Collaborative Water Program (CWP) alumnus Sabrina Bedjera is combining what she learned in the Water Institute-supported program with her passion for water, policy, and social justice.
Sabrina attained a Masters of Applied Science in Environmental Engineering from the University of Waterloo and is currently working within the Water Science, Technology & Policy group and the forWater Network at the University of Waterloo as a Research Intern, where she is investigating the optimization of drinking water treatment in Ontario.
In November 2019, Sabrina submitted a proposal to the Canadian Science Policy Conference entitled “A holistic approach to measuring drinking water success in Indigenous communities” which received the runner-up Award of Excellence. Her proposal highlights that boil water advisories on their own do not provide enough information on the state of drinking water in Indigenous communities. New measures of drinking water success need to be developed in collaboration with Indigenous people which take into account communities without running water, Indigenous values and knowledge, as well as Indigenous perspectives of water.
“Through the Collaborative Water Program I learned about drinking water treatment issues in Indigenous communities. I had the opportunity to learn from Indigenous communities themselves and even had the honour of attending a water ceremony. This experience opened my eyes to the importance of water in these communities. Since then I have volunteered with Indigenous groups on campus and have started researching how to improve water treatment in these areas.”
Sabrina Bedjera during her interview at the Canadian Science Policy Conference.
Sabrina
had
an
opportunity
to
discuss
the
proposal
with
Kate
Sedivy-Haley
of
the
Canadian
Science
Policy
Conference
team.
You
can
watch
the
full
CSPC
interview
here.
Sabrina meeting professor Donna Strickland and Governor General Julie Payette at the CSPC Gala in November.