Areas no longer being studied

Learning Looms Large in End-of-Year Manitouwadge School Trip

Image shows three young students with their teacher looking at an unspecified display item.

Manitouwadge Public School Teacher Tara Balog (left) explores an exhibit with three of her students at the Learn More Centre in the NWMO's Toronto office. 

June 5, 2018

Toronto

Share
Image shows three young students with their teacher looking at an unspecified display item.

Manitouwadge Public School Teacher Tara Balog (left) explores an exhibit with three of her students at the Learn More Centre in the NWMO's Toronto office. 

An end-of-school year trip for Grades 6 to 8 students from Manitouwadge Public School saw them drop by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) offices in midtown Toronto in early June. 

Guided by their teacher Tara Balog, the students got a chance to interact with exhibits in the Learn More Centre, hear from specialists, and take a tour of the NWMO’s offices where they chatted with staff from various academic and work backgrounds. 

“It was eye-opening for the students to see that even at a highly technical and scientific organization like the NWMO, there’s a real variety of functions,” said Ms. Balog, who regularly instructs her pupils to learn about as many things as possible during these formidable years of their education. 

“The NWMO has helped our students with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning through robotics, but it’s also great for these young minds to know that the arts, communication, finance, and more play a vital role alongside geologists, engineers and scientists.” 

The students also heard from Dr. Mahrez Ben Belfadhel, Vice-President of Site Selection, who instilled in them the idea that learning is an ongoing process, a sentiment that was also shared by Norman Sandberg, Relationship Manager for North of Superior, which includes Manitouwadge. 

“I was absolutely elated to have these young students visit our offices and see how the NWMO operates,” Mr. Sandberg said. “Seeing so many different possibilities – from graphic design to community engagement to accounting – will remind them as they get older that there is a big world of learning out there that can take them anywhere, including the NWMO.” 

The Township of Manitouwadge is one of the Ontario communities currently involved in the site selection process, learning and exploring the possibility of hosting a deep geological repository and Centre of Expertise. None of the communities have committed to hosting the project. 
About the NWMO

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is a not-for-profit organization tasked with the safe, long-term management of Canada’s used nuclear fuel inside a deep geological repository, in a manner that protects people and the environment for generations to come.

Founded in 2002, the NWMO has been guided for more than 20 years by a dedicated team of world-class scientists, engineers and Indigenous Knowledge Holders that are developing innovative and collaborative solutions for nuclear waste management. Canada’s plan will only proceed in an area with informed and willing hosts, where the municipality, First Nation and Métis communities, and others in the area are working together to implement it. The NWMO plans to select a site in 2024, and two areas remain in our site selection process: the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation-Ignace area in northwestern Ontario and the Saugeen Ojibway Nation-South Bruce area in southern Ontario.

Sign up for NWMO news and updates

Subscribe and receive NWMO news, reports, updates and more delivered to your inbox.