At TRU I have collaborated on various research projects. One of my favourite projects was titled “Using compost to reduce cardboard waste and exploring the relationships microbes play”. For this project myself and my supervisor partnered with the City of Kamloops in hopes to create a more sustainable way of reusing cardboard waste. The solution was to incorporate it in household composting bins as a carbon additive as well as a way to help with moister and smell control for households.
My roles for this project was to determine the impact cardboard and its potentially toxic inks and dyes have on microbial diversity. Before, the city could advertise using cardboard as a material that can be put in your compost bin, they first wanted to ensure there were no negative effects on the bacteria present in compost that are responsible for breakdown down the food waste and other materials.
I was fortunate enough to be able to share my results of this project at various events to a wide range of people. I presented posters at four conferences, two local TRU conferences (TRU Undergraduate Research Conference and SUPER) and two Canadian conferences (Pacific Ecology and Evolution Conference, and Canadian Society of Microbiology Conference). In addition I also gave a short 3 minutes overview of my research at the TRU In a Nutshell competition.
Being able to share and explain my work is a huge part of research. I was able to get great feedback from others, as well being able to share my results with the people it was impacting. Engage with people at TRU living in Kamloops, helped me reach an audience of people who’s lives would be affected by the research which in the end on could help create a more sustainable way to re-use our waste.
In A Nutshell – 3 minute presentation
PEEC – Bamfield 2025
CSM – Montreal 2025
TRU Undergraduate Research Conference, SUPER – 2025
Reflection:
Being able to share what I know has been one of the best experiences of my degree at TRU. I have learned lots from others I have interacted with at these conferences which has helped me in my projects and opened my mind to knew ways of thinking about the complexity of the environment. I think sharing knowledge about the environment or any topic with the public is extremely important. When I would described my research on compost especially the cardboard in compost project I loved to see how enthusiastic and receptive people were about my results. Many people I talked to didn’t know much about composting and it was a great way to educate them on the topics and include why it is important for the environment. I hope going forward I will have the same opportunities to share my love for the environment and ways we can improve it with others.