CBC Newfoundland Morning

Western Brook Pond fjord in Gros Morne National Park is one of the most-visited tourism sites in NL, but it's not the only remarkable fjord on the island. The beautiful, deep and narrow bodies of water on the south coast have long been part of local Mi'kmaq culture. Now, six organizations are working together to protect them. Greg Jeddore is a member of the Miawpukek band council.

A town in Western Newfoundland is still looking at ways to improve its poor water quality. Irishtown-Summerside is an amalgamated community that has two water sources. Irishtown gets its water from Irishtown Brook on the east side of town, while Summerside's water source is a larger body of water to the west. The Town applied for capital works funding from the provincial government last year, but didn't get it. Peter Parsons is mayor of Irishtown-Summerside.

The provincial government has given land-use permits to four proposed wind energy projects across the island. The projects are supposed to build wind turbines to produce electricity. That power will be converted to hydrogen, then to ammonia and shipped to Germany, where it'll be turned back to electricity. The problem is, local people and some industry experts say the plan doesn't make sense. The CBC's Leigh Anne Power looked into Exploits Valley Renewable Energy Corporation.

National Indigenous Peoples Day is coming up on June 21. Indigenous Newfoundlanders and Labradorians all over the province will be celebrating with powwows, mawiomis and more. It will be the first National Indigenous Peoples Day for Jenny Brake as leader of Qalipu First Nation. She was chosen as chief this past December, and is the band's first female chief. Brake sat down with CBC's Amanda Gear to talk about this year's celebrations, as well as her first six months as chief.

Ah, the last couple of weeks of school! Children -- and teachers -- are eager to finish up for the summer, and creative educators are doing their best to provide enrichment activities to keep the learning going through the month of June. Today, in the Port au Port area, a unique event is celebrating Indigenous culture. Corey Ivany is the principal of St. Thomas Aquinas School in Port au Port East.

For many communities across the province, June is Pride month, dedicated to uplifting and supporting 2SLGBTQ+ voices and the rights they deserve. In recent days, there have been social media posts about the cancellation of Pride events being hosted by Emmanuel United Church in Gambo. Those posts also mentioned the firing of the minister who organized those events. The CBC's Martin jones has been chasing that story and joined us on the show.

This province really is a paradise for hikers. No matter where you go, you'll find trails that range in level of difficulty, from beginner to advanced. In Gros Morne, volunteers are once again highlighting that area as a destination for hikers. And they're giving people a chance this fall to experience some longer hikes with a group and a guide. Registration is open now for the Gros Morne Hiking Festival. Becky O'Keefe is a volunteer with the event.

A research study in NL has found that visitor restrictions during Covid-19 left long-term care residents with a "significant" increase in isolation. You likely recall hearing or experiencing first-hand, heartbreaking stories of older loved ones suffering because they were cut off from visits with family and friends. Now, a survey of 184 visitors to people in long-term care has confirmed those effects. Robert Wilson is with Quality of Care NL which guided the patient-led research, and Cris Carter is one of the patient-partners.

The plan to relocate waste and contaminated soil from Gros Morne National Park is creating concern for the area further north where the waste is being dumped - and Hawkes Bay mayor Lloyd Bennett wants some answers. An old dumpsite at Martin's Point north of Sally's Cove is being dug up and cleaned up, because heavy metals such as lead are leaching out onto the beach and ocean. Truckloads of waste and soil are being removed from the site and taken to a landfill in Hawke's Bay.

It was once used as a weapon, but over the years, a mace has become a symbol of parliamentary authority. The ceremonial mace looks like a staff or baseball bat, with a fancy, crown-like "head" on top. The mace is the centre of the ceremonial part of legislative proceedings. Derek Bennett - the Speaker of the provincial House of Assembly - is taking the ceremonial item on a tour of the province.