Turning a City Park into a Living Classroom for Water Stewardship
Great Lakes Water Festival – Limestone District School Board
Role: Dan Hendry (Co‑Founder & Organizer)
Year: 2015–2019
From 2015 to 2019, I had the opportunity to help co‑found and organize the Great Lakes Water Festival at Lake Ontario Park, an annual outdoor education event focused on water conservation and stewardship. Each year, the festival welcomed approximately 250 students, transforming the park into a hands‑on classroom centred on one shared and essential theme: water.
The idea behind the festival was simple but powerful—to create a space where diverse organizations could come together, connected only by their relationship to water. Over several years, we brought together more than 20 partner organizations, giving students the opportunity to explore water from cultural, environmental, scientific, and safety perspectives, all in one place.
As a co‑founder and lead organizer, I supported both the strategic coordination and the day‑of operations of the festival. My role included building and maintaining partnerships, coordinating volunteers, managing logistics, and supporting media outreach to ensure the event was accessible and well communicated to the broader community. On the day of the festival, I helped oversee setup and operations, working to ensure each station was prepared to deliver an engaging and educational experience for students.
As a co‑founder and lead organizer, I supported both the strategic coordination and the day‑of operations of the festival. My role included building and maintaining partnerships, coordinating volunteers, managing logistics, and supporting media outreach to ensure the event was accessible and well communicated to the broader community. On the day of the festival, I helped oversee setup and operations, working to ensure each station was prepared to deliver an engaging and educational experience for students.
The diversity of partners was one of the festival’s greatest strengths. Indigenous elders shared traditional knowledge and cultural perspectives on water. The Ontario Provincial Police provided water safety demonstrations. The Cataraqui Region Conservation Authority engaged students in learning about aquatic ecosystems and wildlife. Researchers and educators from Queen’s University, along with partners such as Public Health, RBC, and the Limestone District School Board, led interactive activities exploring the science, biology, and chemistry of water.
Over the years that the festival ran, we reached well over a thousand local students before the event was paused due to the pandemic. More than a field trip, the Great Lakes Water Festival was a community‑driven effort to help young people understand the importance of protecting our most essential resource. Seeing hundreds of students learning side by side from scientists, elders, conservationists, and community leaders remains one of the clearest examples for me of what collaborative, place‑based education can achieve.
Related Links & Media: https://www.thewhig.com/news/local-news/great-lakes-water-festival-makes-a-splash
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