A steady stream of visitors at Brock’s third annual World Water Day Celebration heard from community organizations as well as Brock researchers, local artists and more. Corey Burant (left) and Duane Haining of Niagara Parks brought the skull of a now-extinct beaver species that was the size of a bear and native to Niagara. Appreciation for water, and the many ways it shapes our lives, flowed at Brock’s third annual World Water Day celebration in the Rankin Family Pavilion Atrium on Monday, March 23.
Hosted by the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC), the daylong event brought together research, art and projects from Brock scholars and local partners to showcase water-focused research, art and community action.
The festivities opened with a Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving address in Cayuga and English given by Fran and Jacob Davis from Six Nations of the Grand River territory. ESRC Director Julia Baird welcomed guests and offered a land acknowledgment. Associate Vice President, Facilities Management Mary Quintana and Dean of Social Sciences Ingrid Makus shared opening remarks before water drumming and singing by Elder Okie, a First Nations Two-Spirit Choctaw and a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Assistant Professor of Sustainability Lina Taing then spoke about this year’s theme, “Water and Gender.”
Taing, who has spent two decades studying water, sanitation and hygiene in the Global South, says it’s important for everyone to reflect on the United Nations’ message that “where water flows, equality grows.”
As a co-investigator of a research project with the University of Toronto’s Stigma and Sexual Health Interventions to Nurture Empowerment (SSHINE) Lab, Taing was excited to bring to campus a digital storytelling display depicting the impacts of household water insecurity for young people in East Africa, particularly girls.
“Water scarcity affects everything from safety to health, including situations where young people face very real risks like sexual assault, transactional sex and early pregnancy, because their households lack secure access to water and sanitation,” she says. “It’s difficult material, but it’s also something we can’t look away from. When we celebrate water, we need to recognize how unequal access shapes people’s lives — and how much can change when that access improves.”
Associate Professor Jessica Blythe in the ESRC shared insights about the Ocean Equity Index she published with her research team earlier this year at one of many tables set up for researchers and community organizations. New participants this year included Hadiya’dagénhahs First Nations, Métis and Inuit Student Centre, which contributed a display on the significance of water for life and as land in Nunavut; the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Network (NEBN); and the International Water Association’s Young Water Professionals, whose representatives are exploring the possibility of establishing a Brock chapter.
