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.
David Price hates when it rains. "It's just anxiety and stress," said the Orléans man, who for the past eight years has seen his Harvest Crescent backyard fill up with water whenever there's a downpour. The issue has to do with a city-owned culvert behind Price's home that he says is spilling water into his yard. When he bought the house in 2014, it wasn't a huge problem — but Price said it's been getting worse each year since then.
Experts are hoping World Wetlands Day gets people interested in protecting the shrinking ecosystems in Canada’s wetlands. Wetlands, both temporary and permanent, serve as a natural filter for larger bodies of water, replenish renewable water resources and serve as a home to many species. "The wetlands do all these things and it's pretty easy to forget that," said Peter Leavitt, Canada Research Chair. Jeff Olson, managing director at Citizens Environmental Alliance, said it is important to remember all the good these areas do, but to also mourn the ones we have lost.
