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.
Environmental advocates say a proposed suburban development in southeast Calgary would be built on a environmentally sensitive area. There are concerns construction could mean the destruction of thriving natural wetlands and a riparian area along the Bow River. Ricardo Ranch is a 570-hectare area south of Seton. Its area structure plan was approved by city council in 2019. In July, the city gave the green light for three communities in Ricardo Ranch: Seton Ridge, Logan Landing and Nostalgia.
In the Canadian Prairies, wetland drainage has resulted in the loss of more than 40 percent of natural wetlands. The impacts associated with this drainage are largely unmitigated. Wetlands are key ecosystem features that provide numerous services, like water purification, that are integral to social and ecological systems. Because wetlands occur largely in depressions, they regulate stream flow by acting as reservoirs for snow and rain, and many are places where groundwater can be replenished. In the prairie climate, the presence of water lends these systems to being a crucial habitat for many organisms.
