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.
Students at Nicola Canford Elementary School (NCES) are doing their part to ensure all Canadians have access to safe, clean drinking water by launching a fundraiser in partnership with Water First, a Canadian charity that raises money for Indigenous communities in Canada without safe drinking water. “As part of our curricular work, we have accessed water testing kits from safewater.org and their teaching resources,” said Bergmann.
