Public invited to participate in online conference today

Cape Breton Post
Wed., Aug. 15, 2007

SYDNEY MINES - To celebrate C@P Day, Cape Breton County C@P Society will host an online conference on the Sydney tar ponds, today. There will be a brief presentation of the research being done at the tar ponds site followed by a question and answer session which is open to the public.

"Our theme this year is Go Green With C@P," said Mark Taylor, an intern with the Sydney Mines C@P Site. "The tar ponds site is famous the world over and has collected its share of media coverage. What’s unique about this online conference is the public can visit any C@P site and ask their own questions of tar ponds researchers led by Dr. Martha Jones, a professor at Cape Breton University."

Taylor stressed that no prior computer knowledge is required. Simply listen over the speaker and ask your questions through a microphone. Most C@P sites in Cape Breton have the capability to connect to the conference, which will begin at 2 p.m. "For those people who do have questions, the intern at the site can raise their virtual hand and the individual will be able to speak to the researchers."

He said the online conference is unique because it gives people the opportunity to get involved in research being conducted on the tar ponds. "Hopefully being able to ask questions will help make the research information easier to understand," he said.