Tuesday 6 January 2015

EcoSask News, January 6, 2015

frost on leaf

Upcoming Events
Sanatorium Bird Walk, Jan. 11
Join members of the Saskatoon Nature Society for a bird walk at the Sanatorium from 2-4 pm, Jan. 11.

Hidden Bird Songs, Jan. 15
John Patterson will explain how to identify birds by their song at 7:30 pm, Jan. 15, at the Saskatoon Nature Society meeting.

Great Horned Owl, Jan. 17
Meet Spirt, the Saskatoon Zoo Society’s great horned owl, at 11 am, Jan. 17, at Wild Birds Unlimited. Greg Fenty will be on hand to answer questions.

The Saskatoon Zoo Society offers a wide variety of great children’s programming with lots of opportunities to visit with animals.

Eleven, Jan. 20 
Paul Hanley will talk about his new book, Eleven, at 7 pm, January 20, at the Frances Morrison Library as part of the Saskatoon Public Library/Saskatchewan Environmental Society’s Sustainable Speaker Series.

Effects of Oil Development on Grassland Birds, Jan. 21
Jason Unruh, University of Regina, will talk about the effects of oil development on grassland birds at the Saskatchewan Science Centre at 7 pm, Jan. 21. Following Jason’s talk, PCAP-SK will post a video of the Native Prairie Speaker Series presentation.

Native Prairie Restoration & Reclamation Workshop, Jan. 28-29
Chris Helzer is the keynote speaker at PCAP-SK’s Native Prairie Restoration & Reclamation Workshop in Saskatoon, Jan. 28-29.

frost on grass

Good News
Let’s start off the year with some encouraging news stories.

Green Builds: The Canadian Green Building Council members predicts that 70% of their builds will be green by 2017 – up from 30% in 2014 – as green building practices result in lower operating costs and a higher quality building.

Lighting: Madrid is upgrading to LED/internet-connected lights in the world’s largest street lighting project. The new lighting is expected to save Madrid 44 percent of its lighting energy usage compared to the existing infrastructure.

Ingenuity: Innovative thinkers are finding ways to resolve some gnarly problems. After years of research, scientists in Israel may have found a way to repopulate coral reefs.

Clothing: The fashion industry is beginning to tackle the energy, water and waste problems it creates. A French company has shown that you can turn Christmas trees into sexy lingerie, and the Fashion Positive Initiative is designed to help designers and producers improve how clothes are made.

Literature: Finally, if you’re looking for a different approach to climate change, try CliFi, fiction about climate change: “If we are going to inspire people and planners to create more sustainable ways of living, then it is vital to employ the arts.”

EcoSask News is a weekly round-up of local news and events. Email us if you have items you would like us to include. Additional upcoming events can be found on our Calendar. 

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