Elmvale News
Churches Join Together in Song – By Bunny Trace
April 6, 2024 – On Good Friday the Elmvale and district community was treated to an exceptional musical performance. Singers from Elmvale Presbyterian, and St, Johns United Churches were led by Bob Breuer and Karen Parnell. The result was an absolutely brilliant, seamless presentation of new music, old hymns and Bible verses. The Choir and Double Treble group gifted the congregation with new songs and encouraged all to join in the familiar hymns. This was accompanied by the Easter Friday story retold beautifully by Rev. Pat Mac Donald and Rev. Tom Mason. An altogether fantastic experience.
Elmvale’s Flowing Artesian Ground Waters is Celebrated – By William Shotyk, President, Elmvale Foundation
Bocock Chair for Agriculture and the Environment, Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta
April 7, 2024 – The Elmvale Foundation celebrated World Water Day (on Friday March 22), with a book launch ! The book is entitled The Elmvale Groundwater Observatory: A Facility Developed to Sample Pristine, Artesian Groundwaters for Trace Elements and was written with my coauthors Beatriz Bicalho, Chad Cuss, Iain Grant-Weaver, Muhammad Babar Javed, Michael Krachler, Tommy Noernberg, Michael Powell, Jiancheng (James) Zheng. The book is published by The Groundwater Project which is a Canadian charity led by Prof. John Cherry. All of the books published by The Groundwater Project (40 and counting) can be downloaded for free. There have been more than a quarter of a million downloads already, with readers in 178 countries. One thousand volunteers from 70 countries have translated these books into 47 languages. Here is the link to download our book for free:
https://gw-project.org/books/the-elmvale-groundwater-observatory/
Having tested the flowing artesian ground waters of the Elmvale area for more than 30 years, the book summarizes the main research findings. While the focus is on trace elements and the importance of dedicated wells and contamination control, data is included on major ions, organic contaminants (none were detected), the estimated age of the water and a geological cross section where the wells are located.
The launch included a reception and live presentation of the highlights of the book on the University of Alberta campus. It was an honour to host so many esteemed colleagues from the University of Alberta: Drs. Stan Blade (Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences), and Victor Adamowicz (Vice Dean) as well as Dr. Matina Kalcounis-Rueppell (Dean of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences, and Vice Provost). Also in attendance were Drs. John Zhou, Vice-President of Clean Resources, and Dr. Brett Purdy, Executive Director of Environmental Innovation at Alberta Innovates. The soil science community was well represented, with Drs. Anne Naeth (Director of the Land Reclamation International Graduate School), along with David Chanasyk, Scott Chang, Miles Dyck, and Tariq Siddique. Pieter de Vos attended to represent the Bocock family.
The presentation was available online, and it was great to see Kim Sturges, O.C. of WaterSMART, Prof. Gus Hill of Wilfred Laurier University and Erik Schomann of Seneca College, as well as friends and neighbours from Springwater and Tiny Townships, and Beausoleil First Nation, in addition to coauthors of the book and members of our groundwater study team.
The presentation plus the Q/A session were filmed, and the video has been posted online: the link to the video is given below
Special thanks to Fiorella Barraza, Andrii Oleksandrenko, Pamela Wescott, and Quincy Ybaňez for helping to plan and host the book launch, and to Andrii for filming the event and processing the video.
The Elmvale Foundation is a federally registered charity for environmental science and public education. If you are able to support our efforts, donations can be made online and are received with sincere gratitude:
http://www.elmvale.org/elmvalefoundation/donate.html
Questions about the Elmvale Groundwater Observatory may be submitted to shotyk@ualberta.ca and enquiries about the Elmvale Foundation may be sent to bill@elmvale.org
To address commonly asked questions about water quality, plain language updates will be posted on Instagram where I am @waterwasyl
Please join me there for an exploration of the chemical evolution of our remarkable groundwater in relation to the periodic table of the elements. Our water contains every element under the sun, but their concentrations vary over 12 orders of magnitude !
Sagkeeng First Nation Exchange Trip
By Milla Greavette, EDHS Student and Greg Davidson, EDHS Teacher/Exchange Coordinator
April 8, 2024 – This April 20th, a group of students from Elmvale District High School will be embarking on an exchange trip all the way to Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba. Manitoba is a completely new and different environment for almost everyone going on this exchange and for our “twins” coming to Ontario will be totally different for them as well.
When we are in Manitoba we will do much sightseeing and will definitely visit the Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg. But it’s not all about the sightseeing; students will also have the opportunity to engage in meaningful cultural experiences. We will participate in different activities led by Indigenous elders, learn about traditional crafts, storytelling, and the importance of keeping Indigenous languages and traditions for generations to come. This exchange trip will be an amazing opportunity for us to learn more about a different culture in person, and discover more about the people of Canada. The students from Sagkeeng will also get the chance to learn about our culture and traditions. Sagkeeng students will get the chance to experience some of our best things to offer in Ontario, such as Blue Mountain, Niagara Falls, maple syrup and more.
Last year Governor General Mary Simon and her husband Whitt Fraser described how exchange trips, like this one to Manitoba, play a crucial role in shaping the next generation of Canadian citizens, mutual cultural understanding, and appreciation for Canada’s diversity. “This is the work of reconciliation, you are doing it,” said His Excellency.
We want our community to know how much we value their encouragement and financial support. So many individuals, businesses, organizations, and corporations have supported us and we appreciate you!
Elmvale Lions are Growing
By Murray Truax
April 1, 2024 – The Elmvale Lions are proud to welcome their newest member. PDG Randy Hargrave can be seen here inducting Daniel Thompson as his sponsor Colin Marshall looks on. Welcome Lion Daniel to the Lions Family
Lions Aid World Wide Disaster Fund
By Murray Truax
April 1, 2024 – Zone Chair Jim Elliott and Governor Jerry Rebidoux are proud to present Past District Governor Randy Hargrave a cheque for $1500 for Lions Clubs International Foundation. The Elmvale Lions are proud to make this donation to aid this world wide disaster fund
