Ripple Effects Projects

2025 Summer Writing Institute participants were invited to create their own Ripple Effects Place Projects by identifying an aspect of water (in)justice that was significant to their communities to become the focus of an inquiry. These projects all include the three key elements of a Ripple Effects project: photography, writing, and publication or circulation. We offer glimpses into these projects here as inspirational launching points for educators to imagine ways of engaging with inquiries about water in their own schools and communities.

Aquaculture's Ability to Create Authentic Learning Experiences by Ethan Lee

Essential Question How can the introduction of aquaculture into the classroom environment create unique and authentic learning opportunities? About the Project It was only after finding out that students in my school were skipping class to go fishing at the local river that I realized that there was an opportunity to create meaningful learning opportunities going unnoticed. This project, inspired by those students and the efforts of the Nelson River Sturgeon Board, expands up

2 min read

From Brooks To Books by Will Switzer

Purpose Statement To create and foster discussion of water issues within Senior Years and Early Years students through the accessible lens of a children’s story. Project Summary This project focuses on creating the framework of an English Language Arts unit that addresses water issues either locally, provincially, or globally. Students will start the unit off by learning about the basic concepts of water issues, with a focus on Shoal Lake 40 as an example of a water issue tha

2 min read

Students As Wake Makers by Bradyn Lederer

Essential Question How can understanding the history, present issues, and questioning what the future holds for the rivers and the water systems in Manitoba encourage students to become change makers? Project Summary This project invites students to build a relationship with the land and water around them in their community and beyond. Further, students will discover the historical and the relational significance water in Manitoba has for all groups of people. Students will d

2 min read

Flowing Through Time Along The Red River by Michelle Nguy

Purpose Statement To engage students in critical, creative, and place-based inquiry about the Red River, exploring its environmental and colonial histories in order to develop scientific literacy, ethical awareness, and meaningful communication about water justice. Project Goals Develop scientific literacy through hands-on water testing and environmental analysis. Cultivate place-based awareness and ecojustice thinking. Encourage creative and reflective writing tied to land,

2 min read

Understanding Water Insecurity and Infrastructure Inequality by Kelly Rapke

Purpose Statement / Essential Question How do we confront the injustice of unequal water access in Canada, and what does it mean to grow up in a place where clean water is a given, while others still wait for it? This project invites students to look closely at something many of us take for granted: clean, safe, running water. We begin by asking why some communities in Canada still don’t have it, and how those decisions were made and continue to be made. What does it say abou

2 min read

Rain To Roots by Jessica Schneider

Essential question How can collecting and reusing rainwater through homemade barrels help us conserve water and grow a thriving garden while inspiring others to care for the environment? About this project My Ripple Effects Place Project centers on empowering students from preschool through grade 12 to take ecological action through rain barrel construction and garden rejuvenation. Beginning with first-grade students and supported by high school mentors, the project transform

2 min read

What "She" Carries by Marco Trunzo

Purpose Statement The proposed project will guide students through an exploration of their personal, political, and ecological relationships with water, with specific attention to the context of Winnipeg's wastewater systems and the ongoing dependency on water from Shoal Lake 40. In a city where untreated sewage frequently flows into the Red River and clean drinking water is obtained from a community that lacks access to it, this inquiry will prompt students to consider the f

3 min read

The Language of Water: A Multi-Modal Water Inquiry by Jared Suderman

A Multimodal Water Inquiry This inquiry project is a cross-grade collaboration between a Grade 12 Global Issues class at J.H. Bruns Collegiate and a younger classroom from Niakwa Place School, both located in the Louis Riel School Division in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Students from diverse linguistic, cultural, and national backgrounds will come together to explore water in their immediate environment and in global contexts—from the nearby Seine River to the waters that connect the

1 min read

Is Water Just Water? by Cori-Lee Valois

Essential Question How can we rebuild our relationship with water to honour its life-giving role, respect its cultural significance and ensure its protection for future generations? Problem The water problem at the heart of this project is the growing disconnect between people and water. In particular in urban settings, water is often viewed only as a utility and a resource. People see water as something to be used, consumed and as a result it is often taken for granted. Wate

3 min read

The River That Split Us: Writing Water, Memory, and Belonging Across Lands by Eda Can Karabal

Introduction Water doesn’t just pass through pipes and rivers—it moves through our memories. It carries stories, grief, inheritance, and silence. For some, water is a right; for others, a wound. As a newcomer to Canada and a former teacher in Turkey, I’ve seen how water both divides and connects. My grandmother lived in a village in western Turkey where the Menderes River cut the land in two. Those who lived along its fertile banks were seen as fortunate—water meant life, cro

4 min read

Water Stories: Comparing Canada and Dubai Through Built and Natural Waters by Fatima Moosavi

Comparing Canada and Dubai Through Built and Natural Waters Essential Question How do water systems, natural and built, shape our relationship with water in different parts of the world? About This Project This project invites middle school students in Canada to explore water as both a vital resource and an unequal one by comparing their local natural water systems with the built water systems of Dubai. Through field trips, virtual exchanges, creative writing, and multimodal

2 min read

Because Water Matters by Christine Streich

What can water teach us about justice, connection, and care… for ourselves, our communities, and the world? Centered around the sacredness and significance of water, the project invites high school students in a multi-age classroom (Grades 9–12) to explore water through multiple lenses These students, who bring with them diverse learning abilities, lived experiences, and often difficult relationships with education, are at the heart of this work. Many face systemic barriers s

2 min read

Ripple Effects: From Shoal Lake's Story to Our Own by Ian Lindal

Purpose This unit engages students in critical examination of water equity issues through the lens of the Shoal Lake 40 First Nation water crisis and Winnipeg Aqueduct, empowering them to become informed citizens and active agents of change around water justice and Indigenous rights. Students will consider the essential question: How do we value/devalue our water? About This Project Participants: Grade 10/11 ELA/Geography/History students in Manitoba Context: This unit examin

2 min read

Muddy Waters, Muted Voices by Jashandeep Kaur

Essential Question What stories do polluted waters carry, and how can students raise awareness through art, science, and action? Purpose To investigate the issue of water pollution in the Red River, explore its environmental and social consequences, and engage students in creative expression, critical reflection, and community response. The project aims to empower students to become stewards of water justice through storytelling and activism. About This Project Participants:

2 min read

Living Water / Living Justice: Intergenerational Memory and Water in Winnipeg by Jacob Carson

This interdisciplinary, multimodal place-based unit for a Grade 12 Global Issues (40S) &/or ELA 40S class invites students to explore the politics of water in Winnipeg by engaging with histories of colonization, memory, infrastructure, and Indigenous resistance. Students will move between walking-based inquiry, reflective and research-based writing, photography, mapping, and collaborative curation. Drawing from Adele Perry’s Aqueduct, the unit places water justice at the cent

2 min read

Water Walk by Michael Saj

Project Summary This project uses the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a starting point. Looking at updating the UDHR for the 21 Century in this process, the concept of clean, drinkable water as a human right will be introduced. Embracing the idea of “Think Globally and Act Locally” the class will go on a water walk downtown to see what sources of water are available to the citizens of Winnipeg. Students will be encouraged to take photos of what they see as it relates

1 min read

Water in Crisis: A Student Inquiry in Water Challenges in Winnipeg by Baljit Kaur

Purpose Statement The purpose of this project is to advocate for urgent policy reform to protect Manitoba’s freshwater systems by addressing nutrient runoff, chemical contamination, and outdated wastewater infrastructure as we are sharing water with other species too. Through a student- driven petition, the project aims to influence provincial leaders to strengthen water protection laws, support cleanup of polluted sites, and integrate Indigenous water stewardship practices.

2 min read

Water, Technology, and Resistance: A Ripple Effects Inquiry by Monica Gadsby

Essential Question How do global technological infrastructures—like data centres—impact local and global water systems, and what responsibilities do we hold as digital citizens in an era of ecological crisis? Project Summary This inquiry-based project engages a Grade 12 Global Issues class in a critical exploration of the intersection between water justice, technological expansion, and ecological responsibility. Set in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the project invites students to exami

1 min read

Community Water Dance by Olga Serdeschni

How can dance be used to inspire water advocacy and connect us more deeply to the water in the places we live? This project responds to the ongoing problem of water injustice, particularly the historical and ongoing denial of clean water access to Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, which supplies water to the city of Winnipeg. Students explore the emotional, ecological, and social dimensions of water through dance, storytelling, and collaboration, asking: What does water mean to us,

2 min read

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