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U of Waterloo plans two virtual presentations to commemorate World Water Day March 22

Waterloo, Ont. – World Water Day will be celebrated Tuesday, March 22 through a pair of virtual events presented by the University of Waterloo.

The first presentation is called “A cross-country checkup on Canada’s groundwater: perspectives on the future of one of Canada’s most valuable resources.” It will be presented from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. (EDT)

The vast diversity of Canada’s groundwater resources from coast to coast to coast will be explored by a panel of leading hydrogeologists from across Canada who will discuss current and future challenges facing one of Canada’s most critical, yet underappreciated natural resources with a view towards sustainable management in a changing world.

The theme for World Water Day 2022, as selected by the United Nations, is “Groundwater: making the invisible, visible.”

A second virtual presentation, to be held from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (EDT), will look at the legacy of environmental racism in North America from the perspective of both Canada and the United States. Two high-profile advocates who are leading community-level resistance movements against environmental racism will speak, to be followed by an interactive, student-led discussion.

Dr. Ingrid Waldron is the 2022 Water Institute RBC Distinguished Lecturer, HOPE chair in Peace and Health at McMaster University and author/producer of the book and Netflix documentary There’s Something in the Water. She will examine the legacy of environmental racism in Canada by highlighting cases in Indigenous and black communities, the grassroots mobilization and resistance activities communities have engaged in, and the recent “wins” that have resulted from these efforts.

Monica Lewis-Patrick is the 2022 University of Waterloo Jarislowsky Fellow, co-founder of We the People of Detroit, and known in the environmental justice community as The Water Warrior. She will describe how five black women leaders in Detroit developed a network of volunteers to fight austerity measures and present a critical counter narrative to show the socio-economic consequences of these policies on access to clean water in Detroit and across the U.S.A.

For more information about the virtual presentation and to register, click here.