Canada's Wild Rivers - 360 | Into Water

Freshwater ecosystems are a lifeline to our very existence. They support immense biodiversity, provide clean drinking water, and are powerful places where we can connect to both nature and ourselves.

I'm Dalal Hannah, I'm a freshwater ecologist and National Geographic Explorer. The focus of my work is on watershed protection in Canada. We’re immensely privileged to have an incredible amount of lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands.

I spend a lot of time collecting samples from streams, rivers, and lakes in rural Quebec. These ecosystems collect rain and groundwater from surrounding landscapes and move it across thousands of kilometres, bringing it to our towns, our cities, and eventually all the way to the ocean. They’re an integral part of the world’s hydrological cycle, and while some are protected from development, most are not, which can put them at risk. That’s a big deal. My work aims to uncover pathways to ensure the continued health of these priceless ecosystems.

[Music] The places I do research are beautiful. Today, we’re in a lake system north of Ottawa. My research assistant and I are heading to an understudied water body to document ecosystem health.

What makes protecting watersheds difficult is that they aren’t something you can easily see. They’re out of sight and out of mind. A lot of indicators that tell us about the health of these systems aren’t visible to the naked eye. We gather insects, fish, water, soil, and plant samples, analyzing them to check for contamination, nutrients, abundance, and really focus on understanding how our actions affect them.

Doing lab work in the field is one of the best parts of my job. Right there, in real-time, I can start to understand what’s happening in the water. There’s so much science can help us to see. A healthy watershed is a large interconnected web of life.

As a kid, I loved canoeing. It’s what inspired me to pursue this work. It taught me that to love something, you have to know it. You have to spend time with it.

[Music] With Ripe Area, an organization that I co-founded, we bring youth on free science expeditions. We’re working to foster better connections between youth, water, and science. There’s something so magical about seeing a young person develop a new passion for water. These experiences could foster relationships that last a lifetime. This is where conservation starts.

[Music] Watersheds demand our respect and attention. How we choose to care for them in the coming years is a key challenge we must all face together. To protect freshwater is to protect life.