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.
The swamps of the Minesing Wetlands, a 15,000-acre area about 15 kilometres west of Barrie, Ont., are not the most immediately welcoming of places. Convincing someone to spend a day exploring the thick, forested marshes—with clouds of mosquitoes in the air and bloodsucking leeches in the water—isn’t easy. I should know. I’ve been trying to convince friends to join me on a trip there for years. Again and again, my attempts are met with two questions: why would I visit, and why should I care?
Across Canada, people have been ramping up their efforts to protect our planet. In 2021, Indigenous communities, donors, land owners and all levels of government came together with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) to protect more than 200 square kilometres of wetlands, beaches, forests and prairie. These big, bold projects are vital to tackling the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. We saw heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and severe floods in the past year. Nature conservation projects give me hope for restoring a healthy planet where people can thrive, despite the gravity of these crises.
Amid all the heartening and hope-filled ways Canadians have resolved to make 2021 a year of positive change, one in particular holds water: the commitment to saving our wetlands. Leading up to 2021, the Government of Canada promised to make significant investments in our environment-and in the wetlands that underpin its health. Today, this commitment must be among our greatest convictions. Our ability to address the colliding crises of biodiversity loss and climate change depend on it. So does our economic recovery.
