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.
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One of the drivers of this trend is the Arctic warming effect, a phenomenon that occurs when sea ice and snow, which naturally reflect the sun's heat, melt into sea water. The water then absorbs more solar radiation and warms up. The consequences — longer ice-free seasons, unpredictable weather conditions and warmer waters — are felt at all levels of the Arctic ecosystem's food chain.
