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President Glenn began the meeting with the customary Land Acknowledgment. He asked all to rise, if able, to sing God Save the King and O’Canada. Rotary Moment – RI President Jennifer Jones posted on her Facebook page: It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, whose dedication to humanitarian causes and unwavering commitment to peace and the environment deeply inspired Rotary members around the world, especially those in the Commonwealth countries. While the late Prince Philip was an honorary member of the Rotary Club of Windsor and Eton and also Windsor St George, the queen herself was also a supporter of Rotary’s polio eradication and humanitarian missions. She received the Rotary International Award of Honor, the organization’s highest recognition, in December 2013 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of her coronation. We join the international community in offering our condolences to the royal family. Nicely said, President Jennifer. Chair announcements: Thank you to Jack Wilson who organized the club’s fellowship on August 29. We had a good turnout of club members, guests and members of the Charleswood Historical Society. The club was able to make a $200 donation to the society in thanks for its hospitality. We will collaborate with them again. Jack Wilson thanked those who served as ambassadors at the Forest. The committee is advising visitors about upcoming changes to signage and the entry from the Chalfont parking lot. We are also collecting feedback Assiniboine Forest. Members may contact Jack or Wendy Hales to volunteer. We had a winner of the Chase the Ace lottery last Thursday. Sarah Lloyd of Beausejour won the weekly draw of $84 plus $2,500 for turning the Ace of Spades. This brings to an end of the lottery, following 2 years of managing and promoting the fundraiser in support of the Assiniboine Forest. There was considerable effort by those involved, without the return we hoped for. President Glenn paid tribute to Doug McKenzie who did much of the work getting the raffle up and running with MB Lotteries and Bump, the online platform. Also a huge thank you to Dave Morris, who gave his time and office space every Thursday to make the weekly draw and to prepare the paperwork required by Lotteries. Past President Doug and President shared the responsibility, but Dave was the constant, every week for 2 almost years. Thank you. The club’s Board of Directors met on Tuesday, September 6. We approved a budget for this Rotary year, and heard reports from committee chairs. The club is in good hands. Following a busier summer than usual, September is considered the month when much of the club work begins. The Board plans to conduct another survey to get a snapshot of member feedback to help decision making this Rotary year. |
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Iain Scott, via Zoom introduced our guest speaker. Brock Edwards is a fourth-year PhD candidate at the Centre for Earth Observation Science at the University of Manitoba. His research focuses on the environmental chemistry of contaminants, specifically the release of mercury vapour to the atmosphere from volcanoes and geothermal fields. Over the past three years he has worked at several volcanoes in Iceland to measure the emissions of mercury and other gases such as CO2 and sulfur dioxide. He was on the ground for the last two eruptions in southwest Iceland in 2021 and most recently in August 2022, assisting the Icelandic government in monitoring toxic gas levels and gathering data for his doctoral thesis. He now has several million dirt samples to analyze over the winter and hopes to complete his PhD next summer.
The findings from this work will aid in resolving some of the large uncertainties surrounding volcanic Hg emissions and their contributions to the global atmospheric budget in comparison to anthropogenic inputs. Ultimately this research will improve current and future atmospheric models used to set international Hg emissions targets and help assess the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention.