The Root & STEM Podcast

In this episode of The Root & STEM Podcast, guest host Sofia Osborne speaks with Madie Bouvier-Brown, marine operations lead at Open Ocean Robotics. Madie begins by sharing how her interest in marine science started. Madie then describes her role at Open Ocean and the purpose and use of USV's (unmanned surface vehicle) in monitoring ocean trends and marine date collection.

 On this episode of the Root & STEM podcast, artist, educator and environmentalist, Betty Carpick, speaks about her unique interest and skill in creating art with natural supplies. She begins by explaining how her interest in art first developed (01:15). Betty tells us how she identifies and harvests plants to create her natural inks (08:08) and describes the process of turning the plants into inks ready to be used (10:18). Next, Betty speaks on her education style and her purpose as an educator (12:56), before sharing a story about a success she experienced as an educator (15:53). Finally, Betty offers advice to aspiring artists (17:47).

Check out Betty's art on Instagram @bettycarpick

On this episode of the Root & STEM podcast, muralist Jess Spagnolo, brings us along her journey as an artist. She begins by sharing her behind the scenes thoughts during the illustration of the Root & STEM magazine’s issue 9 cover (01:02). Jess details her university experience and subsequent shift towards muralism after a disenchantment with conventional art schooling (02:23). She describes her approach to a blank wall (06:47), before sharing a beautiful story of how her murals can impact a community (10:18). She delves into her Mexican heritage's role in shaping her vibrant and culturally rich artistic style (13:09). Throughout the episode, Jess underscores the significance of continual learning, curiosity, and fostering connections within the art community.

On this episode of The Root & STEM Podcast, we hear from Indigenous climate researcher, Janna Wale, a policy advisor at Canada Climate Institute. Janna begins by reminiscing on her interest in schooling as a youth (00:50). She then describes her role and some of her current responsibilities at the Canada Climate Institute (02:01). Janna tells us about her inspiration behind dedicating her career to climate research (05:38), before emphasizing the importance of salmon and salmon abundance to her home of Gitanmaax First Nation (7:53). Lastly, Janna provides a change in research process recommendation that she believes would lead to a positive 5-year climate outlook (11:12) and offers some advice to youth looking to assist in climate change mitigation efforts (12:10).

On this episode of the Root & STEM podcast, Director Of Heritage for the Government of Nunavut, Caroline Whittle, shares her insight on the state of language preservation among the Inuit community in Nunavut. She begins by explaining her position with the Government of Nunavut and sharing some of her day to day responsibilities. (01:10). Next, Caroline describes the reason English has become the predominant language in the North (04:14) and tells us about a course she took that promotes the revitalization of Inuktitut (05:53). Caroline shares her opinion on why people in the North should learn Inuktitut (06:55), before explaining how teachers can bridge the gap between STEM learning and Inuit culture (08:33). Next, she offers insight on what can be done at a government level to promote the use of Inuktitut (10:57). Finally, Caroline tells us the best ways and times to Learn Inuktitut (12:25), before describing how her language helps her feel connected to her community (13:36).

On this episode of the Root & STEM podcast, Sofia Osborne speaks with Tania Willard, an Indigenous artist/curator and assistant professor at the University of British Columbia about her journey as an artist and connecting with and expressing her culture. Tania begins by sharing how her passion for art began and takes us through the stages of her career (01:08). Next, she offers some advice to art educators working in rural and indigenous communities (07:10). Finally, Tania describes what she calls the "Bush Gallery" (09:16).

On this episode of the Root & STEM podcast, Sheena Bolton and Timothy King of the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) explain CyberTitan, a cybersecurity competition for middle and high schoolers organized by the ICTC.

Tim breaks down what goes on during a CyberTitan competition and the benefits a competitor might take away from the experience (05:02). Next, Tim reveals who prepares the objectives for CyberTitan and shares some student successes (07:52) before Sheena explains how ICTC is prioritizing cybersecurity as the industry and importance of new talent skyrockets (11:05). Sheena describes some more benefits of being a competitor (15:10).Tim shares some threats the prominence of AI and scaling of quantum computing pose to humans (13:06), as well as the positive effects this rather new technology could have (19:23). Next, Sheena explains how a family effort can help susceptible individuals such as seniors stay safe from cyber threats and phone scams (23:11), before each offering a simple actionable you can put into practice today to instantly improve their cybersecurity (30:22).

On this episode of the Root & STEM podcast, former Pinnguaq co-op student, Julia Young, shares her unique journey as a highschool student and the helpful tips and tools she learned along the way. She begins by explaining The Science Behind podcast series she created with no prior media production or teaching experience. (03:21). Next, Julia describes Harnessing The Benefits: The Digital World, the second podcast she created for Pinnguaq (06:25) and the corresponding article she wrote for the Root & STEM magazine (08:44). Julia then shares her experience as a full time online highschool student, highlighting the differences from the traditional high school experience (10:32), before explaining how AI tools assisted her as a student and how to use them to enhance your learning (13:06). Julia wraps up by offering a piece of advice to high school aged learners who aren’t sure about their path postsecondary like herself (15:53).

On this episode of the Root & STEM podcast, Christine Menard of Get Cyber Safe shares loads of tips and advice regarding cybersecurity. She begins with an explanation of what Get Cyber Safe is (01:20), and continues by revealing which demographics are the highest risk for cyber attacks (03:08). Christine lays out an immediate action plan for the scenario of facing a ransomware attack (10:33) and shares her thoughts on why password managers are a very helpful tool (12:22). She then shares what avenues of attack are the most common for cyber scammers (20:29), before describing some red flags to be aware of on social media and how to best protect yourself from security breaches (27:06). Christine wraps up by sharing one simple action everyone can complete today to improve their cybersecurity (40:00).

Visit getcybersafe.ca to learn more!

Winners of the 2023 Kawartha Lakes Hackathon, Callum Penney and Aiden Mackey, recap their experience participating in the event. They are joined by Tanner Big Canoe, a Junior Software Developer at Pinnguaq and co-organizer of the hackathon, Tanner Big Canoe who provides some context on hackathons and how they can be beneficial to competitors.

To learn more, check out the latest issue of the Root & STEM magazine, AI Amplified: Staying Cybersafe

(00:44) What is a hackathon?

(02:48) Callum (winner) introduces himself

(03:04) Aiden (winner) Introduces himself

(03:14) Winning project described

(06:02) Aiden & Callum share how roles were divided

(07:41) Tanner explains the display of management skills

(08:29) Callum and Aiden share their dream jobs

(10:20) The three identify the challenges and some advice for future competitors

(13:47) Aiden shares a solo project he made using the skills he gained from the hackathon

(14:52) Aiden & Callum highlight the importance of learning code in school