Projects

On this page: Internship Summaries and Video Links  |  Special Topics in Barbados


Students in BITS program have the opportunity to design and carry out their own research projects that solve real-world problems related to agricultural production, food, sanitation, environment and health issues in Barbados. Every 2-4 students form a project group and work directly with mentors from designated host institutions in Barbados. Students dedicate Mondays and Tuesdays all summer long towards their respective projects. Previous projects done by McGill students include constructing a Naturally Ventilated Augmented Cooling Greenhouse, finding alternative propagation methods of plants, making Bajan yogurt and ice cream with goat milk, improving the local rabbit meat industry, and many other exciting projects. Please check out the project summaries and videos for more details.

Students may apply for the following internships and conduct projects under the supervision of mentors at the host organizations. These projects are eligible for Special Topics or Project credits, and in some cases, can be used towards a McGill Field Study Minor.



Internship Summaries and Video Links

Summer 2019

Monitoring of nearshore waters in Barbados from a microbiology perspective  |  Marianne Beaulieu, Nkonye Campbell, Jessica Di Lorenzo, Neela Todd  |  VIDEO

Is biodigester effluent a suitable replacement for commercial fertilizers? Assessing the efficacy of liquid biogas digestate for cultivation of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) crops in Barbados  |  Emily Hooton, Yu-Shing Ni, Coco Wang  |  VIDEO

Eco-tourism marketing project: Farley Hill National Park, Barbados  |  Shuang Liang, Sabrina Gill, Francis Tersigni  |  VIDEO

Heat and Healthy Milk: Determining the optimal pasteurization method of goat and blackbelly sheep milk for labelling recommendations at the Greenland Livestock Research Institute, Barbados  |  Tarini Gupta, Myriam Driss, Elaina Grimm  |  VIDEO

Development of a sustainable potting soil mix for the NCC Nursery  |  Sophia Jones, Julia Kossakowski, Siri van Gruen  |  VIDEO


Summer 2018

Addressing the plastic bag issue of Barbados through education and policy recommendations  |  Stephanie Leandri, Eva von Jagow, Sydney Westra  |  VIDEO

Air quality and health impacts from the transportation system in Barbados  |  Chloé Allard, Tuviere Onookome-Okome, Hang Yin  |  VIDEO

Development of large-scale composting techniques at the SBRC  |  Sreedurga Cherukumalli, Audrey Woo, Cindie Berthiaume  |  VIDEO

Environmental impact assessment of aquatic weed removal at SBRC, Pond B  |  Paula Figueroa Delgado, Anna Tokunaga  |  VIDEO

You’ve GOaT to try this milk! |  Christine Ha  |  VIDEO

Nectar availability for honey bees at Walkers Reserve  |  Erin Jefferies, Liana Fortin-Hamel  |  VIDEO

Landscaping for climate resiliency at the Bellairs Research Institute  |  Sunayana Sashikumar, Jessie Green, Chelsea Kingzett  |  VIDEO


Summer 2016

The Naturally Ventilated Augmented Cooling Greenhouse | Jessica Xavier, Rhys Burnell, Rachael Warner  |  VIDEO

Bioassay: Tomato and Okra Growth Evaluation on 5 Soilless Potting Mixtures in Barbados  |   Luisa Sarmiento, Keitaro Hirano, Fengge Sun   |  VIDEO

Vegetative Propagation of Limonia and Pittosporum spp.  |   Joseph Jarry, Yangjing Pu  |  VIDEO

Improving the Profitability of the Rabbit Meat Industry in Barbados  |  Naila Al Kharusi  |  VIDEO

Goat and Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Milk Bajan Ice Cream  |  Olivia Watson, Jasraj Kaur  |  VIDEO

Maximizing Growth Rates of Various Lettuce Cultivars in an Aquaponics System  |  Alexia Bertholon, Shae-Lynn Roberts,  Ananka Shah  |  VIDEO



Summer 2015

Introducing Local Goat Yogurt Production on Small-Scale Farms in Barbados  |  Simran Chhina, Michelle Colvin, and Stefany Ildefonso  | VIDEO

Optimal Propagation Conditions of Mussaenda in Barbados  |  Angelica Bourgeault, Jingyi Zhang, and Melanie Marshall  |  VIDEO

Natural Ventilation Augmented Cooling (NVAC) Greenhouse  | VIDEO

Analysis of the Health Status and Adaptability of New Zealand Red Rabbits in Barbados  |  Jerome Gélinas and Raina Fan | VIDEO

Making Use of Sargassum in Barbados  |  Sophie Baker, Elena Cabot and Kisa Giebink  |  VIDEO

Establishment of a Medical and Native Plant Garden for the Welchman Hall Gully  |  Jessica Hillman, Katie Simmons, & Sage Szkabarnicki Stuart  | VIDEO 1  | VIDEO 2



Summer 2014

Agricultural Tourism in Barbados.pdf  | Alexander Cooper, Aaron Friedland, Marie-Sophie Iredale and Sharon Lopez  | VIDEO

Organic Waste Management in Barbados.pdf  | Kesner Dabady, Priyanka Kapadia and Twisha Kini

Naturally Ventilated Augment Cooling Greenhouse.pdf  | Dillon Fields, Zainab Iqbal and Ryan Knight | VIDEO

A Density Data Survey of Lionfish in Barbados.pdf  | Alexander Wieb, Aaron Friedland, Manuela Vernaza and Lourace Trebble (UWI)

A Comparative Study on Propagation of ficus alii.pdf  |  Miriam Belhadfa, Joelle Dahm and Aurelie Hawes | VIDEO

PDF icon Alternative Feed Substitution for Blackbelly Sheep in Barbados  | Marie-Pier Bolduc, Laura Lasry and Vijayeta Patel | VIDEO




Summer 2013 (IICA Canada supported BITS projects in Barbados again this year!)

A Preliminary Survey of Rubble Organisms at Two Disturbed Areas in Barbados .pdf   |   Alexandre Ferrari-Roy, Stephanie Maasik and Juliana Rosario  |  VIDEO

Feed Substitution in Barbados Blackbelly Sheep Production - Weaning the Industry off of Expensive Imports.pdf   |   Jacqueline De Santis, Cullen Heater and Stephanie Trempe  |  VIDEO 

Studies in Solar Water Heating at Solar Dynamics Ltd.pdf  |  Michael Buckler, Matthieu Saive and Gabriel Wetzel 

Leucaena as an Alternative Forage and Concentrate Substitute for Barbadian Dairy Goats.pdf  |  Zachary Goldberg, Erik Hauner and Natasha Salter |  VIDEO

Raising New Zealand White Rabbits in Barbados_-_Analysis of the Environment Feasibility and Growth Rate.pdf  |  Diane Hardy, Kevin Drouin-Leger and Amaury Berteaud 

Bitter Melon (Momordica_charantia) in Barbados.pdf  |  Sarah Fioravanti, Dominique Souris (University of Waterloo) and Vivien Underdown



Summer 2012 (BITS won Project Award again from IICA Canada!)

Work with faculty at UWI, the Ministry of Agriculture, and a local company, on a control program for Giant African Snails. This is a complex issue, as the Giant Snails are voracious eaters but preservation of the native snails must also be considered.

Bajan Achatina An Alternative Control of the Giant African Snail through Human Consumption in Barbados.pdf written by Asma Babar, Nathaniel Freeman, Christie O’Loughlin and Aileen Shu-Yu Wong

An Organic Permaculture Demonstration Garden at the Future Centre Trust.pdf written by Paula Hincapie and Julia Poetschke

Barbados Giant African Snail as a Component of Commercial Broiler Feed.pdf written by Marianne Roaldi and Tamara Skootsky

The Mechanics of the Bounty System: Public Collection and Population Estimations of Achatina_fulica.pdf written by Heather Cross and Colin LaRoche

Rats, GAS and Nematodes: Interactions in Barbados.pdf written by Clare Buchanan and Madeline Stark

Trapping the Achatina fulica in Barbados and beyond: an assessment of trap design effectiveness and potential.pdf written by Brenna Coleman, William Dreyer and Forrest MacDonald


Summer 2011 (BITS won Project Award from Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA Canada))

Read about the Giant African Snails (GAS):
Gas as Chickenfeed.pdf written by Thomas Dashwood, Anne Reglain and Margot Roux

Traps for GAS.pdf written by Anna Kalkanis-Ellis, Martin Legault and Tamara Provencher

Gas: Potential Health Effects and Efforts to Control Snail Population.pdf, written by Sarah Cascarino, Dominique Murray and Neha Paliwal


Summer 2009

The Economic Benefits of Backyard Gardening in Barbados.pdf written by Katia Colton-Gagnon, Lauren Forbes and Annelise Miller

Photovoltaic System Design at Kendall Dairy Farm.pdf written by Alenjandro Jaul, David Gourlay and Gauthier Derrien

The Use of Herbal Remedies and the Perception of these Practices in the Barbadian Population.pdf written by Annie Lallement and Sariné Willis-O’Connor

Overall Cost and Viability Analysis of a Solar Energy Installation at Foursquare Rum Factory.pdf written by Emma Brown and Edouard Michaux

Body Composition and Dietary Intake Patterns among Barbadian School Students.pdf written by Stacey Carter and Sarah Levesque


BITS Special Topics in Barbados

Special Topics in Barbados (download Special Topics approval form) must be arranged with BITS faculty. Please send requests to danielle.donnelly [at] mcgill.ca (Dr. Danielle Donnelly) with a description of your interests, resumé, and copy of your McGill transcript. Costs are directly related to your transportation to Barbados and the cost of your accommodation and food at Bellairs Research Institute.

For the first time in 2017, Global Interdisciplinary Virtual Undergraduate Student (GIVUS) Projects (same Special Topics approval form as above; same request procedure) were launched for Virtually mobile/ Remote students wishing to participate in international activities. No transportation costs! No special accommodation and food costs! No carbon footprint! The first virtually mobile student was Melissa Bezruchko. Melissa worked remotely on a project with Dr. Anthony Fisher, Executive Director of the University of The West Indies (UWI) China Institute of Information Technology, Cave Hill campus, Barbados.

2017

UWI 2017 Marketing Communication Outreach Implementation Plan  |  Melissa Bezruchko (virtually mobile student)

Plastic Waste at the SBRC in Barbados  |  Sara Mikhail

2014

Flavours of Barbados.pdf written by Selina Piekarski

2013

The Promotion of Herbs and Spices Production Under Protected Agriculture to Ensure Food Self-Sufficiency in Barbados.pdf written by Marianne Roaldi

Hstology of the Reproductive Tract of Veronicella sloanii.pdf written by Colin LaRoche

2012

Human Dimension of Giant African Snails in Barbados.pdf written by Clara Dell

2011

 A Kitchen Garden Promotes Food Security at the Bellairs Research Institute.pdf written by Lara Steinhouse

Achatina_fulica_-_an_invasive_species.pdf prepared by Boris Mayer with BITS Faculty (Forward Fest 2011 took place at Bellairs)

The_farming_and_consumption_of_Achatina_fulica_in_Mauritius.pdf prepared by Boris Mayer (the island of Mauritius has also been invaded by GAS)

2009

Life History of the Invasive Achatina fulica in Barbados Jason Beuckert, synopsis by Christie Lovat  and Danielle Donnelly

Propagation Methods for Mussaenda philippica.pdf Jason Beuckert, synopsis by Christie Lovat  and Danielle Donnelly

2008

Ethno-Botanical Research and Propagation of Tropical Medicinal Plants.pdf  Charlotte Rancourt, synopsis by Christie Lovat  and Danielle Donnelly


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