Sunday April 28: AWARE Simcoe meeting to focus on groundwater

Dr. John Cherry 

News release from AWARE Simcoe

Groundwater will be the topic of discussion at a public meeting co-sponsored by AWARE Simcoe and the Elmvale Foundation on Sunday April 28 in Elmvale.

“Groundwater is of major interest to residents of north Simcoe,” said AWARE Simcoe chair Don Morgan.

“This is the area where our water has tested to be the cleanest known to science, and it’s where 10 years ago, indigenous people, farmers, cottagers, residents and supporters from across the province and beyond rallied to protect the water and stopped Dumpsite 41.”

Speakers:

-Springwater Township Mayor Don Allen
-Leading hydrogeologist Dr. John Cherry
-Water Protector Vicki Monague
-Tiny Township Deputy Mayor Steffen Walma

Date: Sunday April 28, 2-5 pm

Location: Elmvale Community Hall, 33 Queen St. W., Elmvale

AWARE Simcoe’s Annual General Meeting will also be held at this time. The event is free and all are welcome.

Dr. John Cherry – director of the University Consortium for Field-Focused Research and principal investigator of the G360 Institute for Groundwater Research at the University of Guelph, co-author of the textbook Groundwater and the recipient of many international awards – will address questions such as: What is groundwater? Where does it come from? Where does it go? What does it consist of? What are the risks to it? And what can we do to protect our groundwater for future generations?

Vicki M. R. Monague is an Ojibwe Anishinabe Kwe from Beausoleil First Nation. Her spirit name is Mzhakdo Kwe and she is wolf clan. She was South East Region Water Commissioner for the Union of Ontario Indians from 2010-2012. She is known in our area for leading the fight to stop development of a landfill on the pristine aquifer at Site 41. In 2013, Vicki planned and led the Manido Gaaming Water Walk around Georgian Bay, and in 2017, she planned and led the Water Walk from Cedar Point to the Teedon Pit Quarry in Tiny Township, to protect the sacred underground aquifers. Vicki is working towards a BA in Political Science at Lakehead University. She will talk about indigenous knowledge.

Deputy Mayor Steffen Walma was first elected to Tiny Township Council in 2014. He will discuss the role of municipalities in protecting groundwater.

AWARE Simcoe works for transparency and accountability in government and to protect water, the environment and health. The Elmvale Foundation is a non-profit research organization providing environmental science education.