The Province Op-Ed: We need to bring back reverence for water

Michael Price, director of science for the Skeena Wild Conservation Trust, inspects salmon traps for a juvenile sockeye salmon monitoring project led by the Office of the Wet'suwet'en. Photo: Cheyenne BergenhenegouwenMichael Price, director of science for the Skeena Wild Conservation Trust, inspects salmon traps for a juvenile sockeye salmon monitoring project led by the Office of the Wet'suwet'en. Photo: Cheyenne Bergenhenegouwen

Water holds a central place in community health and safety, but all too often we take it for granted.  Read this Opinion piece by Mark Gifford, CEO of the Real Estate Foundation of BC, and Tara Marsden, former Senior Indigenous Advisor to the Healthy Watersheds Initiative and Watersheds BC, on the heroic efforts of more than 60 projects to restore riparian areas and wetlands, create spawning habitat for salmon and other species, improve biodiversity and community resilience, and, provide training and job opportunities to people it hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. The article was published in The Province on December 17th, 2022.

“We need to stop taking life-giving gifts for granted and bring back reverence for water. As the demand for watershed solutions increases, we can embrace and advance intergenerational learning between youth and elders, focusing on mentorship and long-term stewardship of watersheds.” – Mark Gifford and Tara Marsden