Vision

Inspiring and informing the community about the significance of the Saint John River (Wolastoq) and the essential to safeguard it entails promoting public awareness initiatives and coordinating clean-up endeavors to preserve the river’s integrity.

Action

At the beginning of February, our group embarked on a mission to address the dire pollution of the Wolastoq (Saint John) River. Upon recognizing the extent of pollution plaguing the river, we were compelled to act. Our efforts began with the creation of informative posters to educate students on the issue at hand. Additionally, we developed a scratch game as a means of spreading awareness about the pollution of the river.

In our endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of the pollution affecting the Wolastoq River, we sought the expertise of Lumin-Ultra, a water testing company. During our interview with Lumin-Ultra, we delved into the topic of microbial pollution and its underlying factors. It was explained to us that while microbial pollution poses minimal threat to humans as a natural occurrence, the real concern lies in heavy metal pollution.

Furthermore, Lumin-Ultra shed light on the detrimental impact of over pollution on the river’s filtration system. The excessive influx of waste into the river has overwhelmed its ability to effectively cleanse itself, thereby resulting in deteriorating water quality and harming aquatic ecosystems.

We visited a Grade Six and Eight class to talk about the river, had them fill out our survey, and let them try out our scratch game as part of our educational session.

On Friday, May 10th, we got together to clean up the Wolastoq River. It was all about making our river cleaner and healthier for everyone and the environment. Lots of us pitched in to pick up trash and debris along the river and its banks. We worked hard and the results were formidable – the river looked so much better! It was great to see the community coming together for a noble cause.

Reflection & Celebration

Through the completion of the project, we have gained a substantial amount of knowledge and insight. Specifically, we have developed skills in documentary production, allowing us to effectively convey complex information to a wide audience. Furthermore, we have acquired valuable information on how to preserve and protect our waterways, including practical strategies and best practices for sustainable water conservation.

This project has provided a unique opportunity for us to expand our understanding of various topics, and we are excited to apply the knowledge and skills we have acquired in future endeavors.

Celebrations: We will have a Film Festival at our school between May 28th- May 30th in which classes from grades six through eight can sign up and bring a class to watch our Water Docs videos that we created. We will have a few students who were involved in Water Docs there to facilitate the showing of the videos. We will have a feedback form for them to fill out afterwards and there will be time for our student leaders to answer any questions from the classes.