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

freshwaters

These invasive jellyfish are the size of a thumbnail — and they're making a new home in B.C.

These invasive jellyfish are the size of a thumbnail — and they're making a new home in B.C.

The next time you dip your toes into a lake in British Columbia, you might want to take a closer look at the water. That's because an invasive species of jellyfish believed to be native to southeast China, Craspedacusta sowerbii, is making a new home for itself in B.C.'s freshwaters. "We know they are there. We know they are potentially widespread. But before we go a step further, we need to know what they do and then we can talk about that," said Florian Lüskow, a University of British Columbia PhD candidate and researcher.

Young Innovators: New U of S app tracks causes of algae bloom

Young Innovators: New U of S app tracks causes of algae bloom

A new University of Saskatchewan smartphone app will help farmers and communities identify hotspots of nutrient contamination in freshwaters and possibly predict where algae blooms — slimy, plant-like green organisms that hinder water quality — are likely to grow. “Tracking how and where agricultural nutrients, which help crops grow, may be washed away with rainfalls and snowmelt is a major concern for both researchers and the public, and that’s where our app comes in,” said Environment and Climate Change Canada scientist Diogo Costa.

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