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

Western University

Western volunteers use unique method to restore Medway Creek bank

Western volunteers use unique method to restore Medway Creek bank

Volunteers help restore the banks of the creek using live staking, a process of cutting new growth from mature trees and planting those pieces into the ground. The cuttings, called live stakes, eventually will grow into new trees and create a root network to prevent soil loss. Think of it like a house plant, Samuels said. “If you take a cutting from the plant and stick it in water, eventually it will grow roots. That’s kind of what we’re doing with live stakes but it is actually happening all along the watercourse,” he said.

First-of-its-kind map outlines Canada's future flood zones

First-of-its-kind map outlines Canada's future flood zones

The first flood map of its kind demonstrates how low-lying areas of some of Canada’s major cities could become flooded within the next 80 years. The maps were developed by Slobodan Simonovic, engineering professor emeritus and flood-control expert at Western University. Spanning the entire country, they predict flood activity over the next 80 years based on various climate change scenarios caused by global warming. “[This] was the continuation of our interest in understanding better what are the impacts of climate change on natural disasters in general,” Simonovic told CTV News Channel on Sunday. “My part of the project was to look at how flooding will be affected by climate change.”

STEAM power: High schoolers tackle Canada's water woes at SHAD2021

STEAM power: High schoolers tackle Canada's water woes at SHAD2021

High-achieving high schoolers from across the nation are diving into Canada’s fresh water woes this week, hoping to find solutions allowing residents to be “more respectful” of the essential resource. This month, 1,100 Grade 10 and 11 students will gather at universities across Canada – including 60 working virtually at Western University – for SHAD2021. The prestigious enrichment program will see them tackle the “big wicked problem” of water issues, ranging from First Nations boil-water advisories to Lake Erie bacteria blooms.

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