du sol ou encore jeter un coup d’œil sous le microscope tout en en apprenant davantage sur l’écologie des invertébrés aquatiques . Consultez notre site Web pour plus de détails et inscrivez votre classe dès aujourd’hui !

#RiverLabs Today we highlight a local company that we’ve worked with over the past 6 years on five projects: Food Cycle Science. Here is some of the work we have done with them: to assess the composition of the resulting treated product from their residential Food Cyclers. to assess the impact on plant growth with, and without microbial reactivation. ... to assess the best application mechanism for the resulting soil amendment which led Food Cycle Science to develop How-To documentation to allow their clients to safely reuse the treated food waste essentially closing the loop. This made the Food Cyclers an integral part of the circle! Fast forward a year and Food Cycle Science and RiverLabs conducted a lifecycle greenhouse gas analysis for the commercial Food Cycler. >90% ? ! What else can the Food Cycler do? Remember a few weeks back we talked about our project with Seven Leaf Cannabis Growers? You guessed it, we’re looking at the efficiency of the commercial Food Cycler to treat and denature cannabis waste! That’sprojects with a direct beneficial impact on our clients and hosts! Are you an innovator with a product, process or idea you want to move forward? Do you have a novel technology and don’t know how to showcase it or want to do a proof of concept? Drop us a line, we’ll be sure to connect and see how we can be of assistance. [email protected] https://vimeo.com/312736536

Thank you! Thank you! We recently said goodbye to Natasha Pozega, Project Development Officer for River Labs as she ventures closer to home and a new career opportunity!... Natasha had been with the River Institute for the last 3 years working on many different projects and areas of the Institute. She was always a team player, valued for her creative and articulate style and true inspiration to those who had the privilege to work with her. We wish you all the best on your new journey Natasha! You will be missed!

Happy #fishyfriday ! The FINS team has confirmed the presence of the tubenose goby (Proterorhinus semilunaris) in the upper St. Lawrence River as far down stream as Cardinal. This species of goby has been present in the Great Lakes since the 1990’s but was only discovered in the St. Lawrence river in 2011. In a similar narrative as the round goby, it is widely thought that they were introduced by the ballast waters of ships. Non-native species are not always invaders..., some can coexist in our ecosystems without any problems or damage. However, the tubenose goby has been found to have negative impacts on local fish by competing for food. Interestingly enough, a paper by French and Jude (2001) found that tubenose gobies also eat round goby eggs and zebra mussels! Here are some ways to identify the tubenose gobies from other fish such as the Johnny darter (Etheostoma nigrum): Fused scallop-shaped pelvic fin Small nostril tubes extend over the upper lip Fully scaled body; up to 8.5 centimetres long Read more about the tube nose gobies, co-authored by our very own Matt Windle here: https://www.researchgate.net//335380089_Range_expansion_of : Stephany Hildebrand & Kate Schwartz

Thank you Thursday Today we would like to thank 2 of our spectacular River Rapport volunteers - Amanda and Silvia! Don't take our word for how exciting it is to volunteer at the River Institute - see what they have to say! - . . ... . . , . , . . . - , ’ , é. 2019 . é . ! , m. . Thank you ladies for your time, support and dedication to the River Institute! Join our volunteer base by completing our online application! We will contact you when an opportunity arises that matches your experience! http://www.riverinstitute.ca/support-us/volunteer-with-us/

River Symposium (Virtual) Join us October 29, 2020 at 12:00 noon where Jérôme Marty, Program Director of the Council of Canadian Academies / Conseil des académies canadiennes and Patrick Nadeau, Executive Director of Ottawa Riverkeeper - Garde-rivière des Outaouais will give a special performance on Canada’s changing environment with a focus on water! From its role in the very foundation of our cities to the simple beauty and mystery, aquatic life provides in our own ba...ckyards, H2O is an essential part of our daily lives. Although we are fortunate to have a lot of water in Canada, scientists are reporting many changes that influence both water quantity and water quality. Using a combination of medias, Jérôme Marty and Patrick Nadeau will make the case for why H2O is perhaps the most important molecule of all and why it needs our protection. This creative presentation will surely leave you inspired. Learn more about our River Symposium its a FREE event everyone is welcome! https://symposium.riverinstitute.ca/schedule/ https://symposium.riverinstitute.ca/registration/

Calling all high school teachers This year we are hosting a new component of our River Symposium, the Fish Tank! Students in teams of 5 will participate in 3 half day virtual workshops. On October 14th to learn about practical skills scientists use in research. ... On October 21st teams will join us again to learn about what a case study is, how to solve one, and will be presented with a scenario of their very own. On October 28th teams will present their case study in front of a virtual panel of judges where the winning team will take away the $500 grand prize! The second place team will win a free River Institute workshop for their class. Register your team now as spaces are limited.

Spotlight on RiverLabs Did you know that there is such a thing as invisible bubbles? That’s right, there are bubbles that are so small in sizes that you cannot see them with the naked eye. These particular bubbles have very interesting characteristics such as:... Being hydrophobic (repelling water) Being naturally attracted to other particles given their negative charge and Providing a large surface contact area Normally in the less than 100nm range, these bubbles earn their name of ! Our RiverLabs Department is currently working with various partners and developing projects to assess the potential for nanobubbles to be used in different applications such as plant growth and health, water treatment and sanitization. Do you have a potentially novel idea that you want to explore? Reach out, let us discuss and see how we may be able to assist! [email protected] Learn more at www.riverlabs.ca