Great news for cottagers and science-lovers alike on Opinicon Lake! Queen’s University announced late last year that it will be building a new environmental science research centre on the lake, with opening targeted for spring 2026. The Queen’s University Biological Station (QUBS) has been owned and operated by Queen’s on Opinicon Lake for nearly 80 years and is a leading Canadian scientific field station. Infrastructure upgrades and new investments from the university will ensure the new and current facilities continue to serve the university and local communities for many years to come.
Opinicon Lake, located in the Rideau Lakes region of eastern Ontario, is about an hour’s drive north of the Queen’s main campus in Kingston, Ont. The new facility will feature a two-storey, 4,500-square-foot combined research and teaching centre, equipped with laboratories, classrooms, and meeting spaces to host researchers from across the country and the world. The new build will replace an aquarium building on the campus that was recently demolished.
“I have been working on getting this new facility for more than a decade, so I am very excited about its prospects,” says Stephen Lougheed, the director of QUBS and a professor of biology and environmental science at Queen’s. “We will be able to conduct research into a greater array of subjects, teach a greater number of students, and contribute more to the fields of environmental conservation, aquatic sciences, molecular ecology, and more.”
“We have the opportunity to build a new high-end molecular lab, two aquatics labs, and a Geographic Information System facility,” says Lougheed. “We also do a lot of environmental DNA research, and the new labs can do any number of molecular studies as well as train professionals and researchers in environmental DNA detection.” This is particularly important for detecting the presence of invasive species in the area, managing at-risk species, monitoring diseases, and assessing the health of local ecosystems.
The new research station will be built with environmental sustainability in mind, as it will be heated and cooled using geothermal energy and powered in part by renewable resources. Funding for the project will come from a combination of Queen’s capital investments and grant funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s Innovation Fund. Private donations have also raised more than $1.5 million for the new venue.
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Lougheed says there will be ample opportunities to do community outreach and engagement with local cottagers on Opinicon Lake, including hosting an open house at the current facilities in June. “We also do seminar series that are open to the public, where people can learn more about local ecology,” says Lougheed. “We certainly value our neighbours and have a good relationship with local cottagers and residents, and we always encourage community participation and feedback.”
Guy Valentine, the secretary of the Opinicon Property Owners’ Community, says he’s excited by the new QUBS centre and always makes a point of attending the open houses and seminars. “The influence of the biology station on the lake is far-reaching,” says Guy. “Much of the shoreline on Opinicon Lake won’t be developed because it’s all Queen’s endowment land, which helps keep our lake small and close-knit.”
Are you an Opinicon Lake cottager looking to get more involved in QUBS? Keep an eye out for upcoming events, or learn how you can donate to the new facility.
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