{"id":108592,"date":"2026-03-23T13:36:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T17:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=108592"},"modified":"2026-03-24T05:32:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T09:32:08","slug":"brock-community-reflects-at-world-water-day-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2026\/03\/brock-community-reflects-at-world-water-day-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"Brock community reflects at World Water Day celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

Appreciation for water, and the many ways it shapes our lives, flowed at Brock\u2019s third annual World Water Day<\/a> celebration in the Rankin Family Pavilion Atrium on Monday, March 23.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Assistant Professor of Sustainability Lina Taing then spoke about this year\u2019s theme, \u201cWater and Gender.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taing, who has spent two decades studying water, sanitation and hygiene in the Global South, says it\u2019s important for everyone to reflect on the United Nations\u2019 message that \u201cwhere water flows, equality grows.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a co-investigator of a research project with the University of Toronto\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWater 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\u00a0their households lack secure access to water and sanitation,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult material, but it\u2019s also something we can\u2019t look away from. When we celebrate water, we need to recognize how unequal access shapes people\u2019s lives \u2014 and how much can change when that access improves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Associate Professor Jessica Blythe in the ESRC shared insights about the Ocean Equity Index<\/a> 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\u2019dag\u00e9nhahs First Nations, M\u00e9tis 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\u2019s Young Water Professionals<\/a>, whose representatives are exploring the possibility of establishing a Brock chapter.<\/p>\n\n\t