school | SMART In case you missed anything – a roundup of facts we picked up last month School Zone


Canada and Manitoba invest $2-Million Investment in State-of-the-Art Science Labs in Northern Manitoba at University College of the North.


University College of the North (UCN)


has unveiled the completion of a $2-million science lab renovation at their campus in The Pas today, thanks in part to invest- ments by the governments of Canada and Manitoba. “Tis once-in-a-generation investment


by the Government of Canada is a historic down payment on the government’s vision to position Canada as a global centre for innovation. Tat means making Canada a world leader at turning ideas into solu- tions, science into technologies, skills into jobs and start-up companies into global successes,” said Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains. “Not only is the investment at the University College of the North improving both the safety and functionality of the science labs, it will also make students innovation-ready to come up with bright ideas or land a new job. Te project expanded UCN’s science lab


spaces to respond to northern and Indig- enous research and educational priorities and to bring labs up to industry standards. Improvements include upgrades to chemi- cal storage, fume hoods and safety devices. UCN invested $1.1 million, the Government of Canada provided $550,000 through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund and the Government of Manitoba provided $450,000. “We recognize that modern science and


technology infrastructure is essential for Manitobans to be able to collaborate on and contribute to cutting-edge research,” said Manitoba Education and Training Minis- ter Ian Wishart. “Te rapid advancement of science, technology, engineering and math means it is our obligation to ensure our students are given the tools necessary to succeed in careers in those fields. By partnering with University College of the North and the federal government, we are creating a place for students in Manitoba’s northern communities to thrive and spur innovation.” Te renovated science labs will increase


capacity to allow up to 240 students to ac- cess each lab and will house a designated space for a lab assistant to conduct ongoing research activity. “The renovation of the science lab at


UCN’s campus in Te Pas helps to ensure that science students, teacher education students taking a science teachable major/ minor and nursing students have access to state-of-the-art lab facilities that contribute to high-quality learning experiences that prepare them for the challenges they will face in their working lives,” said Doug Lau- vstad, UCN’s president and vice-chancellor. “UCN is very grateful to the provincial and federal governments for their generous


support of this project.” Affinity Architecture Inc., a firm of archi- tectural experts and consultants, devel- oped the technical drawings and Logan Stevens Construction provided general contracting services. Te project was com- pleted in September 2017.


Mayor Announces the Community Leader- ship Scholarships


Mayor Bowman encouraged grade


twelve students to submit their application for Te Mayor's Scholarship for Community Leadership last month. Community leadership can be demon-


strated through activities that promote racial and social inclusion, drive reconcili- ation, encourage environmental steward- ship, and support or empower Winnipeg’s less fortunate. “It’s great to offer this opportunity again


this year,” said Mayor Brian Bowman. “Too much of the community work many of our young people do goes unrecognized, but it’s an important part of building pride in our city. Tis scholarship recognizes high school students who have demonstrated a commitment to improving and strength- ening our community, and it is important to acknowledge, reward, and support the important work young people do for our community especially as they grow into our future leaders.” Te Mayor’s Scholarship for Community


Leadership, established in 2016, awards five, $1,000 scholarships to students who have demonstrated consistent and out- standing dedication to solving a commu- nity problem or making their community a better place to live. Te Mayor’s Scholarship rewards the achievements of Winnipeg’s future leaders and supports them on the path towards their educational and career goals. Te Winnipeg Foundation manages the


fund for the Mayor’s Scholarship including issuing the scholarship cheques and tax receipts, as required. Te Mayor’s Office manages application intake, and award recipients are selected by an independent selection panel. Scholarship applicants must complete


and submit an application form, found on the Mayor’s website. Only application forms completed in full will be considered. Applications must be received by May


18, 2018.


Province announces Winnipeg Music Festival receives Celebrate Manitoba designation in recognition of its 100th Anniversary


The Winnipeg Music Festival has re-


ceived special designation under the Cel- ebrate Manitoba program, which honours long-running community events, fairs and


festivals, Sport, Culture and Heritage Min- ister Cathy Cox announced today. “Te Winnipeg Music Festival has the


unique distinction of entertaining Mani- tobans for a century and that is a milestone worth celebrating,” Cox said. “Year after year, this festival has brought incredible talent to the stage and obviously struck a chord with the audience to last 100 years.” Te Celebrate Manitoba program was


created to officially recognize cultural fes- tivals that have celebrated the province’s heritage for 50 years or longer, the minister noted. Designated festivals receive an offi- cial Celebrate Manitoba certificate after 50 years and festivals celebrating 100 years or more will receive a commemorative plaque. Te Winnipeg Music Festival launched


in 1919 with 274 entries and about 2,500 participants competing. It continues to grow and has developed a reputation of excellence over the years while drawing participants from around the province, other parts of Canada and the northern United States. Tis year’s festival runs Feb. 21 to March 18 featuring performances at venues around Winnipeg. Events eligible for the Celebrate Mani-


toba designation include cultural, com- munity or arts fest ivals that provide reasonable confirmation of long-running operation of more than 50 years, demon- strate significant community partnership and engagement, and demonstrate the respectful preservation and sharing of culture through their activities. For more information or to nominate a


festival, contact the Manitoba Sport, Cul- ture and Heritage Arts Branch at 204-945- 3847 in Winnipeg or visit www.gov.mb.ca/ chc/artsbranch.


Manitoba Bison women’s hockey player Venla Hovi will return home to Winnipeg with her second Winter Olympic medal.


Tis is Venla Hovi's third time playing


with Team Finland at an Olympics. She was with the team previously at the 2010 Olympics (bronze medal) in Vancouver and 2014 Olympics (5th place) in Sochi, Russia. Hovi, 30, had an assist on the even-


tual game-winning goal during the 3-2 bronze medal win by Finland over OAR on Wednesday, February 21. Overall in the 2018 Olympics, Hovi scored three points in six games after notching a goal vs. USA in the first preliminary game (Feb. 11), had one assist in quarter-final match vs. Sweden (Feb. 17) and assist in bronze medal game. She has been part of the Finnish wom-


en’s hockey program since 2006-07 and has played in numerous tournaments over the last decade with Team Finland. After the 2018 Olympics, her international totals with the national program are now at 186 games played with 70 points (26 goals and 44 assists). With files from Chris Zuk of the Univer- sity of Manitoba


Students get hands-on experience with waste audit


Te work isn’t glamorous, but it is edu-


cational. Earlier this month, 28 student volunteers helped sort and weigh nearly all of the garbage, recycling, and compost generated by the UWinnipeg community over the course of five days for the Campus Sustainability Office’s triannual waste audit. “Te waste audit is a great opportunity


for students to get their hands, literally, dirty in the practice of institutional sus- tainability management,” said Joseph Wasylycia-Leis, UWinnipeg’s Campus Sustainability Coordinator. Ravneet Kaur is an international stu-


dent studying business administration at UWinnipeg. She and a few friends volun- teered to help out with the waste audit. “Tis is my first semester in this uni-


versity, so I’m quite interested in these activities,” she said. “Everyone should be involved in something like this. It provides knowledge to people about recycling and composting…some people don’t know about waste.” Te goal of the audit is to collect data on


the University’s waste diversion efforts. With the help of UWinnipeg’s Physical Plant and Bee Clean staff, the team gath- ered waste from main campus, the Buhler Centre, and the Richardson College for the Environment and Science Complex — making this the Sustainability Office’s most comprehensive audit to date. Once collected, each bag was identified


by the kind of bin it came from (single or multi-stream) and assigned a contami- nation percentage based on the number of things that weren’t supposed to be there — for example, the number of non- compostable items in compost bags. Tanks to a partnership with the Cana-


dian Beverage Container Recycling As- sociation, the volunteers were able to sort the contents of the bags into 69 different waste categories. Being able to organize the waste so precisely, means the Sustain- ability Office is able to figure out how well they’re educating and communicating with the campus community. “We know landfill diversion is a key


element of environmental sustainability,” Wasylycia-Leis said. “It’s an important job that every member of the campus com- munity is responsible for.” In addition to gathering important data,


the waste audit is also a chance to explore the idea of providing waste auditing ser- vices to local businesses as a student-led social enterprise. Tis would give students another opportunity for hands-on learn- ing, says Wasylycia-Leis. Once the data is analyzed the waste


audit findings will be posted on the Campus Sustainability Office’s website. Story supplied from http://news-centre. uwinnipeg.ca/


April 2018


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