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.
Arctic lands and water aren't what they used to be. Redfern says conditions are less predictable. Annual freeze-ups are happening later, and breakups earlier. Places where ice was once frozen solid are now more precarious. All this is a grim reminder that the consequences of climate change are being felt right now. On Monday, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a harrowing assessment of the planet's present and future climate.
