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

Sherbrooke

Smaller Canadian cities rank high on environmental scorecard that has a few surprises

Smaller Canadian cities rank high on environmental scorecard that has a few surprises

A new environmental scorecard says Canada's biggest cities have lower scores than most small and medium-sized municipalities, but a closer look at the data reveals some surprises. The study, published Tuesday in the journal Environment International, rates 30 of the country's largest cities and towns on nine indicators related to health, including air quality, heat and cold waves, ultraviolet radiation, and access to green spaces. The results are compiled in the new Canadian Environmental Quality Index, produced by Dalhousie University in Halifax.

N.S. wants to clean up a contaminated former gold mine — if only it could figure out who owns the land

N.S. wants to clean up a contaminated former gold mine — if only it could figure out who owns the land

The Nova Scotia government wants to acquire one of the province's two most contaminated historical gold mines so it can clean it up. The Goldenville site, located near Sherbrooke on the Eastern Shore, was the most productive of Nova Scotia's 64 historical gold mine districts. It was mined from 1862 to 1941 and included as many as 19 different open pit and underground mines.

Fighting zebra mussels in the Eastern Townships

Fighting zebra mussels in the Eastern Townships

Blue Massawippi, a non-profit based in the Eastern Townships, gets its name from the lake it's been protecting since it was created in 1968. These days, the group of volunteer conservationists watching over the Massawippi, one of three major lakes between Sherbrooke, Que., and the Vermont border, is in the fight of its life. "For the first time this year, in October, we found some zebra mussels on our collectors [in Lake Massawippi]," said Philippe-David Blanchette, one of the organization's directors.

St. Mary’s council won’t take sides on Archibald Lake

St. Mary’s council won’t take sides on Archibald Lake

Council for the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s is staying neutral on the wilderness area status of Archibald Lake, a position that has the president of the local river association accusing them of “shirking their duty.” At last week’s committee of the whole meeting (July 7), councillors neither supported nor opposed the St. Mary’s River Association’s (SMRA’s) year-long campaign to seek provincial protection of Archibald Lake, about 10 kilometres northeast of Sherbrooke, from extractive industries like Atlantic Gold, which wants to build a water-intensive mine at nearby Cochrane Hill.

Canadian officials find PFAS traces in water from Memphremagog

Canadian officials find PFAS traces in water from Memphremagog

Canadian officials have found traces of the emergent pollutant class PFAS in a drinking water intake area connected to Lake Memphremagog. The chemicals, found in water meant for the city of Sherbrooke by Quebec’s environmental ministry last fall, have spurred concern from environmentalists on both sides of the border. The findings add to years-long talks about the border-spanning lake, which flows north and supplies drinking water for more than 175,000 Canadians.

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