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.
Rodrigo Silva de Paula calls himself a "water man": he spends about 330 days a year in the ocean teaching paddle boarding. But high E. coli levels in some of Vancouver's beaches are testing his patience. "It is frustrating because it is not the first time it has happened," said the 44-year-old who lives in Vancouver. Silva de Paula is one of many residents calling on the city to do more to keep beaches safe from the bacteria.
Dozens of volunteers cleaned up several Vancouver beaches Sunday morning after they were left littered with cans, bottles and garbage overnight. Beaches in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood and at English Bay, which are typically kept clean even during peak season, were both left with unusual amounts of trash on the hottest weekend of summer weather thus far. Locals who volunteered to clean up the mess said they were upset about all the trash. "I'm really disappointed to see it to be honest," said Kassandra Sison as she picked up litter at English Bay. "We're probably going to get at least half a dozen [garbage bags] if not a full dozen if we keep going."
