Respondents indicated that they wished to see lecturers visiting the practice placement areas and providing support, particularly in relation to assessment of students. Also highlighted in this study is the need for more effective communication between placement areas and academic staff.

The Bay of Quinte receives drainage from several large river systems, including the Moira River which carried sediment from mines into the Bay from the 1880s to the 1960s. We are investigating possible metal contamination of submerged weed beds and marsh biota which may contribute to the low diversity and biomass of macrophyte beds and Typha marshes in the Bay. In 1987, sediment, macrophytes and snails were sampled in wetlands close to the Moira River and at Hay Bay (part of the Bay of Quinte presumably unaffected by mine effluents) located 20 km from the Moira. Some element concentrations in sediment and biota were determined by neutron activation analysis (NAA) including Al, As, Br, Zn. Other elements were analysed by acid dissolution and atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS) including Ag, As, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn. Levels of As in sediments and plants were higher close to the Moira River, whereas Cu and Ni showed the opposite pattern in sediments. The usefulness of species as bioassays differed: Stagnicola elodes Say accumulated significantly higher levels of Cu (35 vs 18 ppm) and V (1.1 vs 0.5 ppm) than Planorbella trivolvis Say collected from the same sites. The macrophyte, Myriophyllum spicatum L. acted as an accumulator of Pb (up to 9.6 ppm), whereas Pb in Vallisneria americana Michx. at the same sites was undetectable.

Wilderness and natural ecological functions are subject to a range of cultural interpretation. Using great lake ecosystems as an example, it is possible to argue that some areas of Canada that are now widely considered to be wilderness and to function naturally either are or were significantly dependent upon human intervention. Moreover, some areas that were completely constructed by humans are slowly assuming characteristics of wilderness and are becoming ecologically naturalized. The convergence of these two perpectives leads to a re-examination of the degree to which ecological restoration is a non-contradictory opportunity for restoring wilderness functions and for engaging society experientially with the complexities and limits of functional restoration in non-wilderness areas, an engagement that could constitute the basis of broad political support for wilderness stewardship.

No abstract