The Rotary Club was delighted to welcome Martha Gue to our meeting today. She was welcomed by President Mark and introduced by Past President Margie Booyens. Martha is a well known figure in our community who has done a great deal of voluntary work. She is currently a member of the Grasslands Naturalists Society and a founding member of the South East Alberta Watershed Alliance (SEAWA). Their website is https://seawa.ca.
Martha spoke about an idea which occurred to her because of the cancellation of displays for World Water Day, and how being restricted from doing the normal outdoor activities caused her to do some thinking. She wondered who was "looking after" the ponds in town? She discovered that there are 20 ponds in Medicine Hat, a combination of natural areas, park ponds and storm water retention areas. She started an "adopt a pond" program, to help deal with invasive species, pick up trash and repair damage and engage families and friends in enjoying these outdoor areas. The idea started on March 8th and all but two of the twenty ponds have been adopted. The two remaining "orphan" are Southridge Community Park and the Stormwater Pond behind Candidan Tire.
She also spoke about the repair projects that SEAWA has been engaged in, along the riparian areas along the creek and river banks.
The work of SEAWA fits very nicely into the new 7th Avenue of Rotary Service, "Protecting the Environment". The information that Martha provided will be forwarded to our Community Service Committee, for review and for a recommendation on some aspect that might fit well into our existing projects in the Community. I suspect there will be more to discuss in the upcoming months.