Water thinking is about appreciating the connections between land, water, local food, health and prospering communities

Our Vision and Mission

Nurture water thinkers

Water, our planetary lifeblood, integrates all aspects of life, but all too often we take it for granted. The Ontario Water Centre’s programs advance water thinking and nurture water thinkers in three ways:

• by inspiring people to think more often about their water
• by stimulating innovative, integrated approaches to water issues
• by encouraging people to think in ways that are inspired by water (water being infinitely malleable, embracing all it touches, overcoming obstacles in many different ways).

Engage People

The Ontario Water Centre involves people in activities they enjoy that help transform them into contributors, participants and/or champions who celebrate water and watersheds. The Centre encourages researchers and policymakers to involve people more effectively in decisions that affect their water. It uses technology to make knowledge more accessible to all participants.

Create ripples

Ontario Water Centre initiatives begin with local pilots that are designed to replicate and scale in order to impact provincial, national and even international agendas. Programs leverage community networks and relationships to accelerate the adoption of new practices.

About ClearWater Farm

ClearWater Farm, the flagship project of the Ontario Water Centre, is being developed on 8.5 acres at 481 Lake Drive East, Willow Beach.

The OWC is raising funds to re-imagine and repurpose this historic property as a showcase for new solutions while advancing several strategic objectives simultaneously.

• Giving children and youth the opportunity to grow in confidence and self-esteem, as  young “agri-preneurs” empowered to shape a future where good things happen when  people care about food, water, the land, and each other.
• Exploring and demonstrating the potential of agro-ecological regenerative farming — inherently water wise — in the context of improving the health of water bodies, and mitigating changing climate and extreme weather effects.
• Providing innovative approaches to food security through local food experiences: growing, cooking, enjoying and more.
• Anchoring community-wide efforts to re-envision the local food economy, stimulating a new vision for Georgina, then extending throughout the Lake Simcoe watershed