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.
Warm weather that melted snow and rain over the weekend has weakened ice on local waterways, including the Grand River, which could lead to ice jams and unexpected flooding, the Grand River Conservation Authority warns. There is an increased "potential for rapidly changing conditions" on local waterways, the authority said in a flood watch message Monday.
Mary Anne Caibaiosai completed her four year commitment to walk the length of the Grand River from its source near Dundalk, to the mouth of the river in the Dunnville and Port Maitland area at Lake Erie and then back. The All Nations Grand River Walk started out in 2018. Caibaiosai started out leading a core group of people that grew to a larger group for the two week journey that September. Each year, more people have joined the walk where they've met people in various communities who wanted to know more about what the group was doing.
