During my first summer as an undergraduate student at the University of Guelph, I had the unique opportunity to be a part of an experience called the Two Row on the Grand. Beginning just North of Dundalk, we canoed 150km to the opening of Lake Erie (Port Maitland), spanning over the course of ten days, camping in the municipalities along the Grand River each night. This opportunity sparked my love and connection to the water. It was during this excursion that I developed a deeper understanding of the vital role that water plays in all of our lives, and the relationship it builds between us as people and non-human beings.


The Two Row on the Grand is a canoe paddle that embodies the Two Row Wampum, which is a Peace Treaty between Indigenous and settler communities. This experience, for me, built long lasting connections rooted in the water we paddled on, and helped me develop a mutual respect for individual values and culture through our time spent sharing the same river. The Grand River became my watermark as it taught me how to step outside of myself and become a part of a bigger cause. As I watched at least 75 people, including myself, paddle along the river in unison, helping each other and connecting through the water we occupied, I realized the water was as much a part of our community as the paddlers that occupied it, and the Grand River got to know us as much as we got to know it.