Today (March 22) is World Water Day. On this day, the world focuses its attention on the importance of water and explores solutions to the challenges we face with water in the 21st century. This year’s World Water Day theme is “Nature for Water”.
Most of us interact with water on a daily basis: water flows from our taps as we bathe, washes our favorite pair of jeans, refreshes us when we are thirsty, and carries away our waste. In each of these scenarios, water flows in and out of our home on a daily basis — but through a pipe, which demonstrates how void our daily natural interactions with water may be.
Over the last few decades, solutions to water shortages, flooding, and poor water quality have also excluded nature, revolving instead around expensive concrete and pipe-based systems that are now aging and overburdened.
The United Nations has set a number of sustainable development goals, one of which is to ensure global availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
In an effort to support this goal, World Water Day 2018 showcases how nature-based water solutions such as replenishing forests and wetlands, planting rain gardens, and creating buffers along watercourses can provide support toward water-related challenges such as flooding and poor water quality.
In Peterborough, GreenUP’s Ready for Rain Peterborough program demonstrates what nature-based solutions to flooding concerns can look like in a neighbourhood. Unlike grey infrastructure, the concrete and pipe based solutions of the recent past, nature-based solutions create what is known as green or living infrastructure.
Green infrastructure uses living systems such as plants to protect waterways, and naturally filtrate and replenish water supplies. To demonstrate green infrastructure, Ready for Rain Peterborough installed eight rain gardens in the Avenues Neighbourhood to help manage rain and mitigate flooding. These are working neighbourhood sites right here in Peterborough! You can join GreenUP on May 25th for a rain garden tour in The Avenues and learn more about the benefits of nature-based solutions to water challenges.
While World Water Day is a great opportunity to focus on the importance of water and nature-based solutions to challenges with water, it is essential that we learn more about the important role of water and nature in our daily lives. The Peterborough region is home to over 134 lakes and a multitude of natural communities, plants, and animals that rely on this lush environment. This means that opportunities to learn more about water are prevalent within the Peterborough region.
One such opportunity is the Peterborough Children’s Water Festival (PCWF). For almost 17 years, the festival has brought together youth, educators, water quality and quantity specialists, conservation groups, industry, government, First Nations, and community volunteers to provide an opportunity to learn about water. Like World Water Day, the festival strives to bring a focus on the importance of water in an effort to ensure availability and sustained management of water.
Since its inception, the PCWF has welcomed over 22,121 students from grades 2 to 5 to learn about water through a variety of hands-on, interactive activity centres. The activity centres presented at the festival are designed with current, relevant, and scientific accuracy and showcase many facets of water such as protection, conservation, science, technology, and attitudes toward water. A common thread among many of the activity centres is the link between water and nature, such as with planted shorelines, green roofs, and wetlands.
This year on June 6th and 7th, another 1,400 students will flood the Riverview Park and Zoo. Many exciting water-themed surprises are being planned by the 2018 PCWF Steering Committee, such as a scavenger hunt and three brand new activity centres. Students and volunteers are encouraged to make a splash as they connect with this essential part of nature — water!
Registration for the 2018 PCWF is currently open and educators are invited to register at pcwf.net/registration. World Water Day is a great opportunity to talk to youth about why water is important, and the PCWF is a great opportunity to continue the conversation while learning more about our local water concerns and opportunities for solutions.
For more information about the PCWF, or to become a sponsor or a volunteer, please visit pcwf.net or contact PCWF Coordinator Heather Ray at heather.ray@greenup.on.ca.
For more information about the GreenUP rain garden tour in The Avenues and to learn more about the benefits of nature-based solutions to water challenges, please connect with the Water Programs Coordinator, Jenn McCallum, at jenn.mccallum@greenup.on.ca.
You can find out more about World Water Day and nature-based solutions for water at worldwaterday.org.
VIDEO: World Water Day 2018: Nature for Water
