On April 3, 2024, the Elk Valley community is invited to a ‘Knowing Water’ Symposium.
The event will be held at the Fernie Arts Station from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
The symposium will feature a number of speakers on subjects such as Ktunaxa perspectives on knowing water; the history of Fernie drinking water, how to assess water quality, a path towards available and accessible data and the current state of current knowledge of Elk Valley water. The speakers are from Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi ‘it First Nation, the City of Fernie, BC Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Living Lakes Canada, and the Elk River Alliance
This symposium is free to register to, and invites all members of the community to come learn about Elk Valley water.
“Clean water is tremendously important to the Elk Valley, and this symposium is an opportunity for the community to learn directly from experts,” said Evgeni Matveev, presenter and Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Elk River Alliance, “I think it’s really important for people to understand who works to understand our water, how they do it, and to get to ask questions.”
The event is hosted by the Elk River Watershed Collaborative Monitoring Program, a group of organisations working together to understand the watershed. Since 2022, the “Collaborative” has worked to bring many diverse voices into the same room.
“The goal of the Collaborative is to bring together different groups who have a vested interest in a healthy Elk River, and who have some knowledge of the watershed, to ‘feel the pulse’ of the river,” said Matveev, “this includes not only scientific knowledge, but Indigenous knowledge and local knowledge. As part of this work, engaging the community is an essential process to ensure we’re going in the right direction and reflecting community values.”
To learn more and register for the Knowing Water Symposium, visit https://elkrivercollaborative.ca/knowing-water-symposium/