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.
School of Environment and Sustainability
Dr. Jeffrey McDonnell (PhD) says he is “bursting with gratitude” after being awarded the title of distinguished professor. McDonnell—the associate director of the Global Institute for Water Security (GIWS) and a professor in the School of Environment and Sustainability (SENS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask)—was one of seven USask faculty members to be named a distinguished professor in 2022.
The new equipment will help Dr. Helen Baulch (PhD) examine specifics of how extreme Prairie weather and seasonality affects water security in a region that has long fought to maintain water quality. Dr. Asmahan AbuArish (PhD) will work to uncover the key molecular players behind cases of inflammatory pulmonary disease, using fluorescence imaging and molecular biophysics expertise. Dr. Jenny-Lee Thomassin (PhD) will use specialized technology to better understand bacteria proliferation in complex real-world environments.
Just ask University of Saskatchewan (USask) researchers Drs. Markus Brinkmann (PhD), John Giesy (PhD) and Kerry McPhedran (PhD), who have been analyzing wastewater and stormwater flows in Saskatoon, Prince Albert, North Battleford, and five First Nations communities, to uncover many of those stories. Their findings encompass everything from infectious diseases to biomarkers for such conditions as diabetes and heart disease, to the consumption of recreational drugs in a community. The analyses can even provide information on such things as how much red meat a community consumes or pinpoint a city block where a crack house is located.
