By Julia Pepler
I grew up on the shores of Lake Ontario. In my years in there, and now in Vancouver, I have never had to think twice about how to access clean, fresh water. Especially here in Vancouver, where it rains on average 169 days in the year, I sometimes catch myself mindlessly using far more water than necessary. I’ve been guilty of thinking that exact thought, “It poured all day today, I’m not doing any harm by showering an extra 5 minutes...right?”
By Julia Pepler
At Swim Drink Fish, we are on a mission to connect people to water. We know that when people are connected to their local waters, they are more likely to step forward and protect them. We seek to connect people of all walks of life to the waters that flow through their communities, have left an impact on their lives, and support complex ecosystems. As we reflect on our year of growth, we are humbled by the relationships we have built to achieve this goal.
By Julia Pepler
Six new ambassadors joined the Swim Drink Fish family in September at our Swim Drink Fish Gala Vancouver 2019. The “Swim Drink Fish Ambassadors” were formally recognized and welcomed to the circle by two of our previous ambassadors, Kevin Lowe and Karen Percy Lowe. We are grateful for their work and dedication to our natural world and we are excited to celebrate them.
By Sadie Caron
I am so very pleased to join the Fraser Riverkeeper team here in Vancouver as the new Program Manager. My predecessor, Molly O’Ray, has left some exceptionally large shoes to fill, but I am beyond thrilled to continue her work building a swimmable, drinkable, fishable future across Western Canada.
By Emmalee Biebl
Our summer at Swim Drink Fish was rich with some amazing experiences shared with some even more amazing people! We love having volunteers groups come explore their appreciation of water, develop their water literacy, and get involved as citizen scientists.
As Swim Drink Fish has grown and evolved over the years, artists have become guides for exploring our vision of a world where communities can swim in their local waters without risking their health, drink the water flowing from their taps without fear of illness, and where fish and wildlife thrive and prosper in their natural environment.
By Emmalee Biebl & Julia Pepler
As summer draws towards an end, many of us at Swim Drink Fish have been reflecting on the mild weather Vancouver has experienced over the last few months. Previous summers of extreme heat and little precipitation caused many forest fires, visible in the city by a constant haze of smoke. Even with the milder weather this year, beach closures in Vancouver are still too frequent.
By Katie Moore & Emmalee Biebl
Scientific topics can be daunting and at times exclusive to experts of the field. However, when citizens are given the opportunity to engage in scientific literacy, they can access resources and tools to think critically about the information they are receiving and make informed decisions about the world they live in. A report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine emphasizes that when nonscientists are able to contribute to a field of science, it encourages deeper learning, engages participants with real data, and can be a tool to facilitate large scale research. Essentially, citizen science is a great way to increase scientific literacy among the general public.1
By Emmalee Biebl
Since starting at Fraser Riverkeeper, I’ve had the opportunity to spend time around the edges of False Creek assisting our Water Monitoring Coordinator, Katie Moore. We frequently have passersby ask us about the water quality—many saying they would never get in the water here— alluding to some dirty, industrial past. As someone who just moved to Vancouver a few years ago, I only knew False Creek as the beautiful park-lined inlet where paddlers and boaters enjoy the water year-round. The more time I spent working around the inlet, the more questions I had unanswered. I mean, why is it even called False Creek?
