Why ‘Swim Drink Fish’?
What’s in a name? Swim Drink Fish is more than just a movement. These three words are a call to action. They’re words that drive the movement. They’re an invitation.
By: Lauren Brown Hornor, Vancouver Waterkeeper
Swim. Drink. Fish.
It was in 2007 when those words appeared, stamped in bold white letters onto ten black leather bracelets. At the time, our president Mark wasn’t sure exactly how powerful these three verbs were going to be. But he gave them away to colleagues at a Waterkeeper Alliance conference in New Orleans.
Those bracelets generated a buzz that started a conversation. What we stand for, what we work for, what we care for, what we are for—three simple words—that now define a global movement.
Much like Mark’s act of handing out some bracelets, connection to water starts with a simple touch. When connection and understanding grow, people become inspired to protect water—to share swimmable, drinkable, fishable water with everyone.
The idea works. The movement works. We have the track record to prove it.
In 1968, a causeway choked the Petitcodiac River. Restoring that river was one of the first challenges the Swim Drink Fish movement faced. Today the river flows free, and people are connected to water again.
Bacteria used to shut down Bluffers Beach, with water quality failing 80% of the time. In 2006 we set out to revive this iconic Scarborough destination. Today, it’s the beach parking lot that gets shut down because of the amount of visitors.
Global cities have taken notice of these words. The city of Vancouver passed a motion to improve water quality in Vancouver’s False Creek, to make it swimmable and restore shellfish harvesting. We are working for a resilient waterfront, where people can swim safely in the heart of our city by operating a community-based water monitoring hub, bringing the community to the water’s edge. It is just one of the growing network of hubs in Canada and over 100 Swim Guide affiliates globally, to collect and share water quality data.
Sewage and neglect plagued Kingston's waterfront for a generation, pushing people away from the lake. We tackled the sewage problem and this advocacy led to the creation of the Edgar Gord Downie Pier in 2018. People are connected to water again.
After seeing the success of the restoration of Kingston’s waterfront, we set our sites on Ontario Place. A wilderness oasis in downtown Toronto, with a no swimming sign waiting to be taken down. We held a mass swim in the summer of 2019, asking the community to simply “jump in the lake.” Now, hundreds of swimmers use the location year-end.
From Prohibition to Invitation
As we approach our 20th anniversary, looking back to remember what inspired the name, is defining our future.
It is not uncommon to come across signs warning people, “Don’t Swim” “Don’t Fish” at the water’s edge. Boil water advisories plague hundreds of communities across Canada, with most being in Indigenous communities. While these warnings serve the short term benefit of keeping people safe from immediate threats, they have the long term impact of deterring people from connecting to water and fostering apathy through disconnection.
As we get set to celebrate the 50th anniversary of both the Great Lakes Water Quality Act and Clean Water Act, we’re reminded of when the words “swimmable, drinkable, and fishable” first emerged in 1972. While the lofty goal of removing all pollution has not yet been attained, the words “swimming, drinking, and fishing” remain a strong reminder of the core value of our work.
Those words redefined our strategy, our approach. Those words defined what we are for. Those words represented the community we are building. They evoked an invitation. We no longer wanted to be defined by the industries we were against or the legal tactics that divided communities.
We choose to redefine the meaning behind those warning signs and replace them with a vision of a world where everyone can swim, drink, and fish. Those prohibitive slashes were removed and the Swim Drink Fish logo was born.
Sometimes we forget how far we’ve come and all we’ve made happen in the last few weeks, months, years, and even decades.
When people work for swimmable, drinkable, fishable water, anything and everything is possible. We only need the tools, the support, the initiatives, and the guides to form a strong and powerful community.
Connecting people to water, for swimming, drinking, and fishing, means there are people who care enough to advocate for its restoration and protection.
We are all Swim Drink Fish.