Welcome to the Community-Based Experimental Learning (CBEL) blog for the “Gun Lake Septic Field Lava Barrier” project. This blog will be updated every few weeks with an update on the progress of the project.

The CBEL philosophy is to give students an opportunity to apply their skills in an environment other than the classroom. Students will be expected to organize, plan, and document the project in a professional manner. In case any questions or issues arise, each group is assigned a mentor to provide guidance where necessary. Our mentor is Thalita Da Silva. She is currently completing her MEng in Civil Engineering (Environmental Engineering Program) while working full-time in the environmental engineering industry.

Our group will be working for the Gun Lake Ratepayers Association. Gun Lake is a lake and small community located in interior BC, approximately 5 hours from Vancouver. Since residents are entirely dependent on Gun Lake for drinking water, it is extremely important that the lake is not contaminated by the nearby septic fields. The group will be testing a design made from the on-site lava sands, which would serve the purpose of absorbing bacteria. The testing will initially involve RWT dyes; later testing will include bacteria absorption tests. The results of the test will be used to provide recommendations to the Gun Lake Ratepayers Association.

The “Gun Lake Septic Field Lava Barrier” team is organized as follows:
Leader/Organizer: T.W. David Lu

Secretary: Erik Jacobsen

Document Collector/Organizer: Ray Donghwan Kim & Rui (William) Ma

Mentor Liaison: Shuhan Wang

Client Liaison: Kevin Hamersley

We look forward to working alongside the Gun Lake Ratepayers Association!

The Team

Photo Credit: Thalita Gomes R. Da Silva

(From left to right): Rui Ma, Shuhan Wang, Ta-Wei David Lu, Kevin Hamersley, Erik Jacobsen (Ray Donghwan Kim not pictured)