The Ottawa Riverkeeper Gala raises money to support a clean and healthy river

The charitable organization focused on ensuring Ottawa’s waterways are healthy held its annual gala Wednesday night. CTV’s Shaun Vardon has a recap.

Derek Tokarski knows the value of clean water; he and his family live on the Ottawa River.

The Tokarski family attended the Ottawa Riverkeeper Galal Wednesday night at Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau because they want to keep the river and its tributaries healthy for future generations.

“It’s important to us and our children we are big donors to the Riverkeeper and have volunteered for years with the organization,” Tokarski said. “Besides investigating when there are problems that people notice, they do constant testing and water monitoring. They also do education at River House for children and help connect the city to the river.”

The Ottawa Riverkeeper is a charitable organization and according to their mission statement, they aim to inspire cooperative action focused on a healthy watershed for all generations and all species. They are part of the Waterkeeper Alliance, an international grassroots advocacy organization devoted exclusively to clean water, protecting 2.7 million miles of waterways with more than 300 Waterkeepers in 47 countries.

Laura Reinsborough, the Riverkeeper and CEO of Ottawa Riverkeeper, says one of the most important jobs they have is education. Their programs impact thousands of students every year, teaching the next generation the importance of our natural waterways to our health.

“We get them hands on, they take water quality samples, they learn the science but they also learn about the biodiversity with which we share this river, and they learn how to do problem-solving so they can become stewards of the water as well,” Reinsborough said. “We also want to encourage people to enjoy the river because it is highly swimmable. I think that is the best way that people can take action is to be able to enjoy and appreciate our river and not take it for granted.”

With over 400 guests. the gala is expected to raise over $300,000, which is about 20 per cent of the organization’s budget. For a decade, this event has provided key funding for the charity. One of the new initiatives the Ottawa Riverkeeper has adopted is testing the Ottawa River for forever chemicals or PFAS. It’s a new challenge facing many local waterways, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada, they are a group of synthetic chemicals that are highly persistent in the environment and the human body and have been linked to health issues.

The Ottawa Riverkeeper was founded almost 25 years ago, along with water testing, advocacy and education. The charity encourages residents to get out on the water and enjoy nature and all it has to offer. Believing that the more people used our waterways the more they are invested in their protection. Currently there are nine Waterkeeper charities in Canada, keeping watch over rivers, lakes, and oceans.