Fleming College

Fleming College is teaming up with the United Nations Environmental Programme’s International Environmental Technology Centre (UNEP-IETC) in Japan, and the University of Copenhagen’s Professor Sven Erik Jørgensen to upgrade specialized environmental software for water quality improvement and sanitation. Using the knowledge gained from extensive research at the Frost Campus, the Centre for Alternative Wastewater Treatment (CAWT) in cooperation with the above mentioned partners, will upgrade UNEP software SubWet for wetland design in wastewater treatment technology. The college officially signed an agreement with the software’s developer, Prof. Jørgensen, to add cold climate models to SubWet. The signing ceremony took place at a special event on February 5 at Fleming College in the presence of UNEP representative Vicente Santiago. Fleming College had previously signed an agreement in January with UNEP-IETC to officially collaborate on upgrading SubWet. Currently SubWet is only applicable to warm climates. Fleming’s CAWT will further develop it to accommodate cold climates, such as those in Canada. Dr. Brent Wootton, Senior Scientist at the CAWT is currently leading research on the use of cold climate constructed wetlands to naturally treat wastewater in the Arctic as part of Canada’s International Polar Year (IPY) activities. Once the model is upgraded it could also be used for similar environments in developing countries such those found in the Andean region, the Hindu Kush and others. Dr. Wootton said he feels “extremely privileged” to work with Prof. Jørgensen. “He is the top ecological modeler in the world and was the 2004 Stockholm Water Laureate.” Prof. Jørgensen has authored 50 books and 300 publications. He is the creator and Editor-in-Chief of the renowned Journal of Ecological Modeling. Also in attendance for the signing ceremony was Mr. Vicente Santiago (Ph.D.) of UNEP-IETC. Mr. Santiago has collaborated with Dr. Wootton on the IPY activities visiting communities in Nunavut in July 2007.“ It was the first time I had been to see the tundra and see the problems existing in water quality and sanitation there. It is a win-win situation if SubWet is upgraded to accommodate for these types of environments. We are pleased to have this collaboration with Fleming – it presents an excellent opportunity for the sustainability of Northern communities in relation to water and sanitation.” “This is a significant event and opportunity for us to build on the work led by Dr. Wootton. To have the advice, counsel and partnership (of UNEP-IETC and Dr. Jørgensen) is a wonderful step forward for us,” said Fleming College President Dr. Tony Tilly. Dr. Tom Whillans, and Dr. Gord Balch from Trent University and Danielle Rocheleau of the DNA Cluster also attended the signing ceremony held in the Scholfield Boardroom at the Sutherland Campus.