Lake Temagami, ON

My name is Kathleen Edwards and I’m from Ottawa, Ontario. The most important water body in my life is Lake Temagami in Temagami, Ontario because that is where I became a woman and a person who actually knew how to operate in the world.

I went to a summer camp that taught me skills about connecting with people, pulling your weight, working hard, and enjoying the benefits of being part of a group of people. That is the most rewarding thing ever, sitting next to Lady Evelyn and Lake Temagami. It took me to as far as The Arctic and it took me as far as northern Quebec. I got to paddle James Bay and I got to paddle the Harricana River. I got to paddle the Copper Mine River. It’s all because of the beginning place which was Lake Temagami.

Ottawa is the heart of my geographic soul and probably because when I was a kid I had to move around a lot. And so Ottawa was always the place I considered home. Even as a touring musician, it’s still home. It’s still where my heart feels settled and I drove so many nights into Quebec over the Ottawa River when I was writing songs in my head and driving my car. So many times I reminisce about Ottawa and I think the Ottawa River and the idea that there is an organization that’s honouring and celebrating a river that really gets overlooked in the general Ottawa picture is a really significant and important organization.