CAFES enjoyed a lovely staff meeting on Thursday, July 30 sitting outside on the upper deck of the NCC Riverhouse at 501 Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway, overlooking the Ottawa River. Afterward, we journeyed downstairs to participate in a workshop at CAFES Member, the Ottawa Riverkeeper Learning Lab!
The Ottawa Riverkeeper Learning Lab is an engaging space dedicated to helping the public explore the Ottawa River and its watershed. Visitors can examine the river on the watershed map, learn about the health of the watershed, and see the threats facing its ecosystems. Special activity tables dive into topics such as water quality, benthic invertebrates, and some of the species that make the river their home, like the river otters. The Learning Lab also features a traditional birch bark canoe built by youth from the Assembly of Seven Generations under the guidance of knowledge holder Pinock Smith from Kitigan Zibi. Nearby, Ottawa Riverkeeper’s working science lab provides visitors with a chance to check out real-time water quality analysis and other monitoring initiatives.
During our visit, we participated in a workshop on plastic pollution in the Ottawa River. We learned that a huge majority of microplastics polluting the river originate from our clothing and fabrics shedding plastics in the laundry, as well as agricultural runoff and road runoff being other big ones. We learned more about the impacts from the extreme rainfall events we had in Ottawa in July and the resulting plunges in water quality due to drainage overflows leading to pollution runoff into the river. We also explored different items that are made with plastics like aluminum cans, clothing, running shoes and bags.
The Learning Lab is open to the public and free to access, offering activities for all ages. Until September 7th, it is open from Thursday to Sunday, 11 am – 5 pm.
Check out the Ottawa Riverkeeper website for more information on their many initiatives.
