Register Here for this Lunch and Learn session where attendees will learn about the cost-effective method of environmental monitoring for Indigenous communities and Canada’s water resources. 

Join CSI Members Water Rangers and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) as they explore the need and legitimacy of Community Based Water Monitoring (CBWM) as a part of decision-making about watersheds. 

This method of environmental monitoring is a cost-effective way for Canadian and Indigenous communities to express interest and take ownership by making data-informed decisions about their water resources. 

By the end of this event, attendees will:

• Understand that the environment is a complex system, much of which we do not understand in great detail; 
• Discover how important local water data is for communities and how it is helping Canada achieve major goals, like our climate and biodiversity commitments; 
• Learn how the existing project-based funding mechanisms are not sustainable to support monitoring programs — and how the nonprofit starvation cycle may make it harder for Canada to be prepared for a changing climate; and, 
• Establish the importance of CBWM as a viable and cost-efficient way to collect reliable data about the health of fresh water in Canada — and highlight the work of organizations across the country already making it happen. 

This event will run from 12:30pm -1:30pm EDT. The last 15 minutes will be reserved for Q&A. 

This is a free event for CSI Members! If you are aren’t a CSI Member yet, we ask you pay what you can using Eventbrite’s donation option. If registration is inaccessible to you, please reach out to andrea(dot)s(at)socialinnovation(dot).ca. 

About the Speaker(s)

Gabrielle Parent-Doliner is the Director of Water Rangers. Water Rangers is a not for profit social enterprise that empowers communities with digital tools and water monitoring field test kits to understand and care for their local waterways. Water Rangers was the winner of the first Aquahacking competition. Parent-Doliner served as a Water Issue Leader in Aquahacking’s Western Canada 2021 competition. In addition, Parent-Doliner serves on the board of the Great Lakes Beach Association, a position she has held since 2017. She believes organizations are better working together and is part of a number of collaborations, such as the Federal Water Strategy team, and an exciting new data exchange collaboration with the Gordon Foundation’s DataStream. She is also the lead on a public health initiative project with the  International Joint Commission’s (IJC) Health Professionals Advisory Board and the Great Lakes Beach Association, assessing the bi-national extent, experience and effects of Beach Sanitary Surveys (USA)/Environmental Health and Safety Surveys (CANADA) in addressing and remediating water quality issues at the Great Lakes beaches. Parent-Doliner is from Welland, Ontario; her favourite place to swim and collect samples. 

Taylor Wilkes (Facilitator, Our Living Waters) works from the banks of the Odenabe river in Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg territory. She provides backbone support to the Community-based Water Monitoring Collaborative, a team of leaders from across the country that promote community-based water monitoring at a federal scale. Our Living Waters exists to amplify the influence and impact of the many, diverse organizations that make up the water community in Canada. We provide key services that connect and convene OLW Network members so that together we can drive collaboration, unite our voices, and measure shared progress.