How do we create a unified voice for community-based water monitoring programs across Canada?
In 2019, OLW was asked to convene a Team of leaders to raise the profile of community-based water monitoring and advocate for its credibility on the federal stage.
Community-based water monitoring (CBWM) groups have proliferated across Canada in the past twenty years as people have grown more aware of changes in their watersheds and wanted to take action to protect them. Leaders have created support systems, such as regional monitoring networks, data sharing platforms, and partnerships to share technology and training resources. However, partnerships with the federal government and federal monitoring programs tend to be slower to form.
The Community-Based Water Monitoring Collaborative (‘The Collaborative’) works to bridge that gap, building relationships within government and responding to the national CBWM network’s needs. The Collaborative focuses on three action areas:
- collectively advocating for the importance of CBWM at the federal level;
- securing long-term, consistent funding for CBWM programs;
- strengthening the CBWM network across the country.
All of The Collaborative’s work is guided by the recommendations defined during the 2018 National Roundtable on CBWM – a group of 70 Indigenous and non-indigenous CBWM practitioners, science and policy experts, and NGOs from across the country. Many of the Roundtable’s organizers and attendees are still actively leading this charge through the Collaborative.
Currently, OLW staff are not leading this Team through facilitation at convenings. The Team continues to meet, led by OLW member organizations, and you can contact the group by reaching out to OLW’s facilitator, Taylor Wilkes.
Collaborative Members
Atlantic Water Network
DataStream Initiative
Forum for Leadership on Water (FLOW)
G3E - Groupe d'éducation et d'écosurveillance de l'eau
Living Lakes Canada
Water Rangers
WWF Canada
