Citizen science —it’s the collection and analysis of data relating to the natural world by members of the general public. For some scientists, coming from a world where accuracy and precision are so vital, the idea of handing over control to untested newcomers might seem counterintuitive. However, for Drs. Penny Morrill and Michael Babechuk, and student researcher Kendra Revoy, it was the only way to go.

“I’ve been wanting to develop [this existing project] for over a decade, but I couldn’t figure out how to get all the samples needed for all the locations,” says Dr. Morrill, who has been studying water contamination, remediation, and water-rock reactions as a professor in Memorial’s Department of Earth Sciences since 2008. Then Dr. Babechuk had a great idea: the team enlisted the help of high school students across the province to act as samplers.

For several years, Morrill and Revoy (who left a past career in marketing and advertising on the mainland to undertake a BSc in Earth Sciences at Memorial) have been studying the province’s relationship to the Global Meteoric Water Line (GMWL). “No matter where you take a sample of water from around the world, as long as that water was precipitation and had been in recent contact with the atmosphere, its hydrogen and oxygen isotopes values should fall along that line. However, each location or region has its own meteoric line that slightly deviates from the GMWL. Many places know their Local Meteoric Water Line (LMWL), but, to our knowledge, one has not been established for the island of Newfoundland.”

“The linear relationship between these stable isotopes varies by geographic location and can be used in several geoscientific applications such as determining the origin of groundwater, tracing 

“Thanks to people’s willingness to participate and support this pubic engagement project, we are finally going to have a LMWL for the island of Newfoundland,” says Morrill. “The next step is developing one for Labrador.”local relative humidity, studying local climate, or as a tracer of climate change,” says Revoy.

We spoke with Morrill and Revoy about the project.

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Imagine you're at a dinner party (back when we had dinner parties), and someone asked you to explain what you're working on. How do you describe this project?

Morrill: Funny you should ask. I was at a dinner party once where someone said to me, “You put the new car smell on Mars”. I loved this idea, because it was a mashup of everything I did. I had just finished a study of the biodegradation of vinyl chloride in groundwater (vinyl chloride is responsible for that smell that you associate with a new car) and I was starting a study of water-rock reactions that have occurred on Mars.

Since then, my research has continued to focus on water contamination and remediation, as well as, water-rock reactions. Honestly, I am a biogeochemist with a special interest in the application of stable isotopes, but “putting the new car smell on Mars” sounds so much better.

In your proposal, you mention the importance of putting Newfoundland science research in a global context. What does that mean to you?

Revoy: Sometimes, islands can feel detached from the bigger picture. They typically aren't viewed as hubs for research and development. It's important for us to show that we're contributing to meaningful scientific discoveries and concepts, much the same as some of our larger, mainland counterparts.

For some, building a project around public engagement and experiential learning might be seen as a novelty — something that "looks good on paper". What does public engagement bring to STEM research?

Revoy: I think there is still a bit of an intimidation factor around science, and by engaging the province's youth with simple, straightforward experiments, we hope to make science more approachable.

Morrill: Our public engagement project allows students to “learn by doing”. They are taking precipitation samples for us. This project could not be possible without them. This participation directly incorporates them into the research methods of this Memorial University project.
Hopefully, it will help “demystify” science and the university for high school students. As a high school student, I didn’t realize that university wasn’t just about classes. I did not know that professors and students also did research. This project hopes to show students the research side of university.

One of the major challenges of public engagement is ensuring that participation is genuine — moving beyond placing the public in short-term, passive roles and fostering active and productive involvement, leading to real change. What kind of change were you hoping to bring about?

Revoy: We want students to see that anyone can participate in scientific experiments. Science doesn't have to be a huge production — it only requires curiosity.

Morrill: I am hoping to inspire students to do their own science. This project shows students they can do science with stuff that they have at home, and that they don’t need big fancy laboratories.

Your project is considered “citizen science” — the collection and analysis of data relating to the natural world by members of the general public. As a scientist, coming from a world where accuracy and precision are so vital, was it challenging for you to give over control, particularly to high school students?

Morrill: Not in this case. The sampling is very straightforward. Kendra made excellent instructional videos. Additionally, the students are collecting multiple samples to determine the precision of their sample collection, and recording data at the time of sampling.

Revoy: It will always be challenging to bring new participants into projects, especially if you're not able to meet face to face. We tried to mitigate this by creating an information database of sorts that provides step-by-step guidance on what is expected throughout the sample collection process. We provided learning materials to help teachers introduce these concepts into their classrooms. We also wanted to ensure our participants didn't feel siloed and have encouraged them to reach out to us directly for any questions they have along the way. We were very excited to have teachers around the province agree to help with the project.

Regarding public engagement, the research offers a number of positive and encouraging signals, but it also identifies challenges. For you, what was the biggest challenge in public engagement?

Revoy: The biggest challenge is finding ways to match the value participants bring to the project. We tried to achieve this by engaging appropriate stakeholders from the NLESD as early as possible to determine what value our materials would provide to Newfoundland students and teachers.

Morrill: I was afraid that very few, if any high schools, would want to participate, and that we would not get a sampling coverage of the island. However, I was incorrect: many high school teachers responded favourably, as well as the Newfoundland and Labrador English School
District. Currently, we have samples being collected from each coastal region, as well as the interior, and the Avalon.

What advice would you give to someone developing a public engagement project?

Revoy: I think it's important to put yourself in the shoes of the groups you want to engage with. What kinds of questions would they have? What makes their participation worthwhile for them? How can I make this simple and enjoyable for the participants? How can we show appreciation to our participants? Making sure you're there to answer questions and help them along the way brings transparency and trust to the process and will hopefully entice them to participate in other projects in the future.