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.
In Canada, centring conservation with the country's indigenous peoples is allowing its original stewards to reconnect to their land and culture – and proving remarkably effective. Every year, when the frozen streams have melted and greenery emerges after months of winter stillness, Dolcy Meness knows it's time. Packing their truck, she and a colleague set off through the densely forested hills of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg territory, an Algonquin First Nation in the province of Quebec.
Microclimates exist all around us. It may be that side of a city that always seems to be a little warmer, or always gets more snow. Think about Calgary, with its rain shadow from the mountains and chinook winds, or downtown Vancouver, which generally is warmer and sees less snow than surrounding areas. Microclimates can range in scale from the urban heat island effect that encompasses an entire downtown, right down to the sides of your yard that are able to grow different things.
Though models indicate an overall increase in precipitation, future droughts and soil moisture deficits are projected to be more frequent and intense across the southern Canadian Prairies during summer by the end of the century under a high-emission scenario. So how does that work? When you look at the water supply chapter of our changing climate, timing is very important. David Sauchyn, director of the Prairie Adaptation Research Collaborative at the University of Regina, is a lead author of a report detailing the changes we can expect in the Prairies as our climate warms.
A group dedicated to protecting Canada’s freshwater is looking for citizen scientists to keep an eye on Lake Erie. The Canadian Freshwater Alliance is seeking 40 volunteers to become a Lake Erie Guardian who will test samples from the lake’s watershed. Testing will be done once a month from April to October with kits provided by Water Rangers, a non-profit group that records and analyzes water data. “Partnering with Water Rangers is new in terms of this initiative,” said Raj Gill, who oversees programs for the Great Lakes on behalf of the Alliance. “This is big growth for us.”
