Tomorrow's Water winner

Date: 28 June 2012

BU’s Dr Esteban helps local school pupil win the Tomorrow’s Water competition and a trip to Stockholm.

A local school pupil worked with Dr Genoveva Esteban from the School of Applied Sciences to win the Tomorrow’s Water competition.

Sam Cook, a student at Poole Grammar School won an all-expenses paid for trip to Stockholm, Sweden for his project investigating populations of diatoms in fresh water habitats at East Stoke, near Wareham.

The competition is an initiative supported by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) which works towards creating a clean, green and sustainable world. It is the only independent professional body, and registered charity with an integrated approach to environmental, social and cultural issues.

In Stockholm, Sam will represent the UK at the international Stockholm Junior Water Prize. Poole Grammar School will also receive a grant of £300 because of Sam’s victory.

Sam’s project was funded by the Nuffield Foundation, and aimed at improving awareness of the ‘hidden’ microscopic biodiversity in conservation surveys as part of Senior Lecturer in Aquatic Environmental Science, Dr Genoveva Esteban’s research in collaboration with the Dorset Wildlife Trust.

Diatoms are single-celled organisms invisible to the naked eye but very important because they are primary producers; they can photosynthesise like plants and produce useful energy from sunlight in order to survive.

Because diatoms are primary producers, they are a food source for many larger organisms, including other microscopic organisms like rotifers, protozoa and micro- crustaceans. This makes them the foundations of aquatic food webs in fresh and sea waters.

Sam said: “My project involved investigating diatom populations in East Stoke Fen, near Wool, Dorset. I successfully applied for a Nuffield Science Bursary to gain experience of working in a laboratory setting before applying to university. I entered it into the Tomorrow’s Water competition, which was an invaluable experience. I was able to present my project to people in the water industry and was thrilled when they chose my project to represent the UK at the Stockholm Junior Water Prize. I cannot wait to go to Stockholm - it is going to be an amazing experience.”

The Tomorrow’s Water competition is aimed at pre-university students, encouraging educational projects focused towards improving quality of life and/or the environment through topical water issues.

Water quality and pollution is a major concern for people across Europe. As a result, the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) was introduced in December 2000. The aims of the WFD are to investigate the ecological health of surface water bodies whilst maintaining chemical standards. Diatom populations in rivers (part of Dr. Esteban’s research) are being used as biological indicators to investigate ecological health as part of the WFD.