First week of internship with WWF-Canada Freshies

By Kate Reilly, WWF-Canada Freshwater Intern
Last week was my first week as an intern with WWF Canada’s Freshies, and as the first intern in the Quebec office. It was a week full of trying to get my head around names, organizations, acronyms, new French words, and how to obtain a direct line phone number. But more importantly, I have already learnt a lot about wetland restoration, campaigning strategy, and the challenge of balancing multiple stakeholder needs in the management of a large watershed.
This internship is the final part of my Masters in integrated water resources management at McGill University. I have always been interested in water, ever since spending every summer as a kid trying to dam streams, but I ended up studying ecology at undergrad then working on biodiversity policy for a couple of years. So when I was lucky enough to be offered the chance to join the Freshwater team at WWF Canada for the summer, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to combine my love of water with my love of nature.

WWF-Canada Freshwater Intern, Kate Reilly.

Already it is proving to be a great choice. WWF’s emphasis on managing water to protect nature while respecting the needs of the people around that water is critical for achieving solutions that people can support. And it is always ensured that those solutions are based on sound science, meaning that they can meet their objectives and be sustainable.
Through the summer I’ll be seeing how the WWF Freshies put these principles into action. I’ll be working on the next stage of getting the proposed new regulation plan for water levels in the Lake Ontario-St Lawrence system to implementation. This is an excellent example of how a water management approach can be designed with the participation of wide-ranging stakeholders, from conservationists to commercial interests. The greater degree of variation in water levels that the proposed plan provides, compared to the existing regulation plan, will help to restore the wetlands of Lake Ontario, while offering benefits for hydropower, recreational fishing, hunting and boating.
I have a lot to learn, but I am excited to do whatever I can to contribute to improving Canada’s freshwater for the benefit of nature and people.