Students design experiential learning tool kits to educate about stormwater

By Ellen Campbell

The City of London is the 11^th largest metropolitan area in Canada with a population of approximately 422,000. It is situated along the Thames River and within the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority area, making London susceptible to flooding during severe weather events. It is therefore no surprise that it was one of the first cities in Ontario to create a stormwater charge to support the implementation of stormwater infrastructure that protects the city, residents and the environment. Today, the city continues to make rapid improvements to its aging infrastructure to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Stormwater, its impacts, mechanisms and mitigation strategies are complex systems that can be difficult for the public to understand, creating a challenge to justify large capital investments into initiatives to protect public property and environmental health. To help address this knowledge gap, the city partnered with Rain It In, a Canadian non-profit that challenges post-secondary students to create climate resilient solutions that focus on intense rainfall and flooding.

In Fall 2022, a total of 24 Canadian students, in nine different educational programs, were challenged to design experiential learning kits that the city could use to educate the public on stormwater. The grand prize was a $5,000 seed grant from the city to further develop and commercialize the winning prototype. McGill University, University of Toronto Mississauga, University of Victoria and Western University participated in the challenge.

Teams were invited to attend an informational webinar, a mentorship workshop and a skills development workshop. A demonstration video was required by each team to determine which five would be invited to pitch their prototypes live to a judging panel comprised of industry experts.

The mentorship workshop, hosted in partnership with the Canadian Chapter of the International Water Association’s Young Water Professionals, allowed for networking in a virtual environment. Industry professionals were invited to share their knowledge to inspire  direction of the projects. This opportunity also enlightened the students about career paths in the water industry.

The skills development workshop, hosted in partnership with the Canadian Water Resources Association, focused on effective pitch fundamentals. The session was facilitated by Martin Yuill, executive director at Cleantech Commons at Trent University, who taught the students about pitch types, provided tips, and shared personal experiences that helped prepare the students for the competition, and futures in the profession.

Financial sponsorship from the Sustainability Office at Wilfrid Laurier University allowed Rain It In to award cash prizes to the top three finalists:  $500 for first, $300 for second and $200 for third. The real reward, however, was the opportunity to gain hands-on experience solving a real-world challenge, with the support  of water professionals.

First place finalist, Emily Lafond, who is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Bioresource Engineering at McGill University, said: “We hope that our target audience has as much fun using these kits as we did conceptualizing them. Thank you Rain It In for giving us the opportunity to apply creativity, science, and entrepreneurial skills during this fun and flexible competition!”

“So many great ideas, unique ideas. We could tell that everyone put a lot of thought and work into each project,” shared Shawna Chambers, division manager of stormwater engineering at the City of London. “I want to thank Rain It In for hosting this event. It’s a fabulous initiative to really engage with the students and our community as we go forward. A lot of these ideas I think we’ll be taking to our public meetings as well. They’re just super interesting and informative.”

1^st Place: McGill University – Team MIST

Dylan Gwilliam (B.Sc. Environment, Land Surface Processes and Environmental Change), Emily Lafond (B.Eng. Bioresource Engineering), Sadie MacDonald (B.Eng. Bioresource Engineering) and Sara Escallon-Sotomayor (B.A & Sc. Interfaculty Program Environment).

2^nd Place: University of Toronto Mississauga – Team Urban Rain

Master of Science in Sustainability Management students Shreya Dinesh Agarwal, Maggie Tuer, Tyra Jamieson-Braham, Aryan Janmejay, Ellen Ferguson and Matthew Reesor.

3^rd Place: Western University – Team Water Benders

Master of Environment and Sustainability students Aysha Rizwan, Chyna-Rose Bennett, Zi Yi Gu, Hailey Adzija and Clarissa Gu!

Rain It In would like to pay special thanks to the Judging Panel:

• Shawna Chambers, P.Eng., DPA, division manager of stormwater engineering at the City of London
• Aaron Rozentals, P.Eng., division manager of water engineering at the City of London
• Brandon Williamson, land management coordinator at Upper Thames River Conservation Authority
• Erin Mutch, vice principal at Medway High School

Ellen Campbell is the Founder and Director of Rain It In. For more information about Rain It In, visit: www.rainitinsc.com