Future Energy Systems' Science Rendezvous 2026

On May 9, ALI had the pleasure of joining Future Energy Systems for another year of the Science Rendezvous at the TELUS World of Science!

Science Rendezvous is part of a series of events that take place across the country. The events create interactive learning experiences for all age groups on topics such as science, technology, engineering, art, and math.

This year, ALI’s activity focused on how communities can be built to mitigate the effects of wildfire based on information from two ALI funded studies: Forest fire induced risks and community resilience and Understanding risk communication in Alberta’s municipalities.

During the activity, the ALI team taught participants that while forest fire is a natural and beneficial occurrence in boreal forests, climate change is exacerbating the size and heat of fires.

The participants were then introduced to the residents of a fictional forest community, Pawbrook, located in the Alberta boreal forest.

Acting as members of the Pawbrook fire department, the Hawk Watch, participants spent “Hawk Tokens” to purchase wildfire mitigation strategies to save Pawbrook

To demonstrate the efficacy of mitigation strategies, beads were poured through a 3D constructed Pawbrook. Depending on which mitigation strategies were purchased, the “fire” could be diverted away from the houses in the town.

While the Pawbrook activity is a simplified version of fire mitigation, it introduced participants to the idea of community planning for risk reduction.

If you didn’t have a chance to attend the Science Rendezvous but would like to try the Pawbrook activity for yourself, we will be at Canada-Wide Science Fair with Future Energy Systems at Edmonton Expo Center on May 28! We hope to see you there!

Thank you to our amazing staff and volunteers who put so much time and care into the activities. Thank you to Future Energy Systems for the opportunity to teach the innovators of the future about soil health!