Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

Niagara-on-the-Lake

These 3 men are paddle boarding across Lake Ontario to 'stand up' for the Great Lakes

These 3 men are paddle boarding across Lake Ontario to 'stand up' for the Great Lakes

Corey Adkins, 52, communication and content director of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, said the crossing will raise awareness of the Great Lakes. He has followed the group and produced documentaries on their work. Problems on the Great Lakes vary from algal blooms to microplastics, he said. "They are all in trouble in one form or another," he said. "What these guys do is bring awareness of the problems of each lake. The mission that these guys are on is very important."

Niagara-on-the-Lake gets Ds and Fs for water quality in annual Watershed Report Card

Niagara-on-the-Lake gets Ds and Fs for water quality in annual Watershed Report Card

If you bring home a report card with grades like D, C-, B, and in some spots D and F you know you would have some explaining to do. The Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA) recently released the 2023 Watershed Report Card, a checkup on the health of the Niagara Peninsula watershed, focusing on surface and groundwater quality, forest conditions, and watershed features.

‘Without water, none of us would be here’: Great Lakes protection project kicks off in Niagara-on-the-Lake

‘Without water, none of us would be here’: Great Lakes protection project kicks off in Niagara-on-the-Lake

Serendipity seemed to strike the participants in an Indigenous water ceremony in Niagara-on-the-Lake, held by the Niagara River — the ceremony kicking off a project that's all about just how important water is for us all. As participants raised their voices in song, rain starting falling on them outside the Fort George National Historic Site’s navy hall — which did not go uncommented on by the ceremony’s leader, Linda Manitowabi of Wiikwemkoong First Nation.

The two times the water stopped flowing over Niagara Falls

The two times the water stopped flowing over Niagara Falls

The majesty that is Niagara Falls has had its, well, less majestic moments over the past two centuries. In fact, twice the falls have dried up completely – once stopped by nature and the second time 120 years later, it was stopped by man. Way back on March 30, 1848, the falls went down to a trickle, leaving local American and Canadians citizens on both sides puzzled. Given the limited technology and means of communication at the time – Alexander Graham Bell didn’t invent the telephone until 1876 – no one knew why it simply stopped.

Water levels at Lake Ontario and Lake Erie on a downward trend

Water levels at Lake Ontario and Lake Erie on a downward trend

Water levels are trending in a positive direction. Ryan Kitchen, water resources technician with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA), said water levels for Lake Ontario and Lake Erie so far in 2021 are going down and they’re below their record highs from 2019. In data provided by the Environment and Climate Change Canada, Lake Ontario in the month of February was eight centimetres below its long-term monthly average and 59 centimetres below February 2020 levels.

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