Student receive science fair award for innovation and creativity

Emma van Tol of Delta’s Devon Gardens Elementary was awarded the BC Greenhouse Growers’ Association (BCGGA) Award for her “Water Filtration” project at the South Fraser Regional Science Fair on April 13, 2007.

Emma, Grade 7, compared material to filter water: cotton, feathers, foam and peat. She started the project believing that cotton would be the best filter, followed by peat, feathers and foam. She built a filtering system with paper towel, gravel, charcoal, sand and the filter in a plastic bottle, and fed dirty water through the system to a clean glass. For each trial, she evaluated the clarity of the filtered water by comparing the visibility of a pen placed behind the glass. After three trials, Emma concluded that cotton was the best filter because of its fine texture, while feathers proved the poorest due to the coarse surfaces.

Emma van Tol and her winning project "Water Filtration"

Two years ago, Emma entered a science fair testing different water sources. Her project this year complemented the earlier project and won her the BCGGA Award as well as a silver medal in the junior earth and environmental sciences category of the science fair. Delta greenhouse grower Ron Van Marrewyk of Westcoast Vegetables was on the judging panel to select the winner of the BCGGA Award.

On April 14, the BCGGA also awarded Keara Allan of Richmond’s A.R. MacNeill Secondary at the Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair for her “Fruit and Vegetable Hygiene” project to find the best way to clean fruits and vegetables. She was among 14 other students who nominated their projects for the BCGGA Award. Sarah Ryall of Gipaanda Greenhouses, a tomato greenhouse in Delta, sat on the panel to evaluate these 15 applications.

BCGGA's Communications Coordinator Joyce Lam (right) presents the BC Greenhouse Growers' Association Award to Keara Allan at the Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair.

Keara’s project was inspired by a television show about the dirtiest place at home. She chose four common fruits and vegetables: apples, oranges, carrots and potatoes, washed them in two different ways – water and 1:10 bleach solution – and compared the results with those that were not washed at all. She discovered that the best cleaning method for each fruit and vegetable depended on the texture and the thickness of the skin. The more porous the skin was, the stronger the cleanser that was needed. Overall, Keara concluded that rinsing with water was the best method for cleaning fruits and vegetables.

The BC Greenhouse Growers’ Association Award was given to outstanding projects that demonstrate the creative use of science and technology to enhance vegetable plant productivity and quality. Projects eligible for this award included those in the area of biological pest control, irrigation, nutrition, growing media, climate control and mechanics.    

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