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The 2011 Great River Project is paddling its way from one end of the Ottawa River to the other with pitstops in Arnprior and Constance Bay along the way.
Led by the Ottawa Riverkeeper, the Great River Project is a five-leg expedition beginning on July 3 at Fort Temiscamingue, Que. and ending in Montreal, Que. at the end of September.
Three legs of the journey have already been completed, and the fourth trip leaves from Portage du Fort on Sept. 7, arriving downtown Ottawa on Sept. 10 after taking a break in Arnprior’s Galilee Centre on Sept. 8 and the Lighthouse Restaurant in Constance Bay on Sept. 10.
Meredith Brown has been Ottawa’s Riverkeeper for seven years, part of a citizen advocacy group to protect the Ottawa River. She will be on every trip, alongside photjournalist Mike Beedell and explorer Max Finkelstein.
Each trip is slightly different than the last, consisting of varied crew members, objectives and methods of transportation. Watercrafts have included tandem canoes, old row boats, pontoons, kayaks and voyageur canoes.
“This is the first time we’ve done a trip like this,” Brown said. “I’ve been on a lot of the river, but not all of it. A riverkeeper needs to know and understand the river they’re trying to protect.”
The Great River Project covers almost 900 kilometres of the 1,271-kilometre Ottawa River that provides drinking water to over 2 million people.
Part of the project’s goal is to witness river conditions firsthand, and Brown has been taking water quality samples all along the way. But the second and just as important function of the expedition is to reach out to the people who live off of, and alongside the river.
“A riverkeeper alone can’t protect the river,” Brown said. “We need to build a community of stewards. You need to stand up for your water, you need to know what’s impacting it. If you and your local community aren’t standing up for it, no one will.”
Community outreach is a large part of the project, and during Trip 4, titled “Take Action!”
Brown and her team will visit the Galilee Centre in Arnprior on Sept. 8 at noon to meet with locals who want to share their stories about the Ottawa River.
Brown anticipates hot topics will include residents’ concerns about sewage from the waste treatment plant being dumped into the river, as well as updates on the status of endangered fish like the American Eel and Lake Sturgeon whose populations are dwindling because of dams impeding their movement.
After travelling a little further downstream, the team will stop in Constance Bay on Aug. 10 from 10 to 11 a.m. to pay a visit to The Point Restaurant on Bayview Drive.
“I have a riverkeeper there,” Brown said, referring to citizens who are trained to report on the conditions of the river and contribute information to the Ottawa Riverkeeper organization.
“There are lots of interested folks who are struggling with how best to treat the river in their community,” she said.
David Gick is the communication and camping co-ordinator for the Ottawa Riverkeeper, and said that community events are essential to the health of the Ottawa River.
“We know that local communities know best about the issues around their rivers. We need to get out there and learn things from these people.”
Public events are a great opportunity for locals to share information, ask questions and keep up-to-date on issues affecting their water.
Gick travelled on the first trip of the project, called “Culture and Heritage,” canoeing down the river and facing the difficult task of finding a camp site amongst kilometers of sheer cliffs.
The most memorable moment for him was passing by a memorial for a major canoe accident that happened in the upper regions of the Ottawa River in the 1980’s, when a number of high school student’s canoes tipped during a storm and they froze to death in the water.
“It was a reminder that it’s a very beautiful stretch of water, but a very dangerous one too,” Gick said. “The river used to be the easiest way to get from place to place, people used to do this on a regular basis. But even going downstream, it’s by no means easy. It’s a reminder of how much things have changed.”
The second leg was titled “Recreation and Tourism,” and the third was “Our Future Leaders” which included a team of 10 youth between the ages of 14-17. The kids had been selected after sending in an application eligible only to youth who live within the Ottawa River watershed.
The Great River Project won’t likely become a yearly event because of all the funding and coordination involved, but the contacts acquired throughout the journey will be used to build a bigger and better network of people looking out for the Ottawa River.
Visit www.greatriverproject.ca to read the Great River Project blog, view the trip itinerary, share your own stories about the Ottawa River, and learn how to get involved.
© Copyright Metroland 2011
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