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.
Good afternoon, and welcome to Globe Climate, a newsletter about climate change, environment and resources in Canada. Just like animals and humans, plants need water to survive. Plants get the water they need from their roots. Root systems are designed to go deep into the soil and absorb water and nutrients. As the kids go back to school, we can make sure the environment is on their mind at home too. For this kids’ activity, let them investigate: How does water move up a plant?
Eileen Delehanty Pearkes has been researching and writing about the history and politics of water in the upper Columbia Basin since 2005. Her book on the Columbia River Treaty, A River Captured, was released in 2016. Pearkes has agreed to help readers of The Nelson Daily understand the importance of the Columbia River Treaty to the region in her column River Talk. Today, Pearkes writes about the push from 21 members of the United States Congress for President Joe Biden to get his administration involved in Treaty negotiations.
“They cut corners every day, every day,” said Justin Gee, vice-president of First Nations Engineering Services Ltd. Gee said he encountered these recurring problems while overseeing the work of a construction firm, Kingdom Construction Limited (KCL), building a water treatment plant 10 years ago in Wasauksing First Nation, along the eastern shore of Georgian Bay, about 250 kilometres north of Toronto. “You have to be on them every step of the way,” said Gee, who was the contract administrator on the project. “You can’t leave them on their own.”
