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.
This year, for the first time in its more than 50-year history, the beloved Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa didn't open. Since its inaugural season in 1971, the famous canal-turned-rink has welcomed Ottawans and other visitors every year, offering a skating route of nearly eight kilometres through the heart of the capital. But this year, temperatures were higher than average, making the world's largest natural outdoor rink unsafe for skating.
During an event earlier this month, writers from four coastal cities — Vancouver, New York, Mumbai and Tokyo — typed out their thoughts about the prospect of rising sea levels. Their words were projected on a large screen in Vancouver's Olympic Village, and a youth choir sang them out to the public. In addition, a photography project on display showed how residents imagine they may be impacted by rising sea levels in and around False Creek. The choir and photography were part of an event marking the end of the first phase of the Sea2City Design Challenge, a City of Vancouver project that aims to look at how the city can adapt to rising sea levels — particularly in the False Creek floodplain — and address the social, economic and ecological impacts coastal flooding will have in the future.
Science, art, and the great outdoors. Megan Leung describes these three things as her greatest passions in life. Growing up in Mohkinstsis — on the traditional territories of the Treaty 7 region, located in the Canadian Rockies of Southern Alberta — the hydrologist, artist, and MSc geography student at the University of Calgary has always been in awe of her surroundings. It’s a love that inspired both her art and her academic path. For years though, Leung felt those passions were completely divergent parts of her life.
Following in the footsteps of Autumn Peltier, Canada’s Chief Water Commissioner who is leading the way for future generations, the OPSEU/SEFPO Indigenous Circle’s Water Campaign Committee is looking for youth to express their concerns over the ongoing water crisis in Ontario and across Canada. Are you between the ages of 4-25 years old? Do you like to draw and express yourself through artistic medium? Then, this contest is for you!
