My Watermark is Lake Superior, Ontario.

Of all bodies of water that I've connected with, this one is the most important. No questions asked. It has a strong personality and mind of it's own. It can get moody. It has the ability to charge me with energy... or is it the always shockingly cold temperature?

Either way. I feel rejuvenated when I step out of the water, wishing I could stop time in the moment of being half inside of the water and half out. The feeling of the deep water grasping my legs and the sun warming my chest. This lake is important to me. This lake is important to my family and my childhood. This lake is important to all of my Brothers and Sisters.

Stewart Lake is a much smaller lake. It's quite simple. Surrounded by cedar trees. Serene. Pristine. I feel eternally grateful for the connection my family, friends and I have been able to make with this lake. My heart feels warm when I think about the hilarious memories, mind opening conversations, and thoughtful moments I've had sitting on it's shore. Moments with friends and in solitude. I have felt like the most open version and natural version of myself at this lake.

These lakes serve as a home for many life forms. I am not the only creature that feels this way about these places. Even single celled microorganisms are given life by these lakes. I feel honoured to be able to share the space with these creatures. The conservation of these lakes is important to me and and more importantly the creatures that live inside of them. We are all related. We are all equal. Humans, fish, microorganisms, plants, the algae, rocks, the sand, the trees, their roots, and the lake itself.

We are all the same and we need each other. Humans are the only one's aware of the fate of these creatures since we are the ones planning and causing them destruction. Human needs are damaging these life forms. Human needs are damaging humans. Let us use the way we treat other life forms as a metaphor for the way we are treating our own brothers and sisters. We need to listen to each other. We need to remember that we are related and interconnected. So intricately and indecipherably tangled together. Newton's third law has never been more important to understand.

Humans, crude oil, fish, natural gas, microorganisms, pipelines, plants, infrastructure, the algae, rocks, the sand, emissions, the trees, their roots and fossil fuels. These are not related.