Returning Cornwallis River to its former glory
River stewardship forges a new alliance in Kings County
The Cornwallis River has returned to its former Mi’kmaq name for some Kings County residents.
A new organization, called the Jijuktukwejk ( gee- geeWUK-tuk) Watershed Alliance, has also been formed recently, with membership from Wolfville to Berwick.
The partnership, says coordinator Jennifer West, has a vision of a swimmable, drinkable and fishable river flowing through the eastern Valley.
“I have wanted there to be a watchdog body over the Cornwallis since the 1980s when (Acadia University prof) Merritt Gibson organized a canoe trip down its slimy waters,” adds botanist and ecologist Nick Hill, who lives in Berwick.
Hill said that an alliance with integrity “can weigh in in an objective way on what factors are damaging the watershed and
the river waters.”
The Jijuktukwejk Watershed Alliance, he noted, needs to be a real community-level program.
According to West, who worked on water issues for the Ecology Action Centre, the alliance was formed in June and generally 18 people attend the monthly meetings.
“People seem really passionate about it,” she said. “We’re going to establish working groups in five or six communities, including the Annapolis Valley First Nation.”
The stated objective is essentially a clean river, she said, but that includes improved watershed health, the protection of life and minimizing property damage from flooding and erosion.
The stated goals also include the use of outdoor experiences to connect residents with the river and to focus on education,
teamwork, development, engagement and positive change.
For West, the Jijuktukwejk (or Narrow River) and the Annapolis Rivers are connected because they start close together in the area near Berwick, Aylesford and Grafton.
She says the alliance plans to work closely with the Clean Annapolis River Project (CARP).
The collection of data on the rivershed in the long term will be extremely useful, she noted, pointing out that contamination could come from sewage, animal feces, pesticides or fertilizer.
“We’ll build on that,” West said. “It’s multifaceted. There will be more studies as the volume of grants is going up.”
She is interested in determining the health of the river, lo-
cating its Mi’kmaq history and looking at wetland restoration.