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.
The swamps of the Minesing Wetlands, a 15,000-acre area about 15 kilometres west of Barrie, Ont., are not the most immediately welcoming of places. Convincing someone to spend a day exploring the thick, forested marshes—with clouds of mosquitoes in the air and bloodsucking leeches in the water—isn’t easy. I should know. I’ve been trying to convince friends to join me on a trip there for years. Again and again, my attempts are met with two questions: why would I visit, and why should I care?
Experts are hoping World Wetlands Day gets people interested in protecting the shrinking ecosystems in Canada’s wetlands. Wetlands, both temporary and permanent, serve as a natural filter for larger bodies of water, replenish renewable water resources and serve as a home to many species. "The wetlands do all these things and it's pretty easy to forget that," said Peter Leavitt, Canada Research Chair. Jeff Olson, managing director at Citizens Environmental Alliance, said it is important to remember all the good these areas do, but to also mourn the ones we have lost.
