Another region in Canada is launching a public and open-access hub for water data. Joining the Mackenzie region, Atlantic DataStream will be your one-stop shop for data on water quality in Atlantic Canada. With over 20 groups, including NGOs, federal, and municipal governments, and First Nations feeding into the hub, it will become the most comprehensive and […]
Atlantic Canada to get new open-access data hub Read More »
Thanks to our members for completing our 2018 Our Living Waters Priorities survey. 77% responded, giving us confidence that these priorities are truly reflective of OLW Network members. Here’s a summary of what you told us. Taking additional input from our OLW 2030 Fund Advisory Committee, and by analyzing where there was sufficient work happening
2018-19 Network Priorities Read More »
After almost two years of consultation, last month, the federal government tabled two bills in the House of Commons that will make significant changes to two of Canada’s oldest and most important laws for freshwater protection. Reforms to the Fisheries Act and the Navigation Protection Act are part of a broader effort by the federal government to reform Canada’s
Freshwater groups at forefront of efforts to modernize federal environmental laws Read More »
As British Columbian families evacuate their homes amidst out of control wildfires, news of toxic algae blooms in Canadian lakes and oceans spread. Both coming shortly on the heels of spring rains which caused floods in communities across the country. There’s no doubt that climate change is starting to bite, and it’s using water as its
Are Canadian cities ready for a changing climate? Read More »
On June 13th we hosted WWF-Canada as they launched the first comprehensive report on the health of Canada’s freshwater ecosystems. 5-years in the making, this assessment reviews Canada’s 25 major watersheds and 167 sub-watersheds for detailed data that together paints an important picture on the health of waters. The full webinar can now be viewed
How healthy are Canada’s waters? Read More »
It may seem cliché but no saying is more true than “Water is Life”. Water unites us. It connects our communities. It fuels our economies. Unfortunately, we continue to take water for granted. Its connecting force, its fuel, its life force exists in each of our subconscious. We know its value but we don’t always
Building communities connected to water Read More »
We seem to collectively know that ‘water is life.’ But most of us do not take action to protect or defend it. That is likely because we do not feel as though our waters are at risk and where they are at risk, we generally have a poor understanding of the threats to health. Lake
The binary of economy and environment Read More »
People inherently believe that communities impacted by unhealthy waters (or threats to healthy waters) should have a say in decisions that impact those waters. In parallel, they respond strongly when it is felt that companies have greater impact on decisions then local residents – the support generated when it was proposed that Nestlé had greater
What does a good relationship with water look like? Read More »
This whole conversation on the current dominant narrative around freshwater health in Canada points to both challenges and opportunities that as non-profit freshwater champions we need to embrace, to both alter the dominant narrative (that freshwater values exist in our subconscious, that acting to protect water results in negative economic decisions and that we don’t
A changing water narrative – how will we know? Read More »
Living Lakes Canada, Acadia University and Simon Fraser University released a Snapshot of Community Based Monitoring in Canada. The report provides a valuable landscape scan on: reasons for CBM; monitoring locations; funding for CBM; monitoring parameters; integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge; managing CBM data; informing policy; and working collaboratively in CBM efforts.
Snapshot of Community-Based Water Monitoring in Canada Read More »
