I grew up right next to the Credit River in Mississauga, Ontario. As a child me and my siblings spent almost every afternoon after school and on weekends hiking through the woods and walking along the river bed. Some of my most treasured memories from my childhood took place there. I remember chasing frogs and looking for snakes and salamanders under rocks. My siblings and I even built a fort in some bushes by the water that we pretended was our second house. Overall I have always felt a special connection to the credit river. It feeds into one of my favourite neighbourhoods in Mississauga, Port Credit. I have spent a lot of time during my summers now as an adult heading down to Port Credit to walk the pier, try the restaurants, and spend time with my friends and family. It feels like my whole life I have always been close by, my jobs, the places I have lived, the community centers I attended, the Canada Day celebrations and so much more. The Credit River leads into Lake Ontario. Along the lakefront, I have visited a lot of the beaches in the surrounding area of Port Credit; Jack Darling Park, and Marie Curtis Beach for example. In the more recent years almost every time I have visited one of these beaches, there were signs posted about the waters not being safe. I have a nephew now who I want to be able to experience the same things I got to when I was a kid and it is very disheartening when you arrive at a body of water and you are told it isn't safe. It makes you wonder why, what is in the water and where did it come from? I am so excited to be a part of an organization who are so dedicated to figuring out the answers to these questions and is invested in the future of Ontario's water.