“Sustaining Our Freshwater” for today and tomorrow

by Alana Coulombe, Education programs administrator By understanding the importance of Canada’s freshwater supply, we can work together to protect this natural resource for generations to come. Canada holds one-fifth of the world’s total freshwater resources yet only about 7% of this global supply is renewable freshwater (Environment and Climate Change Canada [ECCC], 2013). Additionally, an estimated 60% of Canada’s freshwater supply drains to the north, while about 85% of the population ... Read More

by Alana Coulombe, Education programs administrator The frequency and magnitude of blue-green algal blooms continue to rise across Canada and are expected to be further exacerbated by the impacts of climate change and traditional land use practices. The rise in cyanobacterial blooms brings about health, social, economic, and supply problems in the availability of Canada’s freshwater resources (Codd et al., 2017).  What is blue-green algae? Blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, are ... Read More

by Samantha Cunningham, Ecological technician Landscaping your property can be as simple or as complex as you need. Landscaping is a diverse science, meaning that there are many different directions you can research, so we are going to focus on the sub-discipline of landscape engineering. For us this entails assessing what the current state of the property is and seeing where we can improve. Today’s target? Managing runoff on shoreline properties. Through this blog we will walk through ... Read More

by Andres Clavier, Freshwater Stewardship Education Intern Canada’s diverse ecosystems, stretching from temperate rainforests to arid grasslands, host an extraordinary variety of flora and fauna. Among these ecosystems, wildfires are a recurring phenomenon, casting a shadow of destruction and regrowth across the landscape (Buma & Wessman, 2011). While the sight of raging wildfires invokes images of devastation, they are a vital component of these ecosystems, contributing to the ... Read More

by Alana Coulombe, Education programs administrator Participating in Love Your Lake is a great way to gauge the health of your lake and become a steward of your local freshwater! Over the past 10 years, Watersheds Canada and the Canadian Wildlife Federation have been proud to support waterfront communities coast to coast across Canada through the Love Your Lake program. Lakes and rivers are the most sustainable source of freshwater and are essential for ecological function and social ... Read More

by Alana Coulombe, Education programs administrator What does it mean to love your lake? Loving your lake as a place to enjoy swimming, fishing, boating, and exploring requires a commitment to care for and respect its natural wonders. You can love your lake in many different ways! As freshwater stewards, we can show our love and appreciation for lakes by enhancing and protecting their natural features. Despite being called "the water planet", more than 99% of Earth’s water is unusable by ... Read More

by Alana Coulombe, Education programs administrator Canadians have experienced a devastating start to spring this year, with almost every province and territory being upturned by wildfires. Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair recently announced nearly 440 fires have burned 3.9 million hectares of forest which is more than 13 times the 10-year average for this time of year (The Canadian Press, 2023). Wildfires can sometimes be a natural part of the ecosystem that contribute to forest ... Read More

by Alana Coulombe, Education programs administrator Watersheds Canada is honoured to be accepted as a member of the Ontario Biodiversity Council! The Ontario Biodiversity Council was created in 2005 and represents conservation and environmental groups, industry associations, Indigenous organizations, natural history institutions, academia, and government agencies. Watersheds Canada and the Ontario Biodiversity Council recognize the importance of biodiversity and are taking steps to conserve ... Read More

by Jane Pangilinan, Digital Engagement Technician Community involvement is important to building connections with nature. That is why the Ottawa Faith Community Capacity Building (OFCCB) initiative, a collaboration between Greening Sacred Spaces and Watersheds Canada, is made to connect 6 faith communities with the environment and with each other. Watersheds Canada and Greening Sacred Spaces is helping these communities bring an environmental project to life. In an effort to overcome ... Read More

Thanks to generous funding from Canada Summer Jobs, Watersheds Canada is able to grow our staff team and deliver critical on-the-ground programming this summer! We are excited to welcome back some summer students this year, including Alana, Tanice, and Cole, and welcome new summer students, Ty and Jonathan. Let's meet the students! Alana - Education programs administrator Alana is a student at the University of Guelph majoring in Bio-Medical Science with a minor in Neuroscience. She loves ... Read More