The Environmental Award aims to reward and showcase inspiring environmental projects at the university and promote sustainability in the curriculum. The Award has been developed by the University’s Sustainability Team, with panel judges from 8 different academic schools and the Green Growth Platform. It is awarded twice in the academic year, at both the summer and winter graduation ceremonies.

Leah Rose Barrett, MSc Geographical Information Systems and Environmental Management, School of Environment and Technology, has been awarded the university’s Environmental Award for her project which used advanced spatial data analysis and microbial source tracking to create a framework for water quality and pollution source identification.

Leah Barrett attending the virtual Winter 2021 Graduation Ceremony

Leah’s research demonstrates an innovative solution with potential for a tangible product, with the potential to deliver real value and create a lasting impact. The low cost associated with the project mean the product could be delivered within low income countries where water quality may be of particular concern, with the flexibility of the methodology applicable within many areas. Leah will receive a £200 cash prize and be presented with a certificate.

When asked what winning this year’s Environmental Award meant to her, Leah said:

“I am delighted to have received the Environmental Award. It has instilled a great deal of pride in me that my dissertation that I worked so hard on and was so passionate about has been recognised.

I have enjoyed combining my two interests, water quality and GIS, together to create a reproducible framework to identify surface water at high risk of pollution. It was very rewarding to be investigating something so novel.  I am excited for what the future holds for me, and hope to publish my work so that this low cost method I have designed can be used by others.

I’d like to thank my supervisor Dr Sarah Purnell for all her help and support, as well as Professor James Ebdon and everyone involved in the RiskManche project, as the excellent data they collected formed the basis for my project.”