Canoe Trip between Ottawa Canada and Washington DC, USA

[Julia Morton-Marr]

Canadian River Management Society / USA River Management Society / International Holistic Tourism Education Centre
Schools are invited to participate. Please circulate.

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Leaving on the 5th of September 2012, a dedicated group of paddlers will embark on a unique journey:

Capital to Capitol: a canoe trip from Ottawa to Washington to protect and restore the waters we all need and share.

This ambitious, interactive undertaking to share the ecology and rich cultural heritage of the waters that connect our two countires will be led by Max Finkelstein, Dot Bonnenfant and Clive Doucet, who collectively share much experience in canoe expeditions and social and ecological advocacy. The goal of the expedition is the formation of a cross-border citizen advocacy group for the protection and improvement of the streams, rivers and lakes that both the United States and Canada share.

 This Ottawa to Washington paddle in September will carry the challenge to citizens of both countries to have the two. cleanest. most ecologically healthy rivers flowing through capital cities in the world.  The trip is dedicated to the memory of Elder William Commanda and his vision for a Circle of all Nations, (we are all citizens of the world we share with each other), with the canoe as a symbol of how people, water, and nature combine and work together to animate peace, healing, and understanding."
 
The crew will be made up of Americans and Canadians, First Nations people, environmentalists and corporate leaders, politicians and students ... all contributing in their own way to the expedition mission and the goal of forming a cross-border citizens advocacy group for the restoration and protection of the waters that both our countries share. 

The 5-week, 1,800 km (1,000-mile) journey will commence at Victoria Island, at the foot of Parliament Hill in Ottawa in a 36 foot Canot de Maitre (Voyageur Canoe).  It will follow the Ottawa River to Montreal, the Lachine Canal to the St. Lawrence, then downstream to the Richilieu, and up the Richielieu to Lake Champlain to cross into the US.  From there, the group will head south on Lake Champlain to the Champlain Canal, south to the Hudson River then on to New York City and the Intercoastal Waterway, via Delaware Bay and Chesapeake Bay, to Washington, ending at the reflecting pool of the Washington Monument, on the National Mall of Capitol Hill.

Through stories, photographs, videos, and interviews on the web site, others will be able to join in the journey to help carry our message about the state of our waters, the state of the governance of our waters, the importance they play in our lives, our culture, our heritage, our health and our economy.

IHTEC's suggestions:

1.Students could take the canoe journey virtually on Google Earth. The route is attached, look at the second page, showing the rivers to the inland water way. They could find all the names of the other towns and cities along the way. Schools can follow this via GPS and satellite. There will be a webskte.

2. Beginning January 2012, IHTEC is participating with the Niagara Region with the 'War of 1812 - 1814 Bicentennial celebrating Peace between our two wonderful countries. We could invite schools to link this into their ISPG participation.

3. IHTEC's Watershed Peace Pathways logo, is to used by all schools that paeticipate. We encourage schools along the route and elsewhere, to dedicate themselves in their International School Peace Gardens and use the 'IHTEC water dedication', which is now in a Google Documents Tracking Form.

IHTEC's educational program would follow your journey, and it would promote your trip, the Bicentennial. The following Canadian and United Nations Days. IHTEC also has a new desert program called "Discovering Delicate Deserts" which is focused mainly on water.

June 13, 2012 = Canadian Rivers Day
June 17, 2012 = World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.
June 26, 2012 = National Canoe Day

4. IHTEC's Marine Peace Parks logo can be used by schools on coastal areas. There will be an 'IHTEC Marine Dedication', as a Google Tracking Form.

6. IHTEC also has an online Litter Tracking Form that can be used by schools by the ocean.

Cheers
Julia

Julia Morton-Marr, DStG., B.Edu., Dip.T., President, IHTEC
1/1000 PeaceWomen Nobel Peace Prize nominations 2005, 2006, 2007

International Holistic Tourism Education Centre - IHTEC,
3343 Masthead Crescent, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. L5L 1G9
Tel: 1 (905) 820 - 5067
Email:  ih...@3web.com
Website: www.ihtec.org
ISPG Blog: http://ispg.blogspot.com
IHTEC Blog: http://ihtec1.blogspot.com

IHTEC is an Educational Charity, focused developing curriculum content
for schools in Sustainability and Peace Education (GSE) and
the 'International School Peace Gardens' is focused on conflict resolution.

IHTEC has Official Status with:
United Nations (UN) ECOSOC Status
Supports the
UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
UN Decade of a Culture of Peace.
UN Water for Life
Attending Rio +20

Julia's Bio is on www.ihtec.org under Board.

2.      Council on Global Issues (CGI), Vice-President, Education.
CGI is part of the 'Science for Peace/Canadian Pugwash, Global Issues Project'
  http://c-g-i.info/

4.   Science for Peace (SfP) Board member,  http://www.scienceforpeace.ca/global-issues-project
Coordinator: Global Issues Project, Curriculum Implementation, Climate Change & Energy Round Table (CCERT)
Committee: Global Issues Project: Curriculum Implementation, Expert Round Table on Water
Committee: Global Issues Project: Curriculum Implementation, Food & Population Round Table

5. Canadian Coordinator for the 'PeaceWomen Across the Globe Partnership Project'

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6. Technical Advisor for Canadian Voice of Women.
7. Member of International Peace Bureau
8. Phi Delta Kappa International Advisor for Hawaii and ex-officio for Phi Delta Kappa for University of Toronto
        

[Julia Morton-Marr]

opps with map this time... Please could someone who did Geography draw us some watershed maps for each river along the route, for posters.