Go Green: Canada Water Week

Canada Water Week starts today and we plan to participate. We all use water on a daily basis but when I reflect back on my life I realize how big of an impact water has had. I am not talking about how stinky or thirsty I would be without it either.

When I was part of Girl Guides I would go to Doe Lake every summer for 2 weeks of camping. We had to do a swim test on our first day and that would determine which colour level you were in. I always went for white (the highest level) and when you were in this level you got to swim to Polly's Island. This was a treat as Polly's Island held many a mystery and we had spent hours combing that island trying desperately to find Polly. I think the swim was 3km and it was fun. A herd of us girls all swimming together towards our end goal. There was no fear of what was in the water, we didn't even question things like that back then.

Canada is an amazing country and there are very few moments in time when you live in Southwestern Ontario where you can sit somewhere and have nothing but peace and quiet. I went camping in Saskatchewan when I was in grade 8 and one night we went on a canoe trip. There were moments when we out in the middle (well what seemed like the middle) of the lake and it was oh so quiet. All you could hear was the call of the loons. The lake was perfectly smooth...perfect rock skipping conditions!

I remember moments when we were camping as a family and my brother and sister and I would be playing in the lake for hours. The water was clear, there were no dead fish washed up on the beach. Our biggest concern was how frickin cold the water was and the dreaded sand in the bathing suit!

I worry that B won't have moments like this in life. That there won't be secluded lakes to swim or canoe in. There won't be that moment where you stop in the middle of a lake and you can't hear anything other than the wildlife and your own breath. That he won't have clean beaches to play on or he won't know what clean and clear water is.

There are many more memories that I have that involve our Canadian lakes and rivers. Here are some of those.