We are so excited to have you here with us to learn about fresh waters and their vital importance to life. Before you get started, we want to draw your attention to the fact that throughout this website there are references to the land known widely as Canada. We refer to Canada but wish to acknowledge the unceded Indigenous territories upon which this country now operates (see www.native-land.ca for more information), as this is the geographic region at the heart of the featured project.

We make this acknowledgment as our team does not wish to further Indigenous erasure and seeks to contribute toward the decolonization of the science and education initiatives we engage with. We also want to acknowledge the various Indigenous Peoples who are the inherent protectors of these territories, living in relation to the land and water since time immemorial. We all must work to create relationships with our human and non-human relatives in these territories, taking care of one another. The website also describes water quality and aquatic biodiversity scientific data the project aims to collect in our team’s effort to contribute toward the stewardship of fresh waters. Our team is committed to working to acquire permission from, and (if desired) working in collaboration with, the Indigenous Peoples whose traditional territories overlap with the areas where this data collection takes place. This also represents a commitment on our team’s part to learn about and uphold Indigenous laws and protocols throughout this data collection process, as well as the related work that follows. We have so much to learn and do together for fresh waters.

We invite you to journey with us and hope you enjoy your time here!