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.
Water is life, water is food, leave no one behind. That’s the theme of a conference taking place in Vancouver Monday that brings together experts and policymakers to tackle water scarcity, and to find ways to protect this vital resource as the planet heats up from global warming. UBC, SFU and the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization are hosting the official North America World Food Day event at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue.
While some experts say the government is doing a good job harnessing the economic potential of the so-called blue economy, there’s also room to grow in an important file that impacts diverse and marginalized communities. The “blue economy” is an “economy driven by sustainable, ocean resources, and accounts,” according to the federal government, and refers the ways in which oceans and water “can contribute to the economy in a sustainable way,” Hannah Kacary wrote for the Environmental Careers Organization (ECO) of Canada.
