“Clean drinking water is our inheritance. You can’t put a price on it.”

This is the rallying cry of Wellington Water Watchers, a grass root citizen group that recently took on the water industry giant, Nestlé, in Aberfoyle, Ontario. The Wellington Water Watchers have been busy educating, advocating and celebrating their successes over the past 10 years; yet the struggle is far from over. According to a recent article in The Globe & Mail, “the Canadian bottled-water industry – lead by Nestlé with its Pure Life, Perrier, S. Pellegrino, Aqua Panna and Montclair brands – generates $2.5-billion in annual sales.”

On Friday April 7^th at 7 pm at The Minga, DREAM welcomes the Chair of Wellington Water Watchers, Mike Nagy to inform us of their struggle and shed light on “Who is Stealing Our Water? And Who is Buying It?”

Mr. Nagy is the current Chair of Wellington Water Watchers and has been involved with the organization since its formation in 2007.  Environmental advocacy has been a main focus for Mike since the 80’s ranging from habitat enhancement, wildlife conservation and source water protection. Mike is past president of African Wildlife Conservation Fund, Arts and Culture Eramosa, former Environment Critic for the Green Party of Canada, and past president of the Guelph Greens. He has held management positions in numerous business sectors but is most recently engaged in food systems sustainability consulting. Mike possesses a Master Degree in Environmental Studies. He conducted his own research for his master thesis on Eco-certification, Traceability and Labelling of Seafood in Canada.  Among others, Mike has appeared on CBC The Current and TVO’s The Agenda addressing seafood fraud that is widespread throughout the supply chain. Mike understands that without healthy intact ecosystems humans cannot expect long-term health or stable economies in return. He is committed to educating Canadians on the importance of vibrant watersheds, robust protection and how our actions here have implications on global water quality.

DREAM is a unique, community-based organization of volunteers that builds Dunnville’s capacity to better serve its youth by providing academic, social and financial support to secondary school students. DREAM offers a four-year youth mentorship program, scholarships toward publicly funded post-secondary education and hosts community services at its community center, The Minga.  DREAM also operates a field school program in Ek Balam, Mexico to promote global literacy.

For more information on how you can purchase a ticket or join as a volunteer or community sponsor visit The Minga 146 Queen St., or call 289 738 1198. www.dreamfwb.com