Yukon student wins bronze medal at the 55th Canada-Wide Science Fair

WHITEHORSE—Grade 7 Christ the King Elementary student Rémie Cherepak was awarded a bronze medal and the Nutrients for Life Foundation Award at the annual Canada-Wide Science Fair in Montreal, Quebec, last week.

Cherepak won for her original research project “Would you eat these peas?” an experiment to see if commonly used vehicle fluids—antifreeze, gasoline, synthetic and petroleum oil—have a negative impact on plant growth. Across three levels of soil contamination, Cherepak’s results show that of the four fluids, antifreeze had the most severely negative impact on plant growth, gasoline also had a negative impact and synthetic and petroleum oil had no noticeable impact.

The $500 Nutrients for Life Foundation Award fosters youth interest in improving environmental impacts through innovative methods and is presented to an outstanding junior project related to fertilizers, plants and soil science.

“At the Canada-Wide Science Fair, I spent a week with 500 students from across Canada who have a strong passion for science just like me. I saw dedication in these students, and was amazed at the complexity of the projects spread throughout the age categories. I looked around at the stunning projects and young scientists, and thought to myself, ‘We are the future’s greatest scientists!’” said Cherepak.

The 13-year-old plans to compete in future science fairs. From an initial love of geology and biology, her scope of interest expanded through participation in the extra-curricular All-Girls Science Club at Yukon College.

Cherepak was one of three students representing Yukon at the Canada-Wide Science Fair alongside grade 7 Golden Horn Elementary student Seth Bennett and FH Collins High School student James Storey. The students were accompanied by two teacher delegates, Melissa Halpenny and Sharon Choy.

Science Adventures is a proud member of Actua. Actua provides training, resources and support to its national network of members located at universities and colleges across Canada in the delivery of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education outreach programming. Each year, these members engage over 225,000 youth in 500 communities nationwide. Please visit Actua at www.actua.ca.