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.
Researchers at the University of Lethbridge (U of L) have received funding for new work focused on potatoes. Through the Agriculture Funding Consortium, the U of L researchers are getting nearly $250,000 to improve sustainable potato production. They will do this by looking at ways to reduce disease in the field and in storage, and to increase production while minimizing the use of resources.
A new scientific study on controversial metallurgical coal mines being proposed in southern Alberta’s famed eastern slopes says that the open-pit mines will leave a massive and irreversible footprint on water quality and quantity in the arid region. “Our study has identified significant risks to water quality and quantity and biological diversity in the Oldman River watershed,” Brad Stelfox, the lead author, told The Tyee. Stelfox is the province’s most prominent land use ecologist and founder of the ALCES group which models impact of human activity on natural systems over time.
