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

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How one Alberta teacher helps kids manage their climate anxiety

How one Alberta teacher helps kids manage their climate anxiety

When 10-year-old Kade Steiger grows up, he wants to have a family. But climate change worries him a little. "What's their daily lives going to be, what's their children's daily lives going to be like for generations to come?" he said during an interview with What On Earth host Laura Lynch. Kade (above photo, right) is a Grade 5 student at Dr. Ken Sauer School in Medicine Hat, Alta., and his worries aren't unusual. Recent research shows that nearly 80 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 16 and 25 say climate change impacts their overall mental health. 

Fluoride in drinking water not associated with emotional, behavioural issues in kids: study

Fluoride in drinking water not associated with emotional, behavioural issues in kids: study

Childhood exposure to fluoride through public tap water isn’t associated with any emotional or behavioural issues, nor any negative executive functioning in adolescent years, according to a new study from Australia. Researchers looked at more than 2,600 children in a longitudinal study that compared children who had spent their lives drinking fluoridated tap water with those who hadn’t, in order to see if exposure to fluoride in drinking water had any negative impacts.

In their own words: Our favourite quotations from 2021

In their own words: Our favourite quotations from 2021

“You can imagine how terrible it is for me. I was out there, trusting the science, telling people that they should be drinking the water. I was drinking the water, my kids were drinking the water, you know, we’re bathing in it.”— Iqaluit Mayor Kenny Bell on initially telling residents that the city’s tap water was safe, when it was later found to be contaminated with fuel

‘Water is life’ teaches new Syilx children’s book series

‘Water is life’ teaches new Syilx children’s book series

A new children’s book series by a Syilx and Nlaka’pamux author is teaching kids about the importance of water as a living entity and how to protect it. “It was significant and important for me to write this series because water is life. I wanted to create awareness of water practices and policies, to ensure that it’s protected,” says author Harron Hall. The four-book series, titled Follow the Water, will launch on Feb. 5, and marks Harron’s publishing debut.

First Nations communities pursue clean drinking water through the courts

First Nations communities pursue clean drinking water through the courts

This time of year, with the temperature plunging below -20 C, a snowmobile and an ice chisel are required tools for anyone in Tataskweyak Cree Nation in need of fresh water. There’s the bottled stuff, trucked into town courtesy of the federal government, but the weekly shipment of 1,500 cases is only sufficient to meet basic consumption needs. For cleaning, cooking and basic hygiene water, many residents need a supplementary source. And rather than use their tainted tap water, they follow a snowmobile trail several kilometres to Assean Lake, pails in hand.

Northern Alberta hamlet evacuating residents after water plant shut down

Northern Alberta hamlet evacuating residents after water plant shut down

Leadership in a northern Alberta hamlet will be evacuating about 150 people after a chemical mix-up at the community's water plant. Vern Janvier, chief of the Prairie Chipewyan First Nation, said the First Nation decided on Monday to offer residents who rely on piped water the option of leaving their homes.  There are 107 houses on the system, and Janvier said from one to six people live in each house. He anticipates there will be between 150 and 200 evacuees. 

Oneida Nation of the Thames tap water different than neighbouring non-Indigenous communities

Oneida Nation of the Thames tap water different than neighbouring non-Indigenous communities

ONEIDA NATION OF THE THAMES — Jennifer George’s home sits on a gravel road that separates this Indigenous community near London, Ont., from the neighbouring township of Southwold. On George’s side of the road, virtually no one trusts the drinking water that flows from the Thames River to their homes. Many have the same 18-litre blue jugs that line the floor of George’s kitchen, ubiquitous sources of water for drinking and cooking.

Contigo Kids Cleanable Water Bottles Recalled In Canada Due To Choking Hazard

Contigo Kids Cleanable Water Bottles Recalled In Canada Due To Choking Hazard

Parents, check your cupboards, backpacks, cars, and everywhere else you keep water bottles. Health Canada recalled a popular brand of water bottles for kids on Tuesday due to a choking hazard. About 157,000 units of the affected Contigo Kids Cleanable Water Bottles, which are sold individually as well as in two- and three-packs, were sold in Canada. About 5.7 million were sold in the U.S.

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