Swim Drink Fish Blog
Read the latest updates and news releases about community science, water monitoring, Artists for Water, and more.
Canadians love their waterways, but is love enough to protect them?
While we may not know the basics about our water, studies show year after year that our most loved and treasured national resource is just that - water. But, our limited knowledge places limitations on our love for water. If we don’t know basic water facts, how can we expect to protect that which we do not understand?
Help us create a Swimmable Lake Ontario
Only a small fraction of Toronto’s waterfront is monitored for water quality. And without water quality information, recreational water users can't make informed decisions to protect their health. So this summer Lake Ontario Waterkeeper has a plan, but we’ll need your help. Yesterday we launched our first ever crowdfunding campaign. It's called, Swimmable Lake Ontario.
Leadership from City of Toronto can ensure Pickering Nuclear Generating Station closes in 2018, as planned
The Pickering Nuclear Generating Station is over forty years old. It is fast approaching the end of its operational life, 2018. Ontario Power Generation wants to keep the station open longer, until 2024. Lake Ontario Waterkeeper supports the motion asking the City of Toronto to support the 2018 closure date. And here, Mark explains why.
Presenting the Watermark Project at the "Water Is..." book launch
Waterkeeper's Water Literacy Coordinator, Claire Lawson recently presented the Watermark Project at the book launch for Nina Munteanu's "Water Is..." Here is what she presented.
Introducing the new Swim Guide – the next phase in keeping you informed about your local beaches and water quality
Since its inception in 2011, Swim Guide has helped its users discover great places to swim while simultaneously helping protect their health. Today, we introduce an all-new Swim Guide website (www.theswimguide.org). It has all the same functions as the old Swim Guide, but with a few key additions.
Global Sustainable Cities: Water, Floods, Extreme Weather Presentation
On June 15, 2016 Waterkeeper's Krystyn Tully was one of the featured speakers at Mindfirst's Global Sustainable Cities seminar where infrastructure and extreme weather were heavily discussed. Krystyn specifically spoke about wet weather, flooding, and urban water quality issues. This is Krystyn's presentation.
Joe Burke Wolfe Island LitFest: 13 years of good words and great friends
Every year, Mark looks forward to the month of June. But not just because the days are long and the waters are starting to warm up. Every June, great poets and writers gather at Wolfe Island for one of his favourite events of the year – the Joe Burke Literary Festival. As the event kicks off tonight, here are Mark's thoughts on this event he holds quite close to his heart.
A love letter to Lake Ontario: What would your letter say?
Next week, a team of international and local artists are uniting at different pockets around Toronto to "paint a love letter" to Lake Ontario. Inspired by their own personal stories, the artists will paint murals across Toronto’s city core. These works of public art will beautify our neighbourhoods, galvanize communities, and stimulate a broader public awareness of critical environmental issues affecting the Great Lakes. See why Waterkeeper is so excited to help kick off this fantastic event.
IJC becomes Watermark Project’s latest Collector: Share your story with the Great Lakes’ long-standing guardian
Since the Watermark Project launched in January, many people have stepped up to become Watermark Collectors. But the addition of the International Joint Commission is extra exciting because this 103 year-old institution is at the forefront of protecting the Great Lakes and all Canada-US boundary waters.
Open your eyes to water quality with Swim Guide – and Water Rangers
In a world where data is increasingly expected to form the basis for our daily decisions, why do we continue to perceive the state of Lake Ontario – our very source of drinking water – without considering the hard (and current) evidence? Fortunately, there exist two powerful tools at our fingertips to help us tackle this problem. Swim Guide AND the all new Water Rangers launching - tomorrow!