Swim Drink Fish Blog
Read the latest updates and news releases about community science, water monitoring, Artists for Water, and more.
The story behind guitarist Rob Baker’s water safety video
Rob Baker, guitarist with The Tragically Hip and Kingstonian, helped Swim Drink Fish and Waterkeeper create a video to promote public safety at Kingston’s Gord Edgar Downie swimming pier. In this interview, Waterkeeper Mark Mattson tells how the video came to be.
Even in winter the Gord Edgar Downie Pier remains a beacon
My recent trip to Kingston with Mark Mattson reminded me the Gord Edgar Downie Pier remains a beacon for swimmable, drinkable, fishable water across the Great Lakes. This pier helps people reimagine their connection to Lake Ontario and is shaping a new generation of water leaders.
Line in the sand: What I saw and heard at the Breakwater Park and Gord Edgar Downie Pier opening
There is a moment after you leap from the pier when you hover in the 4-foot space between land and water. You are falling, flying, bracing yourself for impact. Then Lake Ontario opens up for you. It is all around you. The moment of falling is over. You are swimming.
Swim Drink Fish and the City of Kingston unveil the Gord Edgar Downie Pier
The Gord Edgar Downie Pier honours one of Kingston’s most cherished citizens, Gord Downie. He was also a board member and mentor to Swim Drink Fish. Having lived across the street from the pier, Gord became an advocate for accessible water in Kingston and all of Canada. Including Gord’s father's name, Edgar, was a fitting tribute to the Downie family, said his brother, Patrick Downie.
Thank you for making this summer amazing.
Thank you for making this summer amazing and for being apart of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper’s Kingston Kingston and Wolfe Island Culture Festival. We had a blast and hope that you did too!
As the Culture Fest comes to a close we begin something new in Kingston
Today marks the closing of the first ever Kingston and Wolfe Island Culture Festival. Over the past 7 weeks we have explored what the Great Lakes mean to Kingston and Wolfe Island, how they’ve shaped our geography, our history, our identity. And, how they will shape our future.
My Summer in Kingston has given me hope.
My name is Rebecca Harrison and I am the Manager of Programs at Lake Ontario Waterkeeper. Our organization started in Kingston over a decade ago. We launched there because even before we officially became Lake Ontario Waterkeeper we worked hand in hand with community organizations and local activists on a variety of cases. Our goal has always been to identify leaders within a community and assist their efforts for a swimmable drinkable fishable future on the Great Lakes.
Change is coming to Great Lakes Restoration
When we started Lake Ontario Waterkeeper in 2001 we had a simple approach to going after polluters: investigate the problem, find the polluter and make the government enforce the laws. This disconnection between people and water meant most people didn’t seem to care about the issues we were fighting for.
What can you do: Waterkeeper & Citizen Science
Big change requires lots of hands. One of the reasons water quality monitoring programs are some of the most popular citizen science programs is because people will show up for their beach, their favourite creek, their swimming hole, and fishing spot. They love their waterbodies and they will do what they can to protect them. Science benefits both the work being done to protect and restore swimmable, drinkable, fishable water and increase the information available to the public.
Join Waterkeeper for water sampling at Breakwater Park
By Hannah McDonald — This summer I am working for Lake Ontario Waterkeeper as the Water Literacy Assistant in Kingston. Part of my job is to test water quality in popular swimming areas along the waterfront.
Each week, I sample water from points along Breakwater Park and the Wolfe Island Boat Club. Then I take the samples to the lab where it is tested. I take those results and post them on Swim Guide so that recreational water users can make informed decisions about using the water.