Peterborough science siblings competing at national level

April 21, 2021

A scientific brother and sister duo, one a current student at St. Catherine CES, and another a St. Catherine CES graduate, will both be heading to the Canada-Wide Science Fair in May.

Shaun Plassery, now a Grade 10 student at Kenner Collegiate, and his younger sister Shreya Plassery, a curent Grade 8 student at St. Catherine CES, advanced to the national event by finishing in the Top 5 of the Peterborough Regional Science Fair.

Shreya, 13, said her project focused on the buildup of phosphorus in soil, called legacy phosphorus, and extracting it using mycorrhiza (a fungus) and a growing medium.

“The purpose of my experiment is to access phosphorus compounds hidden in farmland with the help of microbial fungi and spent mushroom substrate,” she told the Peterborough Examiner.

It’s the first-time a brother and sister pair from Peterborough are heading to the Canada-Wide Science Fair and their story has sparked local media interest.

Photo Credit: CLIFFORD SKARSTEDT/EXAMINER