SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Grade 11 science students at St. Patrick High School were surprised by the number of insects they accumulated in a Malaise trap set in the schoolyard in September.

Nyree Hacala, 16, left, Abby Webster, 16, Matteo Bertolini,16, in the back, Reka Embodo, 16, Sarah Letemplier, 15, and science teacher Christina Silzer hold up a sign marking their participation in the University of Guelph School Malaise Trap Program. - photo courtesy of St. Patrick High School

The tent-shaped trap was used to conduct biodiversity inventories for scientific research conducted by the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario at the University of Guelph. After two weeks of collecting insects and recording data, the students sent the specimens to the institute, where they are now being counted, sorted and DNA coded.

"Even when the temperature was going down, there are still bugs out," said Grade 11 student Abby Webster, adding they collected about 500 insects. "I found it interesting that of bugs we did get, I hadn't seen them myself. It was cool to see different kinds of bugs I didn't know we ever had."

During the collection process, the students kept a blog along with 59 other schools across Canada participating in the fall fieldwork.

"Surprisingly good results are coming from our Malaise trap," reads one blog post from Sept. 20. "Although the weather is not ideal for insects, we trapped over double the amount that was previously captured the day before."

Now that the first part of the project is complete, the students are waiting to hear the results.

Once the institute determines the bugs' barcode sequences, the information is added to the Barcode of Life Data Systems database, which is a reference library of DNA barcodes used to assign identities to unknown specimens. "I think this project was significant for Yellowknife because we are representing the North," said Grade 11 student Olivia Laureijs. "All the data we collected is going into storage so that it can be used in the future for research projects for the Canadian government or research for private institutions."

In fact, St. Patrick High School was the only school in the North selected for the project, said science teacher Christina Silzer, who headed it up.

"There was only 60 schools across Canada that were accepted for this field season so it was kind of a unique opportunity," she said. "When we said we would provide a unique Northern perspective because we have different insect species they can barcode and add to their DNA database - I think it was a big selling point."

The University of Guelph has been running the School Malaise Trap Program since 2013. It teams up with schools across Canada to explore the insect diversity in Canada's schoolyards. The goal is to encourage students to explore, question and understand the world around them. Students also experience what it's like to be a biologist and the science of DNA barcoding through lesson plans that address topics related to high-school science curriculum.

Participating schools receive a program package, educational materials and a malaise trap to collect insects in their schoolyard for two weeks.

The two biology classes participated to learn about real-world science.

"They're Grade 11 so they're thinking about university so it actually gets them working with a university and connecting them with that kind of realm outside Yellowknife," said Silzer. "It's an opportunity to try some science and be a part of something bigger."

The students should get results back from Guelph in the winter, she added. "They find out what it is all about and what biodiversity means, and they can understand the genetics."

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