All Waters are Ocean Waters - Canadian Ocean Literacy ...
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WATER RESOURCES
Credit: Justine Ammendolla
Community marine debris monitoring
survey, Placentia Bay Ocean Debris
Team (PODS), Terrenceville, Nfld.
All Waters are
Ocean Waters
Bridging water and ocean literacy in Canada.
BY DIZ GLITHERO, MARK MATTSON, AND SARAH MACNEIL
IN 1966, LEGENDARY CANOEIST more than 3,000 Canadians who engaged development of a “civic relationship with
Bill Mason taught a generation of in the collaborative Understanding the ocean” by the Intergovernmental
Canadians what a watershed was through Ocean Literacy in Canada study (2019- Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO.
his iconic film adaptation of Holling C. 2020), led by the Canadian Ocean Fundamentally, ocean literacy is about
Holling’s book Paddle to the Sea (1941). Literacy Coalition (COLC). The study humans’ relationship with the ocean.
In the film, viewers follow the tale of co-examined Canadians’ relationship Canada’s Oceans Strategy articulates
a young boy’s hand-carved canoe as it with the ocean through different that “Canada is an ocean nation.”
journeys from the spring melt waters in lenses and lived experiences with the Indeed, with the exception of Alberta
the Lake Superior region to the Gulf of goal of co-developing a national ocean and Saskatchewan, all provinces and
St. Lawrence. This story led thousands of literacy strategy. However, to engage all territories touch on the approximate
Canadians to recognize that we are each Canadians in a strategy on ocean literacy 243,042 kilometres of our coastline,
connected to a watershed that ultimately necessarily requires engaging Canadians the longest of any country in the world.
leads to the ocean, no matter where in on water literacy. In fact, when silos are The global ocean provides many basic
this country we call home. stripped away, they are one in the same: necessities to Canadians—clean air, food,
Fast forward 55 years to a question all waters are ocean waters. transportation, medicine, jobs—and
posed by educator and artist, Karen is a determining force of weather and
Tamminga-Paton, from Crowsnest Pass, Through the lens of climate systems.
Alberta: “What do ranchers, heavy-duty ‘ocean literacy’ And yet, of Canada’s current population
mechanics, teachers, and secretaries Ocean literacy is widely defined of 37.6 million, only an approximate
from this part of Canada say to the internationally as an understanding seven million Canadians live near our
ocean? How do we see Canada’s extensive of how the ocean influences us and marine coasts. Roughly nine in ten
coastal waters in relation to our wheat how we influence the ocean. More Canadians live within 200 kilometres
fields and coal mines?” Karen was one of recently it has been described as the of the United States border, with nearly
22 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021
WATER RESOURCES
half of those congregated along the Great
Credit: Natta Summerky
The hand-carved
Lakes and St. Lawrence waterways.
canoe, inspired by
What’s more, a poll conducted by Nanos Holling’s Paddle
Research in 2019 showed a significant to the Sea.
gap in the Canadian public’s relational
understanding of our personal, day-to-
day impact on the ocean and the ocean’s
impact on our daily activities. This is the
very essence of ocean literacy.
To what extent, then, if at all, do we
recognize the ocean in our national
identity and acknowledge its critical
importance to our own physical,
economic, and socio-cultural wellbeing?
Through the lens of
‘water literacy’
For many Canadians, it is not the
ocean and coastline that form the pulse
of our ecosystems, but rather the vast
interconnected landscape of wetlands,
lakes, rivers, and waterways. In
classrooms and communities across the
country, we are commonly taught that not mutually exclusive, and it is long past within and across different levels
Canada has roughly 20 per cent of the time to adjust this narrative. and departments of government, as
planet’s freshwater resources, made up well as corporate, non-governmental
of over two million lakes and more than An opportunity to unite organizations, and broader civic society.
8,500 rivers. These resources provide Interconnections between our inland It will be essential to incorporate
drinking water for all Canadians before waterways and the ocean exist everywhere innovative partnerships, sustained
discharging into the ocean through one we look, as well as opportunities to support for education, dynamic
of five drainage basins. safeguard and care for both. Alberta’s communication, meaningful community
Inland waterways have long been used watersheds alone drain into four ocean engagement—including through citizen
as the country’s original “highways,” basins: Pacific, Hudson Bay, Arctic, and science and open data sharing—and a
serving as important means for trade, the Gulf of Mexico. Likewise, the North broad commitment to access and equity.
navigation, and travel for Indigenous Saskatchewan River waters discharge in Re-connecting our inland urban areas
peoples, long before the arrival of Churchill, Manitoba, with polar bears to the ocean will require re-imagining
European settlers. These freshwater living at the confluence of river and our cities, where most Canadians live.
routes, along with abundant access to ocean. Fish and birds also take advantage Our cities were built to discharge waste
drinking water, are the main reasons of these aquatic connections, travelling into our waters, effectively alienating
communities developed rapidly around between ocean and Canada’s fresh inland Canadians by emphasizing the need
waters throughout to keep away from polluted areas.
the year. “No Swimming” signs may have been
To engage all Canadians in a strategy The challenge is intended for the public’s health and
not in finding the safety, but ultimately, they have served
on ocean literacy necessarily requires interconnections. to disconnect us from the water and, in
Rather, the gap exists turn, the ocean.
engaging Canadians on water literacy. because current efforts Exciting new initiatives in urban
to engage people in centres such as the Gord Edgar Downie
the Great Lakes and on our rivers, and caring for local freshwater have been Pier in Kingston, the proposed River
why still today they are home to Canada’s siloed by what distinguishes them from House in Ottawa, or the False Creek
largest urban centres. the ocean instead of what connects them. swim beach in Vancouver help to
It is clear that for some of the 30 restore peoples’ connections to water
million Canadians who live inland, their Potential pathways and increase water accessibility for all
connection to local freshwater sources forward together Canadians. Perhaps most importantly,
and waterways is far more tangible and Bridging current water and ocean these public spaces will enable people
relevant than their connection to the literacy efforts will require an enhanced to form the emotional foundations for
ocean. However, these connections are awareness of the value of this work increased water and ocean literacy.
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 23
WATER RESOURCES
and recognize and learn from Indigenous-
led conservation efforts (i.e., IPCAs;
Land Needs Guardians). Indigenous
Peoples of Canada understand best
the interconnectivity between land,
freshwater, coasts, sea ice (particularly
for Inuit), and the ocean.
A concluding thought
If we all accept that the ocean is the
determining life system of the planet,
recognizing that a healthy global ocean
is essential to life on land (and not the
other way around), then ocean literacy
is a necessary pursuit. The goal of ocean
literacy, at least in a Canadian context, is
to encourage and support Canadians to
discover for themselves the connections
that water makes possible in our lives,
jobs, culture, and economy.
In 1985, before personal computers,
Apple ran an ad during the Super
New initiatives, like the Gord Downie Pier in Bowl portraying people tearing down
Kingston, are helping people re-connect with
the walls surrounding the fortress
the water, helping build their water literacy.
of knowledge. The idea was that the
invention of personal computers would
replace mainframe computers and
Storytelling and the arts can also be career Canadians in decision-making give people access to knowledge and
a powerful means of establishing these processes in response to youth calls knowledge sharing in their homes and
emotional foundations and drawing to action for land-water health, ocean offices—a brilliant insight, as it turns
people ‘to the water’s edge.’ They are sustainability, and broader nature-based out. Ocean literacy, including citizen
crucial to providing a bridge between solutions. In particular, as the sustainable science, has the same potential. It will
freshwater and ocean experiences, as well blue economy grows in Canada, we revolutionize our understanding of water.
as in engaging those who do not already must broaden perceptions to ensure The connectedness of freshwater and the
see themselves in this space. Bringing that both freshwater and ocean career, ocean and all life that depends on these
these stories into Canadians’ homes can innovation, and tech opportunities are well connections can be discovered anywhere
deepen the connection between water and communicated, promoted, and accessed by in Canada. You do not need to be on the
our everyday lives; the ocean is always as many diverse communities as possible. ocean or live on the coast to discover it.
present, even if the water is hidden from While these represent a few pathways You just need to go to the water’s edge. WC
view. It may be locked away in the rock forward, there remain broader
beneath us or diverted through pipes considerations to creating an inclusive
and underground tunnels. The closest space in which all Canadians can feel Diz Glithero is the national coordinator
coastline may be a hundred kilometres connected to local waterways and to the for the Canadian Ocean Literacy Council.
away. But the ocean shapes our lives and one global ocean to which all waters Mark Mattson is the founder
we, in turn, shape the ocean. flow. Perhaps most importantly, we of Swim Drink Fish.
It is imperative that we incorporate must ask ourselves how the current and Sarah MacNeil is the St. Lawrence
water literacy into the education system. emerging water and ocean literacy efforts regional coordinator for the Canadian
We must also support, streamline, and are an opportunity to contribute to true Ocean Literacy Council.
scale community-based monitoring, reconciliation between Indigenous
citizen science programs, and tools and settler societies, and between
related to water/ocean health as well as broader Canadian society and the land To read the Understanding Ocean
data sharing (e.g., DataStream, Swim and waters. Above all, it is essential to
Literacy in Canada study regional
Guide, Land Guardians, Marine Debris increase coordination and use more
and national reports (2020) and
Tracker Canada, etc.). holistic, integrated approaches to
It is a high priority to reorient existing terrestrial, freshwater, and marine to learn more about the national
sectors toward inclusive practices to conservation. These efforts must engage strategy, visit colcoalition.ca
meaningfully engage young and early and reflect community-level priorities
24 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021You can also read
