Access to clean drinking water continues to be a huge challenge facing many northern and remote Indigenous communities in Canada. True North Aid is pleased to partner with WaterFirst to support sustainable water solutions. Through educational and training  programs, Water First empowers Indigenous Peoples to pursue careers in water sciences that will benefit their communities. True North Aid is pleased to provide an update on the support we have given to Water First over the past two years. 

In 2019, True North Aid supported the Growing Roots Program with a $15,000 donation to help provide water science education for Indigenous youth in an effort toward long term-environmental action and stewardship. In 2020, True North Aid supported WaterFirst’s Drinking Water Internship Program with $10,000. The Internship was born from community feedback, guidance and partners coming together with a focus on training and education to create local solutions. As a community-based and evidence-based solution, the program continues to be a priority for many communities,  facing critical water challenges. We are looking forward  to seeing how this program continues to grow in the coming year! 

True North Aid is pleased to partner with Water First for their “Growing Roots” program with a contribution of $15,000. Water First recently launched this important pilot project in Chimnissing (Beausoleil First Nation) in northern Ontario.

Growing Roots is “about water sacredness, water conservation and water science.”
The aim of their Growing Roots program is to provide water science education programming to engage with Indigenous youth an effort to lead long term-environmental action and stewardship.

Water First plans to launch their Growing Roots program in three First Nations communities in Ontario and Manitoba in 2020, and will be returning to Chimmissing to support students implementing their projects.

During their visit to Chimmissing, students at the Christian Island Elementary school were engaged in various workshops and exercises learning about their relationship with water, rivers and lakes that surround them. during the workshops they learned through the use of microscopes, along with learning about pollution and its effect on the watersheds. The workshop involved the entire school and they were given the opportunity to research and check for water quality indicators using the same data sheets that are used by the Ministry of Lands and Resources.

Lastly, and most importantly, the Growing Roots Program has helped students produce a plan of action for environmental restoration and conservation. This plan of action would help address the concerns of both the student and community population, while providing cultural teachings about water, its sacredness and the historical significance on their traditional lands.

Water First’s engineers & scientists will provide ongoing support to the students and community to assist them in the process of creating a restoration plan to conserve their watersheds.

True North Aid is just one of many supporters of this program which also includes the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

For More Information on Water First please visit: www.waterfirst.ca