Parasitoid Wasps at the Canadian National Collection of Insects (CNC)

Parasitoid Wasps at the Canadian National Collection of Insects (CNC)

In February 2017, I started a co-op position at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in the department of entomology. I had always been fascinated by insects and was excited to get the chance to further learn about insects and increase my understanding and passion for the subject. I was working with Hymenoptera (the insect order containing bees, wasps, sawflies, and ants), and more specifically, Microgastrinae, a subfamily of parasitoid wasps that parasitise Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths).

My co-op started off smoothly and soon became the part of my day I looked forward to. I was databasing specimens, georeferencing records, and curating the Microgastrinae collection. I was so invested in what I was doing that I started working from home, developing a program to facilitate the annotation of specimen photos. I was soon offered a full-time paid position from May to August in 2017. Many projects were tackled during that summer. I was taking photos of specimens with a digital microscope and trained in the identification of Microgastrinae genera. Of these projects, two that took the most time and effort were my contributions to two scientific papers dealing with Microgastrinae species. One regarded a species of potential importance in the biological control of a pest of amaranth (an ornamental and agricultural plant cultivated throughout the world), and the other regarded species of Microgastrinae in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Greenland.

It was an amazing experience to help collect data and edit these papers, and I've learned valuable information about entomology and the research world throughout the process. One of the most important ideas that I am taking away from this experience is that insects are an essential class that play vital roles within their respective ecosystems. They also play a critical role in terms of commercial agriculture. Their ecological and economic importance are only two reasons why the research done in the field of entomology can be of vital importance.

Tesla Bus Lines Presentation

Morgan researched and developed an innovative idea to improve environmental conditions on the Planet. She created a prototype design for a "Tesla" Bus. Here is the concept presented

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1l6_fxo-sxOlg_hAbaEiI3MlGicgZj1AnxAdo5Ifnlh4/present?usp=sharing

Banting Earth Hour 2018 Kahoot quiz

https://play.kahoot.it/#/?quizId=5be90a38-df61-4ef0-a84c-6c5aeafd8a6f

How to Use That Green Bin Letters to the Editor about plastic bags in compost bins and Banting Repurposed Newspaper Compost Liners

http://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/letters/saturday-letters-how-to-use-that-green-bin

How to line that green bin

Banting Sort-It-Out Recycle Game

Here is the Banting Sort-It-Out Recycle Game created by Banting Student Sean O'Hara after Banting Students completed our waste audit and also went  Class to Class with the Sort-It-Out Challenge with blue, black, garbage and compost items for classes to sort. This Kahoot Challenge will help reinforce what was learned in properly sorting out our blue, black, compost and garbage items. You may need to sign up first for Kahoot to play

https://play.kahoot.it/#/?quizId=2612724c-c3c2-445c-89e0-b7434b6cc6c0

Reducing Plastic coffee Cup Lid Waste through Change.org Petition - A Reflection

I found this Petition important not only for the changes we hope to make to reduce plastic waste in the world but also because Janet showed me, Hayden, and Darren that WE could make a change.

We would spend stretches of time arguing with her and being close minded about taking a stand so others could hear our voice. We thought that people and corporations would not listen. After creating the petition about making a change to compostable coffee cup lids to reduce plastic waste we are seeing that others care about the same issue and the health of our planet.

At first we thought of our course summatives "Advocacy Action For The Health of Our Planet and Ourselves" as just a task. By following through with our actions we proved to ourselves that change can be made. Three weeks after creating our petition to reduce plastic coffee lid waste directed at Tim Horton's, Starbucks and McDonald's we now are about to reach almost 4000 signatures. We also wanted for these corporations to promote the Lug-A-Mug concept and for all the people that buy their coffee and tea to also bring their own mug or cup.

We didn’t believe we would get many signatures because we thought no one would really care to take action with us. We "gloomed and doomed" thinking that it was too late to make change for the health of our planet.

Enough people are commenting and supporting our Petition and the signatures just keep adding up day-by-day. With all the support from individuals we want Tim Horton's, Starbucks and McDonald's to take action and reduce the plastic waste created.

Janet proved to us that anyone can make a change all we have to do is try.

Please sign our Petition below. https://www.change.org/p/guest-services-timhortons-com-have-decomposable-coffee-lids

Owen Ngo