Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively donated $500,000 to Canadian charity Water First in March 2022 to support education and training for Indigenous communities working towards better access to safe drinking water. Four years later, eight Indigenous trainees have completed a programme that could help them build careers as drinking-water treatment operators. The trainees spent 15 months in the Drinking Water Internship, completing more than 2,000 hours of practical training and four exams required for Water Operator certification.Water First announced their graduation on 21 May 2026. It marked the end of a long training period, but also the start of something new for the eight graduates. The Anishinaabeg of Kabapikotawangag Resource Council (AKRC), participating communities, and Big Island First Nation ran the programme.
Why Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively donated $500,000 to Water First
Reynolds and Lively announced the donation on 24 March 2022. Water First said the money would help create more education and training opportunities for Indigenous youth and young adults. The programmes included training for future water treatment plant operators and environmental water science technicians, as well as water-science lessons for school children. The work might not sound particularly glamorous, but it deals with something people rely on every day. Someone has to make sure drinking-water treatment systems are working properly, keep an eye on water quality and know what to do when something goes wrong. That requires people with the right training.Water First works alongside Indigenous communities to develop programmes that respond to their needs, rather than treating every community as though it faces the same problems. The aim is to give more people the skills and experience needed to work in water management. However, Water First’s announcement does not establish that Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively’s donation directly paid for the training completed by these eight graduates.
Eight trainees finish 15 months of training
More than a year of training went into earning these qualifications. The eight trainees completed over 2,000 hours of practical work during their 15-month internship before taking the four exams required for certification, according to Water First’s May 2026 announcement. Working at a drinking-water treatment plant involves more than knowing the theory. Operators need to understand their equipment, monitor what’s happening in the system and recognise when something needs fixing or further attention.The practical training gives the graduates experience they can draw on as they move into the field. Their qualifications could also help address the need for trained water operators in the communities involved in the programme. The partnership itself was part of the story. AKRC representative Phil Tangie praised the collaboration’s record of graduating First Nation water operators. Working with community partners helps keep training connected to the places and people it is meant to serve.
Why training local water operators matters?
Access to safe drinking water continues to be a concern for Indigenous communities across Canada. The situation varies from one community to another. Some face problems with ageing infrastructure, while others need more skilled workers to work with the treatment plants and monitor water quality. Training local operators can make a difference, but it cannot solve everything. Water systems also need proper equipment, regular maintenance and proper funds to keep running. Even a well-trained operator cannot fix every problem if the infrastructure or resources simply aren’t there. Still, having people with the right skills is an important part of the picture. Trained operators can take on the important tasks, gain experience over time and help manage the water systems their communities depend on.For the trainees themselves, the programme also offers a chance to develop skills that can lead to work in the water sector. That makes the training relevant both to their future careers and to the communities where those skills may be needed.
A step forward, but the work isn’t over
The graduation of eight Indigenous trainees does not mean Canada’s drinking-water problems have disappeared. It does, however, mark the completion of a demanding programme for eight people who have spent 15 months learning the job and working towards certification. When Reynolds and Lively made their donation in 2022, Water First said the funding would help expand its education and training work.The 2026 graduation is part of the wider effort to prepare more people for work in water management, although a direct connection between the donation and this particular group of graduates has not been confirmed. For the eight trainees, the achievement is more immediate. They’ve put in the hours, completed the exams and earned their qualifications. Now comes the next part: finding ways to use what they’ve learned and putting those skills to work.
