Stockholm Junior Water Prize national winner's work investigated toxic metals in rivers

Original post: https://www.povewater.mendelu.cz/36924n-stockholm-junior-water-prize-national-winner-s-work-investigated-toxic-metals-in-rivers

Ondřej Přibyl from EKO Gymnasium in Brno won the fourth national round of the global competition Stockholm Junior Water Prize. His work focused on toxic metals in rivers, analysing fish scales as indicators of pollution.

"The work was very well presented and represents a nature-friendly approach to monitoring contamination of the aquatic environment through fish scale analysis. This keeps the fish alive - only the scales are taken and used to detect the presence of various substances. This procedure saves fish lives," described Tomáš Randák, one of the judges of the competition and director of the Research Institute of Fisheries and Hydrobiology.

Ondřej Přibyl's study focuses on the use of fish scales as indicators of toxic metal pollution in river ecosystems. Toxic metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury are often present in river waters as a result of human activities and industrial pollution. Analysing fish scales could thus provide a useful tool for monitoring pollution levels in waterways and assessing ecological risks to aquatic life. "It is a great honour to win such a prestigious competition. I did not expect it at all. I found out about the competition completely by accident - which makes me appreciate it all the more. I am very happy and looking forward to Stockholm," said the winner of this year's national round.

The public prize, decided by a vote on the website, went to Šimon Mach from the Havlíčkův Brod Gymnasium. His work focused on the use of nanofibres for the extraction of biologically active substances.

The final round in Stockholm will be divided into three parts. Competitors must submit a paper written in English, complete an online interview and present a poster on site. The winner will be decided by an international jury who will evaluate the written work and the subsequent interview. The winner of the international round will win USD 15,000, a trophy and a diploma.

The Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP) is an international project that brings together high school students interested in water and sustainability. Each year, thousands of students from more than thirty countries compete for the best work that is directly or indirectly related to water. The Czech Republic has been participating in the competition since 2022, the national round is coordinated by Mendel University in Brno. The winner of the national round represents his or her project, school and the Czech Republic in the international round in Stockholm. There, the work is judged by a jury of international experts. The prize is presented to the winning student or team by the patron of the competition, Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden.