Megan Coad & Heather Patterson: 10-23-2025
We had the honour and pleasure of attending the Chiefs of Ontario Great Lakes Gathering in Niagara Falls this week to collaborate with and learn from others about ways we can come together to protect and restore our Great Lakes, discuss the threats many First Nations communities and their local waters face, and think about how we can turn discussions into action.
Heather Patterson, Megan Coad and Katie Doreen (Canadian Geographic) in front of Niagara Falls.
We were invited to lead one of the many breakout sessions to discuss our current work on contaminants of concern in the Great Lakes that are bioaccumulating in our fish and posing a risk to both human and ecosystem health. This was our first large-scale event, where we actively discussed ways to improve current communication methods regarding fish consumption guidelines and explored what communities would need to lead their own successful fish sampling pilots. Connecting directly with communities and change-makers is a key part of moving forward to our shared responsibility to create clean, swimmable, drinkable, fishable waters in the Great Lakes basin. We were met with tremendous enthusiasm and support for the project, which was heartwarming after spending many months researching and planning the outreach component of this project. We look forward to following up with all of the great connections we made at the gathering and exploring ways we can work together.
We left the two-day conference feeling grateful to have had the opportunity to listen to the perspectives from many of our First Nation communities in Ontario about their relationship with water, and the urgency felt amongst so many to take action and protect our water. I am reminded that the energy we put into the world is what will be received by all, and that by following our hearts, focusing on love for the earth, and holding onto hope for a better future, we are more united and likely to achieve positive change. We look forward to the many more opportunities I will have to work on this project and share it with like-minded people and communities.
