Stories from The Hip

A Conversation with Mark Mattson: Gord Downie’s Legacy, Defending the Great Lakes & the Next Chapter

Episode Summary

“Do the work, the magic will take care of itself” This week on the show, I am deeply honoured to be joined by environmental lawyer, advocate, and co-founder of Swim Drink Fish, Mark Mattson. In this moving and reflective conversation, Mark opens up about his decades of environmental defense work across the Great Lakes, receiving the prestigious Terry Backer Award from the Waterkeeper Alliance, and how the spirit of Terry Backer influenced his approach to water advocacy. Mark shares the history and evolution of Swim Drink Fish—from Lake Ontario Waterkeeper to building tools like the Swim Guide (which now covers over 15,000 beaches worldwide) and creating community spaces like the Gord Edgar Downie Pier in Kingston. We dive deep into his close friendship and work with the late Gord Downie, exploring how Gord was far more than a celebrity figurehead: he showed up in courtrooms, collected evidence, rolled up his sleeves in local communities, and rewrote the model for artistic activism. Finally, Mark discusses cross-border community responsibility, working alongside Indigenous communities, the recent attempts to "rename" Lake Ontario, and what lies ahead as he transitions from President to the Board of Swim Drink Fish, runs for local public office on Wolfe Island, and embraces the joy of the unknown. "Gord didn't just lend his name to a cause—he showed up in courtrooms, went into communities, collected evidence, and did the hard work. He was a blueprint for what it truly means to care."

Episode Notes

“Do the work, the magic will take care of itself”

This week on the show, I am deeply honoured to be joined by environmental lawyer, advocate, and co-founder of Swim Drink Fish, Mark Mattson.

In this moving and reflective conversation, Mark opens up about his decades of environmental defense work across the Great Lakes, receiving the prestigious Terry Backer Award from the Waterkeeper Alliance, and how the spirit of Terry Backer influenced his approach to water advocacy.

Mark shares the history and evolution of Swim Drink Fish—from Lake Ontario Waterkeeper to building tools like the Swim Guide (which now covers over 15,000 beaches worldwide) and creating community spaces like the Gord Edgar Downie Pier in Kingston. We dive deep into his close friendship and work with the late Gord Downie, exploring how Gord was far more than a celebrity figurehead: he showed up in courtrooms, collected evidence, rolled up his sleeves in local communities, and rewrote the model for artistic activism.

Finally, Mark discusses cross-border community responsibility, working alongside Indigenous communities, the recent attempts to "rename" Lake Ontario, and what lies ahead as he transitions from President to the Board of Swim Drink Fish, runs for local public office on Wolfe Island, and embraces the joy of the unknown.

"Gord didn't just lend his name to a cause—he showed up in courtrooms, went into communities, collected evidence, and did the hard work. He was a blueprint for what it truly means to care."

Swim Drink Fish: swimdrinkfish.ca

Swim Guide: theswimguide.org

Waterkeeper Alliance: waterkeeper.org

Biinaagami: biinaagami.org

Mark Mattson on Substack: waterkeepermark.substack.com

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