March 22nd is World Water Day, a day to celebrate our shared waters and raise awareness of freshwater issues in Canada and around the world.
I am certainly grateful for Stocking Lake, especially after the year we’ve had. The calming presence of water and nature has been an important refuge for me, probably you, and to millions of others across the country and around the world during this pandemic.
Our watersheds – the lakes, rivers and streams and surrounding land that drains to them – aren’t only beautiful and calming places. They are absolutely pivotal to our physical health, our social and economic well-being, and, of course, to the functioning of all life on earth.
Healthy watersheds – with plenty of trees and natural land cover – are also critical to building our resilience to impacts of climate change like flooding and drought. If the past year hasn’t made us realize how important it is to build our resilience to crises before the worst of their impacts, I don’t know what will.
With just weeks to go until the federal government releases its COVID-19 recovery budget, let’s use World Water Day as a rallying cry: investing in healthy watersheds means investing in our future. Putting aside funds to protect and restore our watersheds will make us more resilient to future crises and create good, local jobs needed to shift us into a greener, cleaner, brighter future.
Let’s make sure our recovery plan from COVID-19 is also a #BlueRecovery.
Gord Van Dyck,
Saltair
