The New Brunswick Environmental Trust Fund (ETF) awards for 2016-2017 have been announced and three CRI projects have been partially funded.
A project to work with partners to address blue-green algae outbreaks and water quality issues in New Brunswick lakes, led by one of CRI's Science Directors and Professor in the Department of Biology at UNB Fredericton, Dr. Allen Curry, is the largest grant awarded this year at $130,850. Dr. Michelle Gray, a CRI Science Director and Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management at UNB Fredericton, was successful in her proposal to characterize the historic and contemporary levels of aluminum and iron at various freshwater sites across New Brunswick, and to examine the chemical and biophysical factors that may be contributing to high metal levels. This project was funded with $32,800. Dr. Wendy Monk, a CRI Associate at UNB Fredericton, will lead a team that will work on linking taxonomic and functional biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems, focuising on the better understanding of species-at-risk in the Grand Lake Meadows.with $25,000 support from ETF. CRI will also be a scientific partner in a $35,000 funded project to the Kennebacasis Watershed Restoration Committee to guage climate uncertainty in the watershed through collecting and analyzing water quality and flows data for management and planning decisions.
The Environmental Trust Fund projects totalled over $6.5M, awarded to community groups, NB municipalities, non-profit organizations, and research institutions for assistance in their action-oriented projects with tangible, measurable results, aimed at protecting, preserving and enhancing the province's natural environment.