06/10/2026
We are so proud Water Watchers was born in Guelph and even as we've grown into a regional organization focused on the Great Lakes, we've stayed rooted in our Guelph community.
We live in a system that empowers extraction and lifts up economic rationales above the fundamental facts of life: that all life on this precious blue dot in the cosmos depends on access to fresh, clean water to survive, and that freshwater is a finite, infinitely precious entity. Our water protection work at Water Watchers is based on the idea that place-based connections with water Herself are a main driver for protective action. The deeper the relationship is between the people who call a place home and the waters that nourish them, the more likely water will be protected for current and future generations.
We are also rooted in the ideal that water is for life, not profit, and we must vigilantly defend water and all the life that depends on Her from the extractive industries and businesses that threaten our collective waters.
Everything we win is because of the people mobilizing alongside us, inviting neighbors and family and colleagues to find their voice and lift it up in defense of water and each other. Water Watchers would just be a few tiny drops of water if we were on our own, but with our community of water defenders, supporters, and justice advocates, we are a mighty forceful river rife with possibility & the power to build a better world.
This award is for everyone who calls themselves a Water Watcher and everyone who doesn’t, but still engages in local advocacy work anyways. This work is not about the people in power, it’s about the power in the people, and we are all powered by water.
Thank you Guelph Today for this honour. We will keep building community around water protection, for all of us.
Read the full article here: https://www.guelphtoday.com/cbawards/winners/-community-builders-awards-environment-award-winner-is-dedicated-to-keeping-our-water-safe-12331434
