Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

tree planting

Ontario man has planted 40,000 trees on his farm over 51 years — and he's not done yet

Ontario man has planted 40,000 trees on his farm over 51 years — and he's not done yet

After buying the farm, by the mid-1970s, Dobson had assembled his own herd of beef cattle. He noticed that the water in the stream that crossed his property was declining in quality and quantity. The banks had eroded and the elm trees nearby had died of Dutch elm disease. He planted a tree buffer along the stream and added solar-powered pumping systems. Some of the trees are now 30 or 40 feet tall. The water is cleaner, which leads to healthier, happier cattle and more wildlife. “Now the banks are more like a sponge,” he says. “If there’s a heavy rain, it goes into the ground, The water is cleansed of nutrients and slowly released.

Tree planting can reduce flood risk, say wildlife and watershed groups

Tree planting can reduce flood risk, say wildlife and watershed groups

Simon Mitchell of the World Wildlife Fund and Natalie Deseta of the Nashwaak Watershed Association say planting trees, shrubs and grasses along the river and its tributaries can help reduce the risk of bad flooding in spring and from extreme rain events. "When we're thinking about flooding," said Mitchell, "our biggest issue is the frequency and intensity at which these events come." Mitchell is a habitat specialist who studies the St. John River and a vice president with the Canadian WWF based in the Nackawic area.

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