For some students their degree is simply a ticket to a well-paying job or an interesting lifestyle.
But for local resident Jennifer Feduniw, currently completing an environmental initiatives internship with the Town of Innisfail, it's about so much more.
“This is important work that needs to be done,” she said of her duties, which includes performing audits of water conservation within town facilities. “I've always been interested in water.”
Feduniw will spend the next few months surveying the town's assets and homing in on possible efficiencies in everything from the sewer and water lines to the frequency of cleaning activities at recreation facilities.
“You hear ‘audit' and it's a scary word,” she said, noting that when facility managers find out she's trying to help save the town money, suddenly the fear dissipates. “It's more of an opportunity.”
The four-month internship is part of Feduniw's science and environmental science studies at the University of Lethbridge, but it's not her first exposure to water systems.
Previously she did co-op terms with the City of Calgary as a technician and with the City of Red Deer as a water conservation community liaison. She hopes her efforts to promote efficient water use will spark a larger trend in Innisfail.
“In the end I think it will make people more responsible with their use,” she said.
Innisfail CAO Helen Dietz, who is working with Feduniw, notes the student is the town's only environmental auditor who is actively examining ways to reduce flow rates in advance of hooking up to the expensive regional wastewater system.
“That turns into a different dollar figure for me,” Dietz said about pricing out the cost of joining the new inter-municipal infrastructure.
Feduniw will be presenting her findings to council in December and will include recommendations for ways to boost conservation. Dietz says this will provide a solid basis for working the right projects into the budget so they can receive adequate funding.
