Page 91 - Cultural Studies of Science Education

68 W.-M. Roth

Drive area was biologically and chemically contaminated. Sometimes, the residents
were advised by the Capital Health Region not to use their water at all or to boil it
considerably; many residents have opted to get their water from gas stations in one
of the two areas of higher concentrations. In recent years, residents have increased
the frequency of their demands and sought exposure in the local media in support
of their cause. The residents brought the issues forward to the Regional Water
Commission, which decided that the issue was a municipal concern. They were
therefore caught and frequently made their plight being heard through the local
newspapers. But despite increasing concerns with the water supplies in over 200
communities in Canada, there was no sense of ecojustice in this community, until
only a few days ago when, in the face of several large grants, the local politicians
finally voted a bylaw allowing the extension of the water main into Senanus Drive.
Water and its quality and the environmental health of the entire watershed therefore
are at the forefront of many residents’ minds and at the forefront of the local news-
papers (there have been many title-page features).
The Hagan Creek–Kennes Project arose from the concerns about water quality
of three watershed residents, a farmer, professor of environmental policy at the
local university, and a stream biologist working at the Institute for the Ocean
Sciences, who obtained funding from a federal agency concerned with stream res-
toration. They used this funding to hire a coordinator, Misty MacDuffy, an experi-
enced environmental campaigner who is very familiar with political conflicts
around water. Her experience includes international as well as local campaigns, and
she is an accomplished writer and presenter of visual materials. Although she is
familiar with the politics of environmentalism and media relations, she is not from
the region, and her past credentials as a campaigner do not necessarily help her in
her interacting with the largely conservative community members.
Misty was supported by a steering committee of about five-to-seven volunteer
members, all from Central Saanich. The steering committee met weekly to discuss
the recent events and to plan future activities. Its members included a retired civic
engineer, an ecologist/local politician/farm products promoter, a water chemist, two
retirees with experience in campaigning and project management at the federal
level, and a member of one of the old families of the region who provided the activ-
ists with an important connection into daily community politics. The committee
members were dedicated participants, but for the most part, were not known as
major political players in the community – though the ex-councillor and old family
member knew most of those who were “pulling the strings.”
The Hagan Creek–Kennes Project enlisted the support of many other people
and institutions within the region to help get work done. My graduate students and
I helped out in specific areas of the Project at the nexus of numerous personal
(research, personal activism) and institutional (community participation, fulfilling
degree requirements) concerns. There have been many others who have become
involved for the duration of a project or for a summer job while there was sufficient
funding. There were rarely more than 15 people actively engaged at a particular
moment, and Misty provided for the connection between the volunteers who con-
tribute several hours per week of their own time. In the process of changing the