5 November 2021
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie
To mark Science Week 2021, Cork County Council has produced a series of videos on the Council’s YouTube Channel revealing the science behind the work that scientists and technical staff in the Council undertake. Scientists from the Council’s laboratory in Inniscarra will also be hosting Zoom calls with Primary Schools to discuss the importance of science in day to day life and how scientific work benefits communities in Cork County.
Pictured sienna Ptak, Technician with Cork County Council with Cllr. Gillian Coughlan, Mayor of the County of Cork, who was getting a guided tour of Cork County Councils Water Quality Laboratory at Iniscarra, Co Cork. Photo by Sean Jefferies Photography.
Ahead of Science Week, Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr. Gillian Coughlan visited staff at the facility in Inniscarra, and commented:
“The high-tech equipment and highly trained technical and scientific staff of Cork County Council’s laboratory services are a huge resource for the county, ensuring our rivers, bathing waters and drinking waters are safe. It’s great to see the talent of staff also going towards inspiring the next generation of scientists during Science Week. The videos being prepared are full of fun trivia and experiments to get young scientists started in this fascinating subject.”
During Science Week, Cork County Council scientists will be engaging online with Primary School children from all over the county, from North Cork to Bere Island with videos such as “Why the sky looks blue” and “How we know the earth is round”. Several videos explaining the important work that staff undertake in the laboratory will also be uploaded on YouTube.
Chief Executive of Cork County Council, Tim Lucey noted,
“The Council’s ability to serve the community of County Cork depends on having excellent staff drawing from a wide range of disciplines. Council scientists and technical staff are instrumental in monitoring environmental changes that inform policy in a number of areas. We hope that many of the children participating in Science Week this year will be inspired to join us in the future to work towards a clean and safe environment in Cork County.”
Cork County Council’s Water Laboratory Service is the longest continuously accredited local authority laboratory in the country, first accredited to ISO17025 standard in 1991. It is staffed by technicians, chemists and environmental scientists from varied scientific backgrounds.
Cork County Council’s laboratory staff play a vital role in taking and analysing thousands of drinking water samples every year at Group Water Schemes, schools, community centres, and small businesses all over the county. The staff sample effluent discharges as well as hundreds of river monitoring points throughout the year as part of environmental monitoring programmes. They also take samples at beaches during the bathing water season to ensure good water quality, with Cork beaches awarded more Blue and Green flags combined than any other county in 2021.
Videos will be released daily on Cork County Council’s Youtube Channel throughout Science Week, which runs from the 7th to the 14th of November.
