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.
Severe drought, wildfires, flooding and landslides in British Columbia last year show that responding to climate change requires focusing on water and strengthening natural defences provided by healthy watersheds, an expert says. “We’ve all learned that climate crisis is a water crisis,” said Oliver Brandes, co-director of the University of Victoria’s POLIS Project on Ecological Governance.
