We are all sitting together in a moment of deep transition this week, juxtaposing forces of deep joy, deep connection, and deep worry intermingling.

World Water Month is coming to a close, we’re transitioning in the northern hemisphere from winter into spring, and after 19 amazing years, we just celebrated the final days of having Arlene Slocombe as Executive Director of Water Watchers. We shared our waters in circle yesterday (our tears of joy and love), and with the grace we all know to be a core quality of Arlene, she passed the metaphoric torch to me and the WW team.

This feels like a monumental moment in my own life to be stepping into the position of Interim Executive Director at Water Watchers － a true dream come true for me. After more than a decade of working in the water protection space, it’s my unfathomably great honour to be entrusted to steward this vital work. Together, we represent a long-lived and strong movement of water protection that has been built hand-in-hand with you.

In this moment, I am also gobsmacked to see the level of threat to water, the environment, social supports, Indigenous sovereignty, and democracy that exists in our country. The deregulation of permits to take water in Ontario. Federal changes that are trying to streamline mega oil and gas infrastructure while undermining Indigenous rights. And now, attacks on the fabric of democracy － the right of the public to know what our own government is doing. It’s both heinous and baffling.

I never thought my first days in this new role as Interim Executive Director would be rife with such pervasive threats to water and each other, but I have a deep well of hope to draw from because of you.

In my work with WW the last 4 years as a board member and then board chair, I have come to know the strength of our supporters and the power of the WW team intimately. Despite the state of affairs, I can truly say I have complete faith in our movement to weather this storm and build a world where water is honoured as the fabric of life. Our strength & our power is in our togetherness, and I am honoured to commit my heart,  mind, and body to this work alongside you. 

Yours in the important work ahead,

🛑 Fight to Preserve the Freedom of Information Act 🛑

Freedom of information is one of the only tools the public has to see inside government decision-making. FOI requests have helped bring to light issues of significant public interest, including the Greenbelt land removals, plans for mining infrastructure and extraction in the Ring of Fire, provincial pressure on municipal planning decisions, and controversial development proposals on public lands such as Ontario Place. Without the access empower by the Freedom of Information Act, the public would have been left in the dark about these abuses of power.

Transparency matters. Access to information matters. Public oversight matters. Environmental and land-use decisions are already under strain, with rushed policy changes and limited opportunities for meaningful consultation. Further restricting access to information risks deepening public mistrust and weakening democratic accountability at a time when both are urgently needed.

Help us confront the proposed changes to Freedom of Information in Ontario by contacting your MPP with our 1-click digital tool. Let’s make sure Doug Ford knows we’re watching and that we won’t stand for these attacks on our democracy, environment, and Indigenous sovereignty.

🌊 Sustain the Movement: Seeking 200 Allies 🌊

That’s why we’re seeking 200 people from our community to step up as Water Watchers Sustainers this month, helping support us financially and sustain our water protection work.

This is our last chance to meet this goal.

We still need 98 more people to step up in the final days of March as Water Watchers Sustainers. Will you be one of them?

🌊 Call For Stories: Connection With Water 🌊

Water shapes our lives in ways that are both deeply personal and profoundly collective. Water holds memory: of places we’ve lived, moments we return to, and relationships that have formed along its edges.

In water work, these stories matter because they remind us what we’re protecting and why. They connect the scale of global water challenges back to lived experience, grounding big questions in real places, peoples, and histories.

If a story bubbles up, let it flow. We’re collecting submissions here, and every reflection strengthens the current of our growing movement.

A Final Note from Arlene as she officially signs off as Executive Director…

“In the midst of the continuing deluge of proposed bills that slash and cut environmental and social justice protections alongside democratic rights, I recognize that this is a time when WW needs to up our game even more (despite capacity constraints). I feel a great sense of confidence in passing the ED torch to Sarah this week. She and our WW team will do everything in their power to meet the times we face, and to hold decision-makers accountable in order to protect what we all love.

As I step down from this leadership role, I’m transitioning to the role of supporter, alongside all of you. We are the heart of this water justice movement and we cannot waiver in our support. So please, lean in wherever you can. Sign up to volunteer. Become a Water Watchers Sustainer. Show up to the events and continuing taking action, sharing them and inviting others into this movement.

Most of all, hold tight to the core principle of this movement, that water is for life, not profit.“

The waters and the lands around us are churning through this moment. Can we let ourselves become a part of the seasonal turn, finding new vigour and commitment to this important work?

We know we can. We see it in our water protection and social justice work every single day. Whether it’s a new person stepping up, a relationship with an Indigenous ally being deepened, or a community responding to a new water threat in their backyard, we are bearing witness every day to people discovering their renewed commitments to meet these challenging moments with togetherness, integrity, and a deep knowing that water truly is life.

Wherever you find yourself today, know we are eternally grateful to have you in this movement. Just like the water, you belong here and we cannot wait to see how you involve yourself in our collective work to uphold water as life.