From left, UW vice-president of research and innovation Michael Siu, UW president Alan Wildeman, UW biology professor Dr. Trevor Pitcher and UW student Marlena McCabe cut the ribbon opening the Freshwater Restoration Ecology Centre in LaSalle on May 24, 2017 (Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News)From left, UW vice-president of research and innovation Michael Siu, UW president Alan Wildeman, UW biology professor Dr. Trevor Pitcher and UW student Marlena McCabe cut the ribbon opening the Freshwater Restoration Ecology Centre in LaSalle on May 24, 2017 (Photo by Mark Brown/Blackburn News)
Windsor

Great Lakes Research Centre Dedicated

A research centre devoted to education and study on the preservation of the Great Lakes is now open.

Believed to be the first of its kind in the Great Lakes region, the Town of LaSalle and the University of Windsor opened the Freshwater Restoration Ecology Centre on Wednesday.  The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by university administration, faculty and students, along with LaSalle Mayor Ken Antaya, Essex MP Tracey Ramsey, Windsor city Councillor Irek Kusmierczyk and others.

Dr. Trevor Pitcher, a biology professor at the university and the centre's director, hails the new facility as a trailblazer.

"This centre will provide a unique venue and research infrastructure for solution-based research and educate the public regarding some of the most pressing issues facing the Great Lakes," says Pitcher. "These include among others, as you might know, invasive species such as sea lamprey... zebra mussels and more recent threats from Asian carp."

Antaya recalls growing up not far from the area where the facility is located, on the Detroit River shore near the marina, when it was still a marsh.  He remembered playing baseball and counting any ball hit into the marsh as a home run. Antaya says the centre is helping transform the area.

"This area is no longer a marsh but is still a home run," says Antaya. "It's something that symbolizes partnerships between a relatively small town and a group as important as the University of Windsor."

In addition to allowing students, faculty, and researchers to study the ecology of Great Lakes restoration, water quality and invasive species, the centre will also serve as a community education facility for elementary and high school students to learn about water quality issues.  UofW President Alan Wildeman says he expects the centre to be a major family destination for years to come.

"It's great that we have this opportunity to get school children to come out, and what a great place to come," says Wildeman.  "They can come with the whole family and also hang out in the park.  But being able to have a window for them to come and see the importance of research and the work that's being done is extremely important for all of us."

The centre is funded by the university, the town of LaSalle, the Ontario Research Foundation, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

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