The Ripple Effect: How Your Water Story Can Protect Our Water Future
Welcome to the Waterkeeper's Log! This is a series where Gregary Ford, our Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, shares the stories, observations, and insights that come with protecting the lake.
Can you trace the first ripple of your environmental conscience? Why do you care about sustainability? How did you first develop a conservation ethic?
These answers are not found in quarterly reports, statistics, or policies. You probably felt these things long before your first environmental impact statement or the first time you were awarded for your volunteer efforts. These answers originate in your story. It’s a story of connection, a deeply personal story.
At Swim Drink Fish, we call these stories "watermarks"—the indelible impressions left by our encounters with water. Like a unique mark on a page, a watermark reveals the origin and meaning of something precious. For us, it's the profound imprint of a lake, river, or ocean, a whisper of where we belong and what truly matters.
Somewhere, some body of water is a part of your story. Somewhere, something made you care about reducing GHG emissions. Something made you commit yourself to nonprofit work protecting species at risk. Something made you choose to champion sustainable procurement practices. Something made you put up your hand in grade school, volunteering for the recycling committee.
For me, it’s the crisp, almost metallic scent of Lake Erie after a summer storm, the way the waves would crash against the sand dunes, a symphony of wildness that both thrilled and calmed me. It’s the memory of my mother, an avid camper, taking my younger brother and I on a whirlwind tour of Canada’s greatest Great Lakes, the transformational energy of those waves mirrored in her eyes. These aren’t just memories; they’re the fabric of my connection to the natural world. They’re my Watermark. These memories, these stories, are what makes me tick, and what brought me to Swim Drink Fish, what made me dedicate myself to bettering our world.
And I know I’m not alone. As I share my story with you, I guarantee you’ve thought of a place special to you. A memory of why you got into the work you do. And maybe it sparked something. And maybe, by sharing your story, you can spark something in someone else. A team member during a morning huddle, a family member around the dinner table, a friend across the tennis court from you.
And this phenomenon is not isolated. Research increasingly demonstrates the profound link between personal connection to nature and pro-environmental behaviour. Studies on "nature connectedness" reveal that individuals who feel a strong emotional bond with the natural world are likelier to adopt sustainable lifestyles and advocate for environmental protection.
This is the power of the Watermark Project. We invite you to share your own true story about your connection to a body of water. It could be your most powerful memory—positive, negative, neutral, or otherwise—of time spent on, or around, a waterbody. Whatever your story may be, your Watermark indicates that you are an active part of water heritage.
Once submitted, these Watermarks are stored and shared in a digital archive, creating a permanent, open-access, and ever-growing record of the relationship between people and their water. This archive becomes more than just a collection of stories; it becomes a powerful tool for advocacy. By documenting the value of our waterbodies, we help researchers identify waters where people swim, drink, boat, or fish, ensuring that those uses can be protected in the future. Watermarks serve as a legal record in waterbody protection across Canada, ensuring that environmental laws are applied to safeguard our waters from harm.
But stories alone are not enough. We need to act. That’s where the Visual Assessment Survey Tool (VAST) comes in. VAST is a community-driven science platform that empowers individuals to monitor and document the changing conditions of the shorelines they love. By engaging local residents, community groups, and organizations, VAST fills critical knowledge gaps and provides valuable data for coastal management and advocacy.
Citizen scientists use VAST to conduct surveys and submit standardized photos, capturing evidence of coastal stressors like pollution, erosion, and algae blooms. Providing evidence that our beloved Watermarks are undergoing profound change, even if just a little bit, every day. This collective effort creates a near real-time monitoring network, enhancing our understanding of these dynamic ecosystems and informing decisions to protect our favourite places.
VAST was born from a need to adapt and innovate, transitioning from traditional paper-based methods to a digital platform. This shift improved data collection and analysis, made participation easier for volunteers, and ensured the safety of coastal monitors. The open-source data collected through VAST is publicly accessible, allowing everyone—from scientists and coastal managers to community members—to explore the information and use it to inform actions and decisions.
The power of combining these two initiatives is profound. Your Watermark, your personal connection, provides the emotional and ethical foundation for action. VAST, with its data-driven approach, provides the means to translate that connection into tangible, meaningful change.
The importance of this approach is amplified by the growing environmental challenges we face. Climate change, pollution, and habitat loss threaten the health of our waters. By fostering a sense of personal connection and empowering individuals to take action, we can build a more resilient and sustainable future.
This World Water Day, I urge you to consider your own Watermark. What stories do you carry within you? How can you use those stories to inspire others? And how can you translate that inspiration into action, using tools like VAST to monitor and protect the waters we love?
By sharing our stories and taking action, we create a ripple effect, a wave of change that extends far beyond our individual experiences. We become part of a collective effort to ensure healthy waters for generations to come. And that, ultimately, is the most powerful story of all.
