Category:

In late 2017, NALT was approach by a grade 7 teacher and challenged with devising a way to include a marsh adjacent to the school grounds in the stewardship education of the students. “Now embedded as a core component of NALT outreach and education, it is our hope to foster a culture of stewardship through our program by giving students as many opportunities as possible during their time at their school to learn about and explore their local streams and wetlands,” stated Linda Brooymans.

“The Comox Valley Regional District has developed teaching materials to support students in learning about their connections to the Comox Lake watershed, learning what makes a watershed healthy, and learning how to conserve water by using it efficiently at home. The resources are informed by the Watershed Protection Plan, and the Connected by Water project vision, all within the framework of the British Columbia Ministry of Education Curriculum,” stated Christina (Tina) Willard-Stepan.

“It is vitally important that youth learn about their local watersheds, and how to protect, steward, and restore them. And so the Best Water Ways: Watershed Literacy, Stewardship, and Restoration initiative was born. The learning suite was inspired, designed, and developed within the Unceded Traditional Territory of several Hul’qumi’num speaking communities that are part of the far-reaching Coast Salish Nation. Local Indigenous Ecological and Cultural Knowledge in today’s classrooms is invaluable,” stated Stephanie Cottell.

“In the 1970s, the whole-system approach was a core element of my engineering education. This paradigm-shift reflected an emerging awareness of the unintended consequences of land and water servicing practices. In recent decades, however, I believe my profession has only paid lip service to whole-system thinking. In water systems planning and operation, my observation is that whole-system practice is the exception, not the rule. Indigenous peoples remind us that everything is connected. And that is why interweaving our two ways of knowing is foundational to Water Reconciliation,” stated Kim Stephens.

“My question for the Western science world is this: Are you prepared and willing to change your definition of water in science? And if you are, what would the change in definition look like? No longer is it ceremonial. The methodology for Blue Ecology is about the actual work of interweaving the strengths of two cultures to reconcile them. It is time for First Nations to take a seat at environmental policy tables, as respected knowledge keepers who understand and respect water. Indigenous teachings can improve Western science,” stated Michael Blackstock.

Link to livestream on January 20, 2022 beginning at 7pm
Learn how place-based education leads to a stewardship ethic. Learn that Water Reconciliation means interweaving useful threads of Indigenous and Western ways of knowing.

“A common theme that emerged throughout the Watershed Moments series is the need for better integration of the science, knowledge base and governance processes that are currently applied in a somewhat fragmented fashion to the management of natural assets across various levels of government and societal groups. The other general theme is the development and implementation of new analytical or assessment tools and standards that will move the general desire for greater interdisciplinary integration forward,” stated Dr. Kim Hyatt, Fisheries & Oceans Canada.

Emanuel Machado and Tim Pringle agree that the key message to take away from the video of their session is that: “We are looking at a whole system. The natural and built environments are interconnected. Without an ecological system, there are no ecological services.”

“The changes wrought by COVID 19 have allowed NALT and the Partnership for Water Sustainability to dare to be bold in integrating technology platforms and co-host what we anticipate will be a compelling virtual symposium. We are integrating Zoom and YouTube to create a viewing experience that captures the passion, knowledge and wisdom of our team members in conversation. The vision for the Video Trilogy Series is that it will take on a life of its own as a legacy resource that informs, educate and creates understanding,” states David Mackenzie. He is the technical director for production of the series.

The first module in Watershed Moments features a dynamic team comprised of five women. They are leading programs that strive to ‘reconnect land and water in altered landscapes’ in four regional districts on the east coast of Vancouver Island. “The panel delivered a sincere and honest discussion that held viewers’ interest and raised awareness on what is happening with respect to water and watershed protection on Vancouver Island. Job well done. Viewers are certain to tune in to the next symposium,” stated John Finnie via email at the conclusion of the broadcast.