Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
With both feet sinking into damp dirt, urban planner Pascale Rouillé surveys a narrow strip of land that will soon be used to not only retain runoff, but also be bursting with greenery that the community can enjoy. Tucked in next to a warehouse known as Bâtiment 7 in the Montreal neighbourhood of Pointe-Saint-Charles, near the intersection of Le Ber and Sainte-Madeleine streets, the terrain will become what has been dubbed a "blue-green alley."
