Atlantic Canada Challenge 2020
Hosted By
Congratulations to the finalists
First Place
Clean Catch - Public Choice Award
A 100% biodegradable, PVC-free soft-bait fishing lured for recreational fishing, developed through a unique organic biopolymer solution.
Team:
Guillermo Villarreal De Lara, Katherine Vanzutphen, Robel Berhane
Second Place
Clarify
An online platform designed to make
the water testing experience for well owners easy and affordable.
Team:
Adam Fleiger,Alexandra Embree, Jonathan Kan, Liam Hartery
Third Place
WIDE
A containerized distillation water treatment systemthat integrates off-the-shelf, existing technologies, to provide high quality trusted water to small rural and Indigenous communities in an accessible, sustainable, and culturally appropriate way.
Team:
Nathan Mcnally, Grace Mcnally, Rachel Hudson, Patrick Palmer, Sochima Nnama, Lauren Martin, Ben Veysey, Mudiwa Mharapara & Waseem Jawad
Fourth Place
ExTech MIP
A novel technology for easy onsite sampling
of organic contaminants in well water using a field-deployable and inexpensive device.
Team:
Ali Azizi & Fereshteh Shahhoseini
Fifth Place
Drinkable
A service to streamline the water analysis process using test kits and cloud analysis to reduce known barriers and increase well testing.
Team:
Samuel Coleman, Matthew Mizzi, Robert Afari & Anita Taylor
About the Challenge
Young, innovative minds – from across Atlantic Canada – were invited to put their skills to work, creating ground-breaking solutions to some of the most critical environmental water issues facing Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.
The Water Issues
Microplastics from fishing gear
How can microplastics from fishing gear (threads, fragments) be prevented from entering aquatic environments and how can fishing gear be retrieved before furthering the problem of microplastic accumulation?
Water Issue Leader:
Ariel Smith, Coastal Action
Treatment of Drinking water in rural and First Nations Communities
How can we develop tools to empower small rural and Indigenous communities to manage their drinking water supplies in a sustainable and culturally appropriate way?
Water Issue Leaders:
Stephanie Gora, Centre for Water Resources Studies, Dalhousie University and Mike Chaulk, CBCL Limited
Private Well Safety
How can we improve the safety of private well drinking water?
Water Issue Leader:
Gavin Kennedy, Nova Scotia Department of Energy & Mines and Gordon Check, Nova Scotia Environment
Sediment and Pesticide Runoff
How can we minimize the impacts of soil and pesticide runoff in our Aquatic ecosystems?
Water Issue Leader:
Angela Banks & Mary Finch, PEI Watershed Alliance
Algal Blooms and Eutrophication
How can we manage and prevent algal blooms before they occur?
Water Issue Leader:
Roxanne Mckinnon, ACAP St. John
Advisory Committee
Dr. Amina Stoddart
Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Resource Engineering, Dalhousie University
Andrew Sinclair
Surface Water Quality Specialist, Nova Scotia Environment
Colleen McNeil
Analyst, Water and Ecosystems, Environment and Climate Change Canada
Dr. Linda Campbell
Professor and Senior Research Fellow, Environmental Science, Saint Mary’s University
Simon Mitchell
Vice President, Resilient Habitats, WWF-Canada
Dr. Stephanie Gora
Assistant Professor, Lassonde School of Engineering, York University
Marc Skinner
Senior Associate, Marine Technical Leader, Stantec
