We share a precious resource with everyone who lives along the Great Lakes Basin: water. Now, an international group whose job it is to ensure the protection of the world's water for generations to come is seeking your input to form a "collective vision" to present to political leaders along the basin to ensure we protect this resource well into 2035 and beyond.
People who live along the Great Lakes Basin, from the shores of Lake Superior to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, are being asked to share and eventually form a collective vision of what they want this valuable waterway to look like in 2035 and beyond, according to event organizers.
The 1st Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Symphony is an attempt to unite the people who live and work along the hydrological basin of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River in an effort to protect this natural resource that plays such a vital role in our lives--from its importance as a shipping channel for commerce, to the fish we catch, and the water we drink.
"What I'm doing affects everyone else along the basin," says Greg Zimmerman, professor of biology and event organizer for Lake Superior State University.
Although environmental groups will be asked to participate, it is much more than addressing the environmental concerns of the basin, according to Zimmerman. He says those concerns are being addressed with clean water initiatives and the like.
"What is missing is capturing people's thoughts (on the basin), what unites us," says Zimmerman, who has been an active member of the St. Mary's River Advisory Council for the past 15 years.
The 1st Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Symphony is coordinated by the International Secretariat for Water, a nonprofit organization in Montreal that works globally to ensure clean drinking water for people of all nations.
The project began in the autumn of 2011 and will run into the summer of 2012. Several interested parties have signed on to partner with the ISW, including members of American Indian and First Nation tribes, regional sustainability groups, Great Lakes United, LSSU, Wayne State University and other universities.
The responses from the public and participating organizations will be tallied by about 50 "stakeholders" who will prepare a vision statement. According to Zimmerman, the people selected will represent a cross-section of people in the region, and not necessarily dignitaries or policy makers. The collective statement will be presented to government and other decision makers, starting with the annual meeting of the Great Lakes Cities Initiative, a collaborative of Great Lakes mayors, in the summer of 2012.
"We are all living in this basin and we're all living together, and we want to share this with political leaders," says Melissa Lebel, assistant to the general secretary of the ISW.
Lebel has been busy touring cities along the basin, including Detroit, and has filmed testimonials from people concerned with the future of this treasured waterway.
Participants who live along this stretch of waterway that links so many cities, towns, and hamlets, are asked to consider the following questions when giving their testimonies:
• What unites all of us who live along the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence system?
• What is important to us and what worries us regarding our water?
• What do we want to promote?
• What is our shared vision for 2035?
• What actions should we take to make our vision come true?
Views on the Great Lakes Basin can be expressed through images, music, dance, poetry and of course, writing, which can be posted to a
blog. There is also a film competition open for ages 17 to 30, with the theme "My water is our water."
The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Symphony is part celebration and part public awareness campaign to bring people together for a shared vision that can help influence policy and the way we treat this precious resource in the future. Zimmerman says this involves gathering a collective vision from people from all walks of life, including folks from the arts, history, business, fishing, cultural and recreational.
Event organizers and participants will meet in Quebec City, Canada in June of 2012 and present their "Vision of 2035." At that time there will be proposals for follow up, which will include "harmonization, contacts, strengthening of existing alliances," and evaluation of the overall process.
The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River Basin covers more than 1,200 square miles and contains nearly 20 percent of the planet's fresh water. Six Canadian provinces and eleven states border these great waters. The ISW has spent the last 20 years working to make "drinking water and sanitation a reality for all throughout the world." They do this though public awareness activities like the 1st International Symphony.
For more information on the 1st Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Symphony, including where to record your stories and a list of upcoming events,
visit the ISW online or on
Facebook.
Neil Moran is a freelance copywriter living in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Visit his website.
Photos by Shawn Malone.