Latest news with #LethbridgePolytechnic
Global News
24-07-2025
- Science
- Global News
City of Lethbridge taking proactive approach to blue-green algae
Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, was a point of concern in Lethbridge's Henderson Lake last year. 'The toxins that are released are harmful to humans, animals, livestock. It's best to not have any contact. It can cause some skin irritations, but the majority of concerns come from if you ingest it or inhale it,' said Jackie Cardinal, parks natural resource coordinator at the City of Lethbridge. Throughout much of the month of August, Henderson Lake had an advisory for blue-green algae, but Cardinal says this year has been different. 'We've seen lower than typical — like compared to last year — in our algae bloom levels, cyanobacteria levels as well. (This is) largely due to the weather and a strict algaecide program that we've been employing since early June.' Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy For years, the City of Lethbridge and Lethbridge Polytechnic have teamed up to better understand the water in the lake. This data collection also helps give early warnings to the city so plans can be better created. Story continues below advertisement 'We monitor the oxygen levels as well as we take some nutritional analysis. Then, we also look at the algae and enumerate the concentrations,' said Tyler Branson, an aquaculture operations specialist at Lethbridge Polytechnic. Besides the importance of the work, it can even be fun for those involved. 'Especially when it's sunny like this, it's really nice being on a boat collecting data,' said Jin Kim, a greenhouse technician at Lethbridge Polytechnic on a beautiful day. Unfortunately, the sun is exactly what they don't want to see when it comes to the algae population. 'A lot of this algae is photosynthetic, so the sun is our enemy around here. Weirdly enough, the smoke has kind of helped us bring some of that UV down. We've had a lot of rain and dilution will always help with our nutrient levels within the water,' said Branson. Even with Mother Nature on their side, ecosystems are difficult to predict. However, Cardinal is happy with the results of their efforts so far this summer. 'If I was basing predictions for this year on last year, I would saw we should have been solid green by now, but we were proactive in our algaecide approach, getting (Kim and Branson) out early, having a much stronger communication line with the polytechnic has been essential as well,' said Cardinal. Advertisement
CTV News
21-07-2025
- Science
- CTV News
Investigating a cool new way to preserve underutilized crops
A researcher at Lethbridge Polytechnic is taking her knowledge and skills of developing low-sugar and sugar-free ice cream to find new options to store sugar beets while maintaining sucrose integrity. A researcher at Lethbridge Polytechnic is taking her knowledge and skills of developing low-sugar and sugar-free ice cream to find new options to store sugar beets while maintaining sucrose integrity. Rajpreet Goraya spent years analyzing how ice cream can be used to preserve underutilized crops like Indian gooseberries and orange peels. She's now working at the polytechnic and researching new, long-term storage options for sugar beets. Her research aims to provide producers with another revenue source to reduce crop risk and increase revenue streams. 'We are successful in preserving our sugar beet crop for more than a year, but we only claim for six months for that, so we are good to go,' said Goraya. 'We are good to preserve it, and then they can use it in different products.' Sunday marked National Ice Cream Day, and Goraya is hoping her research will spark conversations about food sustainability, health and innovation.
Global News
17-07-2025
- General
- Global News
Alberta farm researchers redefining agriculture to grow more potatoes, tackle weeds
Alberta has taken on a new title in the agriculture world by defining itself as Canada's home of the spud. 'We have just taken over P.E.I., not in acres that we grow, but the amount of potatoes that we produce,' said Ashley Wagenaar, a conservation agronomist with Farming Smarter. 'We are now Canada's largest potato producing region.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We are now Canada's largest potato producing region." Farming Smarter is a research group based out of Lethbridge County. Together with local farmers, the group is finding new ways to ensure potato yields are as efficient as possible, especially considering the challenges facing growers. 'We sometimes struggle with wind erosion, for example, especially in potatoes because they leave some bare soils and (researchers) are working extremely hard to mitigate that with extra residue, different cover crops in the fall and then doing it in a way that we can really promote a strong, healthy potato economy here,' said Wagenaar. Story continues below advertisement She says a healthy potato economy is certainly realistic and impactful for producers and consumers in Alberta. 2:06 Lethbridge Polytechnic researchers aim to reduce food waste 'We're going to see more potatoes in this region and we're going to expand out into regions that haven't seen potatoes before. So, we want to make sure that we're doing it in a way that can sustain long-term.' Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy However, an invasive and problematic weed is growing in the fields, rising from the soil to consume crop revenue. 'Kochia is one of our biggest weed problems on the prairies. In fact, it might be one of the biggest problems for crop reduction on the prairies. It's a very competitive weed. It can handle salinity, it can handle heat,' said Lewis Baarda, a research manager with Farming Smarter. View image in full screen A Kochia plant in a canola field. 1 While kochia has traditionally been managed with herbicides, the weed has evolved in recent years to become even stronger and resisitant. Story continues below advertisement 'It no longer gets killed by the herbicides. With this trial here right now, we're looking at other approaches to pair with herbicides or even replace herbicides for controlling kochia.' Now, Farming Smarter is finding the desired solutions alongside other farmers. 'We're happy to have a multi-year trial on this. We'll go through a three-year rotation, look at different approaches to control kochia and we'll see how that affects the weed seed bed, the weeds that are in the soil and how much plant populations we get next year and the year after,' said Baarda. He says problem weeds like kochia can severely damage the economy. 'It's critical to have that information so farmers can make decisions because if (the research area filled with kochia) is a chunk of your field, you're getting no revenue off of this.
CTV News
08-07-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Summer camps in full swing across Lethbridge
School's out and summer camps are popping up all over Lethbridge. Families are signing up their kids for some fun experiences over their break. School's out and summer camps are popping up all over Lethbridge. Families are signing up their kids for some fun experiences over their break. The University of Lethbridge had been quiet since the winter semester ended. But that changed last week with the start of its annual summer day camps. 'We are always really busy, and we are busy again. So, we are about 98 per cent full for our summer camps. There's a few spots left and random camp, but we're definitely hitting our marks for sure,' said Stephanie Cook with University of Lethbridge athletics and recreation services. Lethbridge Polytechnic's summer camps just opened this week. This year will feature new technology-based camps. A coding camp has been added this year after kids in last year's camps asked about one. 'Some of the new camps that we're looking to add this summer are technology-focused camps that were really inspired by our campers and their families, who are really passionate about exploring interesting areas within technology. So, we've added a coding camp, a game designer camp, as well as a STEM camp this upcoming summer,' said Lethbridge Polytechnic youth initiatives manager Paige Thornborough. The University of Lethbridge had been quiet since the winter semester ended. But that changed last week with the start of its annual summer day camps. The University of Lethbridge had been quiet since the winter semester ended. But that changed last week with the start of its annual summer day camps. It isn't just Lethbridge's post-secondaries running camps. The YMCA has its day camps in full swing. There are still spaces left for later in the summer, but they're filling up quickly. While the summer camps are fun, the threat of measles is looming. Since March, the south zone has seen 753 cases of measles. None of the three-day camp providers have changed their sanitation policy, but they are making sure to clean and sanitize often. The University of Lethbridge had been quiet since the winter semester ended. But that changed last week with the start of its annual summer day camps. The University of Lethbridge had been quiet since the winter semester ended. But that changed last week with the start of its annual summer day camps. 'We take camper health and safety very seriously here at Lethbridge Polytechnic. And any time that families are sending us their campers, we really take that responsibility to heart. So when it comes to ensuring campers' safety and heat waves or illness transmission, there are definitely steps that we already have in place to ensure that campers' safety is again at the absolute top of our priority list,' said Thornborough. A measles vaccination isn't required to attend camp at the YMCA or the post-secondary schools.
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Quantum Super Hub: Meet the ChatGPT of quantum computing unveiled in Canada
In a bold step toward making quantum computing accessible enough to solve everyday problems, the Canadian city of Lethbridge has launched a first-of-its-kind community-based Quantum Super Hub. This new facility is being hailed as the 'ChatGPT of quantum computing'. Similar to how ChatGPT made AI easy to use, the new hub brings the power of quantum computing and other high-powered tools like AI and GPUs within reach of local businesses, students, and researchers. "By anchoring Canada's first Super Hub at Tecconnect, we're giving local innovators the tools to solve global problems—from agri-tech to logistics—with computing power once thought to be years away," said Renae Barlow, vice president of Economic Development Lethbridge (EDL), a not-for-profit organization involved in the development of Quantum Super Hub,. The main highlight of the quantum super hub is that anyone can describe a problem in plain language, and the system automatically decides whether to solve it using quantum computing, AI, or traditional supercomputers. 'The whole value proposition for the super platform is that it leverages a combination of classical and quantum hardware. It uses Nvidia GPUs, it uses quantum parts, it uses gate-based quantum machines, it uses classical CPUs, and GPUs. It figures out how to best solve the problem using a combination of these architectures," said Muhammad Khan, CEO of SuperQ Quantum Computing, the company that developed the hub. The development is being seen as a major leap as quantum computers, while powerful, have traditionally been out of reach for most people and companies. This is because they require expensive lab setups, highly trained quantum scientists, and complex programming skills. What the Super Quantum Hub does differently is simplify the user experience while intelligently picking the right computing strategy—sometimes quantum, sometimes classical, often both. It's this combination that makes it powerful and accessible. On top of the tech, a formidable support system has been put in place to help users. According to the SuperQ team, local businesses can get help at every step—from identifying key problems to testing solutions and receiving training. Moreover, workshops, pilot programs, and various other opportunities from the University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge Polytechnic are being offered to make sure people, researchers, and businesses benefit from the hub. "There are going to be students coming from the University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge Polytechnic who are going to have the opportunity to immerse a little further in these technologies, and also, there's new initiatives propping up as we move forward. Even the access for researchers is a very exciting proposition with the hub being open now," Eyren Uggenti, who leads professional services at SuperQ, added. The implications of this new hub are huge. Until now, quantum computing has been a distant dream for most industries. With this new model, companies in fields like precision agriculture, agri-tech, logistics, manufacturing, and finance can actually use quantum-level power to solve problems that are too complex or time-consuming. For instance, they can model climate risk in real time, simulate complex supply chains, or optimize energy use in manufacturing processes. Additionally, quantum hardware remains expensive and specialized. This is why the new hybrid model, where quantum is used only when needed, proves important. It allows industries to start benefiting from quantum power today without waiting for the technology to fully mature. Looking ahead, if the Lethbridge Super Quantum Hub proves successful, SuperQ plans to expand, with the next hub expected to open in the United Arab Emirates. The hope is that this model will unlock access to quantum computing worldwide.
