2018-Oct-12
Eileen Maynard - Guardian of the Bay
My name is Eileen Maynard; I am 10 years old and the eldest of the 5th generation in my family at our cottage in Cognashene, part of the Georgian Bay Archipelago. Georgian Bay is so special to me. It is where I spend my summers and any weekend we can get free of our crazy life in the city. In the summer you can go swimming and tubing or out to islands for picnics. In the fall, it is so pretty with all of the colorful leaves and trees and a great time to go for a walk on Beausoleil Island.
Being a Guardian of the Bay is important to me because Georgian Bay is vital to us and the animals around us. Being a Guardian of the Bay is a responsibility that we all have for keeping it healthy for the next 5 generations.
Last year, with my grandfather, I applied for and was accepted as a volunteer in the Lake Partner Program, a volunteer-based, water-quality monitoring program operated by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Intended as a multi-year commitment, we were assigned a location near our cottage where we take samples of the bay to see how healthy the water is. We have to check how clear the water is twice a month from May to September and submit water samples every year in May. Taking the water samples is very important and other volunteers are doing the same across Georgian Bay. I am looking forward to receiving the results of the data we collected so we can compare our results with past years and other locations, and track the changes in the water health in our area
Thanks to programs like the Lake Partner Program, I know Georgian Bay is as important to others as it is to me.
