Posts by gabrielle parent-doliner


Historically Black beaches to visit this summer
Gabrielle Parent-Doliner, Director of Swimmable Water Programs

Posted: March 6, 2024

Angela Dennis is an editor, journalist and podcast Host. Her research includes an incredible profile ofsix historically Black beaches in the USA. All six beaches are in Swim Guide. The Swim Guide team amplified the important history of these beaches in their beach descriptions, crediting Dennis as well as other researchers, authors, and societies. You can click below to visit each beach.


Indicator Species: How are animals selected to tell us about our waterbodies?
Gabrielle Parent-Doliner, Director of Swimmable Water Programs

Posted: March 6, 2024

In October 2017 Swim Guide welcomed a new country to our family: Australia. In the process we learned that the platypus serve as an indicator species of the health of freshwater lakes in Eastern Australia. This got us thinking: Shouldn’t all animals and plants be able to represent the health of their habitats? How does an animal or plant get nominated as an indicator species for their habitat?


What are recreational water illnesses?
Gabrielle Parent-Doliner, Director of Swimmable Water Programs

Posted: March 6, 2024

People can get sick from swimming in pools as well as from swimming in natural water bodies, like lakes, rivers, swim holes, and coastal beaches.The majority of reported recreational water illnesses are in fact contracted from pools and other treated water. The main cause of illness from a dip in a pool are the germs that are carried into the water on our bodies. These microbes can contaminate the water and cause illness in other bathers.


Who’s sharing the beach with you? Wildlife at the beach
Gabrielle Parent-Doliner, Director of Swimmable Water Programs

Posted: March 6, 2024

Spring is a great time to reconnect with our favourite beaches and swimming spots. And humans aren’t the only ones flocking back to the coast. This time of year is a particularly popular time for our extensive shorelines as wildlife is on the move (and in the mood).


5 ways to protect yourself from blue-green algae
Gabrielle Parent-Doliner, Director of Swimmable Water Programs

Posted: June 7, 2023

Lately, the Swim Guide team has been receiving a lot of questions and concerns from our users about blue-green algae at local beaches:“There is green and yellow bacteria together with dead fish coming to the shoreline of my cottage and surrounding cottages. What is this and what should we do?”“The beach located close to the group camping was very thick and looked like blue-green algae.”


9 ways to protect the beach on your next visit
Gabrielle Parent-Doliner, Director of Swimmable Water Programs

Posted: June 7, 2023

People love a day at the beach. We love packing picnics. We love buying salty french fries in our bathing suits. We love the sound of shorebirds. We love skipping rocks across our lakes and building sandcastles. We love swimming until the sun goes does, and the feel of sand between our toes.

Have you noticed pollution at your local beach? Let us know.