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.
The research these youth snorkelers are partaking in is part of an Indigenous-led project to map the coastal waters of Átl’ḵa7tsem, once polluted by industry, but now teeming with fish. For centuries, Indigenous communities have had their traditional knowledge and cultural traditions overlooked, if not erased. That’s reflected in the conventional maps of Canada.
New Brunswickers can now zoom in to a visual image of their homes, neighbourhoods and communities to see how likely it is that climate change will create a risk of flooding over the next several decades. The provincial government has released a new interactive provincial flood map showing different river and coastal flooding scenarios for today and for 2100.
