École secondaire Louis-Joseph-Papineau student Thomas Dansereau wins Ducks Unlimited Canada scholarship

Thomas Dansereau has followed his passion for conservation and nature at École secondaire Louis-Joseph-Papineau as part of the Papineau Wetland Centre of Excellence (WCE).

During his year in the WCE program, he took advantage of the opportunity to learn about the abundant birds and wetland plants at Plaisance National Park while collaborating with WCE leaders, environmental professionals and his classmates.

Dansereau has a deep appreciation for wetlands and has excelled as a student researcher, taking opportunities to be involved in the WCE case study competition researching invasive phragmites as well as conducting an extensive wildlife inventory research project.

The wide world of nature education

The Papineau WCE runs in partnership with the Plaisance National Park, providing students with an incredible landscape to be immersed in wetland education.

During class trips, students learn about the variety of birds and wildlife that make their home in the park. “We have about 265 species of birds in the park, which allows us to do projects on birds, and we have many plant species as well,” explains Dansereau.

Marie-Hélène Trudeau-Laroche leads the WCE program at Papineau. While connecting students with the technical research skills of academic environmental education, she has also fostered a love and appreciation for the outdoors. “She’s a really good teacher, especially because she always finds us lots of projects to do. And she loves the environment too, so it’s always fun,” explains Dansereau.

Dansereau’s love of wetlands extends beyond the academic. “I find it relaxing to go running there, to walk around and look at things. It makes me want to protect them.” Pairing his passion and enjoyment for the wetland with a love of research and learning, Dansereau took every opportunity to be involved with student research during his time with the WCE.

A compelling case study

In Spring 2025, Dansereau participated in the WCE Case Study Competition, a national competition where students tackle real-world environmental challenges and present their recommendations to DUC experts. Dansereau and his group researched invasive reed, Phragmites australis, in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region.

“I think the competition was really the coolest part of the program,” he explains. “We learned a lot while we did research, and there was also the whole presentation aspect.”
Sarra Arfaoui, habitat restoration project manager with DUC, helped to judge the case study competition presentations. “Thomas’ solution was incredibly nuanced,” says Arfaoui, describing Dansereau’s group presentation. “It was clear that he had done a lot of work and he has a good understanding of the limitations and challenges associated with invasive phragmites.”

While they didn’t win the 2025 competition, Dansereau and his group received high marks from the judges who praised their dynamic presentation and use of real-world examples in their research of invasive species management.

Wildlife inventory wetland research

For his personal project, Dansereau completed an ambitious wildlife inventory in Plaisance National Park. The research process involved learning how to place a wildlife camera, conducting field work in the park and analyzing the captured photographs. Dansereau eventually sorted and analyzed data from nearly 10,000 photos!

While persevering through his research, Dansereau has been supported by WCE leader Trudeau-Laroche. “All the time, she makes us work harder,” he explains. “Like when we’re doing a project or whatever, she really helps us develop our ideas.”

Trudeau-Laroche describes Dansereau as a passionate and thoughtful student whose work is an excellent reflection of his dedication to learning about his environment.

A future in environmental science

Dansereau is now looking forward to the next phase of his academic career guided by his passion for protecting the natural environment.

Dansereau looks forward to applying his knowledge while studying in the bioecology technician program at Cégep de Saint-Laurent in Montréal.

“It shows that I’ve done things in the environmental field, and that I can continue down that path,” says Dansereau. “I’d really like to become a biologist at university. That’s what I’d like to do—find solutions to better protect the environment.”