Gibraltar’s Rock
JOANN McCANN, Ottawa River cottager
Outstanding Environmental Achievement, Individual
Joann McCann knows
the Ottawa River: She grew up along it, in Petawawa, Ont., now cottages in Downey’s Bay at Fort William, on
the Quebec side of the waterway, and for years cottaged with her family nearby, across from Gibraltar Island.
The small, uninhabited island was a special place for McCann and her siblings. “It was only a few minutes by
kayak,” she says. “We would go there to swim – there’s a beautiful sandy beach – and my brothers used to camp
there. It was an adventure to go there to explore.”
Starting in the 1990s, with the consolidation of the Ottawa River Waterway, more and more people were visiting Gibraltar and the other islands close by. “I started to see a lot more boating in the area, and more garbage on Gibraltar. I also came across human waste when I was picking blueberries there,” says McCann. “I thought, ‘This is our cottaging backyard. We have to do something about it.’ I didn’t want to deny anyone else the use of the island, but the impact of so many people bothered me.”
In 2000, McCann rallied other members of the Old Fort William Cottagers’ Association and, through a childhood family friend, enlisted the Petawawa Yacht Club to help. “There was an old outhouse, but people weren’t using it much because it was in bad shape. We built a sturdier model, in the woods well back from the shore, that blends in. And we put up signs that ask people to keep the island clean.” She also worked with the association to build a new outhouse on nearby Shoal Island; the group now hires someone to visit Gibraltar to remove garbage and keep its biffy clean.
For McCann, a 45-year-old research consultant on aboriginal land claims and the mother of three girls, the Ottawa is a living resource. “That’s how the aboriginals see the rocks and the places on the river,” she says. “I felt it was my responsibility, too, to be a steward of the river to ensure it’s there for the next generation. I swim in it and eat the fish, and I want others to be able to do the same.” Her paternal grandmother, who is 94, has also inspired her. “She’s a social activist who sees something wrong and just fixes it. She doesn’t talk much about it, she does what needs to be done.”
McCann does talk about things, however: She writes an environmental column for her association’s newsletter, distributes pamphlets, holds draws, and lobbies local governments about enforcing laws against such things as shoreline degradation. “I try to change mindsets,” she says. “Sometimes it’s just ignorance that gets in the way, so I like to share information in a positive way.”
Judges’ comments Joann is a tireless promoter of green stewardship. She deserves accolades for her ability to mobilize her community to work on important but less-than-glamorous projects, and to publicize and explain environmental issues facing cottagers in her area. She’s an inspiration.
Photo: Tony Fouhse
Click here to read about the Friends of Sauble Beach, Outstanding Environmental Achievement, Cottager Group
Click here to read about the Green Cottager Awards of Merit, 2007
