Photo: Jo-Anne Harbinson and Bruce Davidson, members of The Sustainability Project, at the Well 5 memorial plaque in Walkerton, on May 20th 2025 marking the 25th anniversary of the Walkerton Tragedy.
It's not a stretch to suggest that Bruce Davidson has been one of the leading climate activists in rural Ontario of this century. His face has been all over the news in Ontario, now that advocates for healthy drinking water have marked the 25th anniversary of the Walkerton Tainted Water Tragedy on May 22, 2025. He's got a bio full of a "who's who" of environmental non-profits including time spent on the board of Canadian Environmental Law Association, or CELA. He is most likely known for his work at Concerned Walkerton Citizens -- a group that participated in the Walkerton Inquiry -- that led to great outcomes such as the building of the Walkerton Clean Water Centre.
Most recently during the lead-up to the 25th anniversary, Bruce and fellow The Sustainability Project (TSP) board member Jo-Anne Harbinson were in Walkerton on May 15th hosting local grade 9 students from Walkerton District Community School at Centennial Park alongside Silver Creek. At the river’s edge, they discussed the challenges associated with urban stormwater runoff, along with nature-based solutions, specifically they toured a raingarden that was constructed as part of the McGivern Street rebuild, a nature-based solution to prevent contaminated stormwater runoff from reaching the Saugeen River. Bruce Davidson talked to students about a circular economy and the importance of recycling. Jo-Anne taught the students about benthic macro invertebrates, the role of watersheds, and the importance of maintaining good water quality in local creeks and rivers. Bruce and Jo-Anne shared concepts such as how climate change is impacting streams, creeks, as well as how changing land-use activities are impacting local watersheds. Bruce walked the students up to the Walkerton Hospital helipad and spoke about the people impacted by the Walkerton water tragedy. The students also observed stormwater runoff from the nearby county building.
The next week, they were at it again hosting students from Sacred Heart High School at the Walkerton Clean Water Centre and held an in-depth discussion about the water tragedy, where rural climate action activities like protecting local watersheds, prioritizing source water protection to maintain clean drinking water, and the role of low impact development and permeable paving help to influence the quality, temperature and volume of stormwater runoff that makes its way into local waterways. Students also got a tour of the Clean Water Centre and learned about career opportunities associated with water protection and purification.
For the better part of this century, Bruce has been offering on-the-ground environmental education, going into classrooms, and taking kids to the Clean Water Centre and/or Well 5, to share aspects of the legacy of Walkerton Tainted Water. Bruce has also lifted up examples of successful and sustainable local businesses to inspire students to explore work and careers that focus on green jobs. This educational program is called This educational school program is called CareerWORKS.
Although CareerWORKS it is an ongoing program at non-profit TSP prominently featuring source water protection as a call-to-action, the program ironically is currently seeking funding to continue operating at a time where our community is reflecting on the tragedy of lack of oversight over our water supply. Let's not forget the lesson that Walkerton tragedy provides us. Let's continue to act diligently in that little Venn Diagram space where environmental issues are both RELEVANT TO OUR COMMUNITIES and IMPORTANT TO THE PLANET.
As a community we’d like to recognize the dedication and grit shown by Bruce Davidson and his many colleagues and associates over the past 25 years. There are no words to thank you, Bruce – but we’d sure like to try:
Thanks Bruce for your ongoing and tireless work in Climate Action, Climate Justice, Circular Economy, Nature Based Solutions, and Source Water Protection. There's a saying that bounces around in advocacy circles, that if you do a good enough job you may put yourself out of work. Nobody deserves to be made redundant more than Bruce Davidson. Special thanks to all of you who are working tirelessly in this space, creating incremental change in our region and building a culture of sustainability around us.
In addition to the videos above, you can learn more about these issues and the Walkerton tainted water tragedy with this CELA video interview with Bruce Davidson and how to filter your own drinking water sample, thanks to the Walkerton Clean Water Centre.
Photo: Bruce Davidson watches the press surround the Well 5 memorial in Walkerton, marking the 25th anniversary of the tainted water tragedy. Photo credit: Jo-Anne Harbinson