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.
A group of engineering students says it's found a way to make drinking fountains available year-round in Toronto, and is calling on the city to pour out the funds to make that vision a reality. The solution sprang from a University of Toronto class project on technology for global development, where five students were tasked with finding a way to make drinking fountains operational throughout the year.
Students and teachers from Beaverlodge Regional High School took part in a youth leadership summit earlier this month focused on aspects related to the climate, water, and energy. From March 16th to 19th the members of the Beaverlodge high school along with students and teachers from 19 other schools across Alberta and northeast British Columbia took part in the 2023 Generate/Navigate Youth Leadership Summit in Canmore where they had the opportunity to learn from and listen to experts in these areas. The summit also included a series of hands-on energy and water-focused workshops, wind turbine model-building, water DNA extractions, and guided tours of hydroelectric dams.
Tamara Brass lives at the Key First Nation. She told Yorkton This Week she enrolled in the course because of an interest in how people were accessing their water. On the Key First Nation Brass said about 80 per cent of residences access water through a treatment plant not unlike the one in Yorkton, only on a much smaller scale. The remaining residences have their own source of water. The Yorkton plant tour was one Brass said she found interesting in terms of the level of maintenance and testing employed to ensure water quality, adding it was good to get a look at what happens “behind the scenes” in terms of water quality.
For the fourth year, Plains Midstream Canada has supported the St. Clair Region Conservation Authority’s (SCRCA) Spring Water Awareness Program (SWAP) with a $5,000 donation. Held throughout the month of April, the program teaches students about the hazards of spring floodwaters. “Through our annual Spring Water Awareness Program, we talk with students about the potentially dangerous conditions associated with streams and rivers during the spring, and provide them with safety guidelines,” stated Melissa Levi, Conservation Education Coordinator at the SCRCA, in a media release.
Peterborough Regional Science Fair winners experiment with vegetation sanitation, microplastics in Jackson Creek, green detergents and colour perception. Five Peterborough youth science enthusiasts are heading to the Canada-Wide Science Fair after winning for their projects at the Peterborough Regional Science Fair last week. The science fair was held virtually again due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The winners were revealed Wednesday in a ceremony held over Zoom.
At the beginning of this semester, Gordon’s students have turned their attention to water issues within Canada. Half of the class’s fundraising efforts will go towards Canadian charity Water First, which works exclusively with Indigenous communities in the country. The other half will go towards field trips for the students. “Their goal is to help address water issues and prevent water advisories such as boil water advisories,” Gordon said. “They fund and operate an internship program to work with young Indigenous people to train them to become certified water treatment plant operators, and also help fund water restoration projects in Indigenous communities.” She added the NGO also works with schools in Indigenous communities to offer programs that help school-age children learn about water conservation and restoration.
There are yellow fish in the Nepahwin Lake watershed, but they’re not in the water. With brushes and stencils in hand, Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School students have painted yellow fish symbols with the words ‘Rain Only’ on area storm drains. It’s all part of Trout Unlimited Canada’s Yellow Fish Road education campaign and a collaborative project by Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School, the Junction Creek Stewardship Committee and the Nepahwin Lake Watershed Stewardship Group, with support from the City of Greater Sudbury Lake Stewardship Grant Program.
Students returning to class this week at schools in the Thames Valley District School Board will notice a change in protocol: Hand washing at classroom sinks is now a no-no. The new rule is a result of water damage board staff noticed in December on the cabinetry that surrounds classroom sinks. Last fall, students were washing their hands frequently as part of protocols to curb the spread of COVID-19. Students were using the classroom sinks so much, the wood cabinetry was being stained and discoloured due to water damage.
A new children’s book series by a Syilx and Nlaka’pamux author is teaching kids about the importance of water as a living entity and how to protect it. “It was significant and important for me to write this series because water is life. I wanted to create awareness of water practices and policies, to ensure that it’s protected,” says author Harron Hall. The four-book series, titled Follow the Water, will launch on Feb. 5, and marks Harron’s publishing debut.
A group of Grade 7 students delivered some shocking results to the Region of Queens Municipality council meeting December 22. The South Queens Middle School students had been working on a Social Studies project to test fecal bacteria, or enterococci, levels in the Mersey River. The students found readings of between 230 and 340 enterococci to 100 millilitres of water. Under Health Canada regulations, it is not advisable to swim in water where there is 70 enterococci/100 ml. And at 170 enterococci/100 ml, the water should not touch skin.
Students plan to launch a second letter-writing campaign in the new year addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller calling for clean running water for First Nations communities. The letter campaign is called "We haven't forgotten you," said Frank Pio, the school board's Indigenous education teacher. "It's really unfair that they don't get safe water to drink," Comazzi said.
A new University of Saskatchewan smartphone app will help farmers and communities identify hotspots of nutrient contamination in freshwaters and possibly predict where algae blooms — slimy, plant-like green organisms that hinder water quality — are likely to grow. “Tracking how and where agricultural nutrients, which help crops grow, may be washed away with rainfalls and snowmelt is a major concern for both researchers and the public, and that’s where our app comes in,” said Environment and Climate Change Canada scientist Diogo Costa.
Over a thousand people poured into the streets of downtown Winnipeg Friday to bring attention to the dozens of First Nations across Canada currently under boil water advisories. Roughly 1,100 people, including more than 800 students from the Seven Oaks School Division, took part, organizers estimate. Carrying signs, the demonstrators walked from city hall down Main Street to Portage Avenue, and then up Memorial Boulevard, before ending at the Manitoba Legislative Building.
A group of water experts, students and former councillors is urging the City of Ottawa to ban bottled water in all its arenas and facilities. The Ottawa Water Study Action Group(OWSAG)gathered at City Hall on Monday to both celebrate the quality of local drinking water and ask the city to get out of the plastic water bottle business. "Ottawa tap water is terrific, it is much better than bottle water," said former city councillor Diane Holmes at the meeting.
