Hi, I'm Raindrop. Come with me and explore the story of water on Bowen Island.

We are a small island surrounded by salty ocean water, and so there are limits to our freshwater supply. Yet all life - people, other animals, and plants - rely utterly on a continued supply. So we need to answer important questions:

• Do we have enough water?
• Are we using it wisely?
• Are we protecting our drinking water supplies?
• Are we leaving enough for nature?

Aerial map image of Bowen Island, viewed looking to southwest, created by draping a mosaic of aerial photographs over a digital elevation model. (Image created by Ryan Grant.) larger image [JPEG, 1.3 Mb, 2091 X 863, notice]

Watershed
by Pauline Le Bel^©2002

Water shed since the beginning; silver beads of life falling from the sky.

Living water shed for the love of greening things. Living Water cleansing nourishing healing.

Mother of all life forms yet formless yielding to serpentine river bed; blessing fingers dipped in still ponds; accepting the scoop of a child's rubber pail.

Powerful Water changing everything in your path wearing smooth the hardest stone in your urgency to return to the sea in this neverending prayer of renewal.

Island Waters precious vulnerable children of the salty womb we call you Grafton Honeymoon Josephine home of the red swimmer.

Restless Water singing the shore pebbles dancing the moon how we long to contain you. In our carelessness we alter your flow we squander we poison your gift.

Clutching our hands we watch you slip away drop by drop. We forget to bow our heads.

Sacred Water when will we gaze upon the still mirror of your face and remember our watery beginnings the amniotic cradle of our Mothers?

When will we feel the oceans flowing through our veins, taste our salty tears? When will every water-loving cell in our body cry out: what we do to you we do to ourselves?

Oh, Troubled Water one shining morning we will gather we will stand ready and willing to protect you to honour you.