EcoSask News, Oct. 26, 2021

Upcoming Events 

SK-PCAP is hosting a noon-hour webinar on weather, climate, and living things on grassland on Oct. 28. 

Wild Ecol Seminar Series is hosting an online talk about tracking cougars across southern British Columbia’s fire-prone landscape at 3:30 pm, Oct. 29. 

EMTF-SK is hosting an online update on DEEP at 7:30 am, Nov. 3. 

Watch the film, The Legacy of Saskatoon’s Secret Forest, with stories from people who knew Richard St. Barbe Baker from 1-3 pm, Nov. 6. 

Families are invited to enjoy guided and self-guided nature activities in Finlayson Park, North Battleford, the afternoon of Nov. 7. Sign up for a time slot. 

Looking Ahead 

Energy-efficient passive house standards aren’t just for new buildings. Sign up for an online course in Achieving the Passive House Standard for Existing Buildings starting Dec. 6. 

Full details on all upcoming events are available on the EcoFriendly Sask Calendar

 

In the Spotlight – British Columbia 

Planned amendments to BC’s Forest and Range Practices Act mark a move away from 'industry-driven' policy that doesn't plan for the health and makeup of forest ecosystems in the long term. [CBC]

The Cool 'Hoods Champs program, a neighbourhood-based climate change workshop, was created to bridge the knowledge gap between climate science and everyday people — by bringing solutions to where they live. [CBC]

In a precedent-setting case, the BC Supreme Court ruled that “by allowing industrial development in Blueberry River's territory at an extensive scale — without assessing cumulative impacts and ensuring Blueberry River's ability to continue meaningfully exercising its treaty rights — the province breached the treaty.” [CBC]

North Vancouver businesses are offering customers the option of reusable containers to be returned within 14 days. [CBC]

Vancouver is calling for a city-wide ban on outdoor gas-powered tools such as leaf blowers due to noise and GHG emissions. [CBC]

 

Wetlands 

Wetland drainage on the prairies has a significant impact: 

• It reduces the land’s ability to store water and increases the risk of flooding; 
• Groundwater reserves aren’t replenished; 
• Increased rate of nutrient export downstream affects water quality, fish habitat, and recreational opportunities; 
• There is a loss of pollinator habitat and biodiversity; and 
• Reduced landscape diversity results in decreased ability to adapt during times of stress. [The Conversation] 

A wetland in the midst of Colorado’s largest wildfire was spared – thanks to the beavers who created an abnormally wet patch in the middle of an otherwise dry area. The beaver meadow stores the water, releasing it slowly and delaying water shortages in a drought. [KUNC Public Radio]

 

Probing the Future 

A policy paper by Dale Eisler, expresses doubt as to whether Canada and the world can achieve its climate goals while maintaining economic growth. He notes that Canada’s economic success since its early days has been dependent on its natural resources, including oil and gas production, whereas we have no comparative advantage in terms of renewable energy. “To date government and others engaged in the climate debate have failed to prepare the public for the real and measurable impacts on their lives if we are to meet our climate targets. The reason is simple: they know the political risk that comes with being honest about what it’s going to take. But all that avoiding the truth does is ensure we continue down the path of the last four decades where we set impressive targets, and then never meet them. The day of reckoning is fast approaching.” [Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy]

Ecological Citizen has published 3 articles on the topic of overpopulation and its impact on the environment and on our wellbeing as a species. The first article explores how discussion is silenced by raising past experiences with eugenics and ultra-nationalism as population control. The second article propose what just population policies would look like, while the third examines the anthropocentric and non-anthropocentric moral reasons to reduce population.

EcoFriendly Sask supports Saskatchewan environmental initiatives through an online publication, an events calendar, small grants, and the Nature Companion website/app. You can follow EcoFriendly Sask by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or subscribing by email (top right corner).

Water Rangers: Testing the Quality of Canada's Water

Many Canadians spend their summers at the lake, while others relish riverside walks or paddle boarding. We tend to assume that our waters are clean and healthy – but are they? According to the World Wildlife Fund’s 2017 Watershed Reports, we lack data on the water quality of 100 out of 167 of our watersheds. Of the ones that have been tested, 42 out of 67 are rated Poor or Fair. 

Getting Started 

In 2014, Kat Kavanagh was staying at her family’s lakefront cottage and went out with her father when he did his regular test for water quality. Her father had accumulated 10 years’ worth of data, but the lab results were hard to understand and there was no easy way to compare and share the information. Kat was determined to develop a public data-sharing platform, so she and a team of other web designers and developers took her idea and a team to the Aquahacking challenge in 2015. They won: Water Rangers was underway. 

Once the platform was in place, the organization took a look at the water testing kits that were currently on the market. They were dismayed to discover the kits were very expensive and difficult to use. Water Rangers went on to design and distribute their own kit to people in Canada and beyond so they could collect and share community data on the Water Rangers’ free, open platform. 

Water Testing Kit 

Water Rangers test kits can be purchased online and are also being distributed for use in a variety of grant-funded projects. Some groups are testing for changes over time while others, such as a group monitoring mining activity in New Brunswick, have a particular concern and want data so they can hold authorities responsible. 

The kits provide valuable information about water temperature, conductivity, pH, alkalinity, hardness, dissolved oxygen, and water clarity. Different species have different temperature and dissolved oxygen requirements, and many species such as fish, frogs and insects can’t survive without oxygen. Similarly, many species can only survive if the pH is within a certain range. The kits also measure the water’s ability to conduct an electrical current. “Higher conductivity means there are more dissolved ions in the water, which is usually associated with more pollution.” 

Graduate students at Carleton University compared the results from the Water Rangers’ kit with those obtained using a professional probe and determined the kits were very accurate and provided reliable data. 

The kits have some limitations. Tests for toxicity are not included in the kits as they are really expensive. However, participants are encouraged to take photographs, which provide a graphic record of dead fish or algae bloom. Drinking water quality must be tested in a lab, but some of the tests in the kit, such as high conductivity or low dissolved oxygen, do alert you to a potential problem. 

Participants can add their data to an open-source platform so anyone who is interested can check the water quality in their area or compare results with other areas and over time. One of the organization’s goals is to increase its capacity to share its results with researchers and decision-makers. 

Testing water quality on a regular basis benefits participants personally as they spend more time outdoors and visit new locations. They also share what they’ve learned about water and the importance of protecting the environment with their friends and families. 

Large Projects in Ontario & Saskatchewan 

Water Rangers is currently involved in two large water-testing projects. In partnership with Canadian Freshwater Alliance and the Government of Ontario’s Great Lakes Local Action Fund, volunteers in the Lake Erie watershed are using the Water Rangers kits to test their local water bodies on a monthly basis from April to October 2021. Volunteers will also help with shoreline clean-ups, plant trees and wildflowers, and learn about local wildlife. 

Dr. Kerri Finlay started a water monitoring project at the University of Regina with volunteers at 2 lakes in 2017 and 6 in 2018. Once she learned about Water Rangers, she reached out and began a partnership that would expand the program. 43 volunteers are testing water across Saskatchewan this summer, from the Qu’Appelle Valley to Emma Lake. Many of the volunteers have cottages or visit the lakes frequently, so they’re being encouraged to test frequently. The results are uploaded to the Water Rangers’ database and will also be shared on the Gordon Foundation’s DataStream. Long-term goals include expanding the testing to more remote sites that are visited less often, improving communication back to volunteers, and adding to the kit so users can test for nutrients in the water. Over time, they hope to verify the reliability of community-based water monitoring programs and enhance collaboration between citizen and professional stakeholders to inform policies and decisions that affect our lakes, rivers, and streams. 

Additional Activities 

Other organizations share the Water Rangers’ belief in the value of monitoring water quality. The Gordon Foundation’s DataStream is an online platform for sharing information about freshwater health. They are currently uploading water testing results from the Mackenzie Basin, the Atlantic provinces, Lake Winnipeg, and, starting in fall 2021, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region. 

In British Columbia, the Environment Ministry has established Algae Watch, relying on volunteers to contribute information to help the government obtain a better understanding of when and where algae blooms are happening around the province. Water Rangers hope to be able to test for algae blooms in future. Algae blooms have significant side effects on human and animal health and they are starting to appear in places such as Lake Superior where they never happened in the past. 

Dr. Elaine Ho-Tassone led the creation of a community-based water quality monitoring program at Garden River First Nation. Water Rangers test kits were used by community members to collect nearly a thousand data points over the pilot program in 2021, which (coupled with benthic surveys and, soon, E. coli testing) provides some of the most current and comprehensive data compiled in the area of the St. Marys River Area of Concern. Now, three other First Nations across the binational Area of Concern - including one in the United States - are interested in coordinating the collection of community data using Water Rangers test kits and/or their online open data app. This project's data were also part of the October 2021 launch of Gordon Foundation's Great Lakes DataStream platform.

Water First is a charitable organization addressing water issues faced by Indigenous communities. They have been using the Water Rangers test kits in their Indigenous school program. 

Acknowledgements 

Emelia Duguay, Sustainable Development Coordinator, Water Rangers, and Erin Ennis, Summer Student Coordinator – Citizen Science Project, University of Regina in partnership with Water Rangers, graciously provided a wealth of information about the work their organizations are doing – thank you!

Further information and clarification (see above) was provided by Dr. Elaine Ho-Tassone in November 2021.

Photo credits: Water Rangers

EcoFriendly Sask supports Saskatchewan environmental initiatives through an online publication, an events calendar, small grants, and the Nature Companion website/app. You can follow EcoFriendly Sask by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or subscribing by email (top right corner).

Introducing Nature Companion: An Entry-Level Nature App for Canada's Four Western Provinces

“Be an explorer of your own streams and oceans . . . . It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” Henry David Thoreau 

You’re walking in a park or by a river and you spot a small frog, an orange butterfly, a bird pecking on a tree, or a shrub with red berries. What is it? Is the animal you spotted from a distance a coyote or a cougar? What is the tall yellow flower growing beside the road?

Four years ago, Andrew McKinlay was hiking in Big Bend National Park in Texas and was frustrated. He was seeing all sorts of interesting plants, insects, trees, and other wildlife but was struggling to identify them. “What I need is one app that lists the most common plants, trees, animals, insects, reptiles, and birds that I’ll find in a particular area,” he said. “There are lots of specific bird, flower, or insect guides, but nothing together in one convenient package that I can download on my phone for easy access.”

 And so began a new EcoFriendly Sask project. Developed for curious observers, people who are interested in nature, the Nature Companion website/app will help you identify plants and animals in your community or as you travel in Canada’s four western provinces. In just one app, you’ll find basic information about over 300 common plants, trees, birds, animals, insects, reptiles, and amphibians.

Scroll through the colourful photographs and short descriptions to find out more about nature in your community and enjoy the unexpected details in the Did you know? section at the end of each description.

Nature Companion is free (no ads or sign up). It can be accessed either on or off line and can be installed on your phone or tablet.

Whether you’re travelling in another province, an expert on birds but not on reptiles, young or old, or a newcomer to Canada, we hope you will find Nature Companion a useful guide as you explore the natural world.

If you know someone - or many someones - who might be interested in Nature Companion, please share it with them.

A huge vote of thanks to our early reviewers who provided so many helpful suggestions that we've done our best to incorporate into Nature Companion. Please email us your feedback - we'd love to hear from you.

PS Check the Help (the ? at the top right) for assistance in installing the app. The initial download may be slow, but the app should be faster after that.

"The lasting pleasures of contact with the natural world are not reserved for scientists but are available to anyone who will place themselves under the influence of earth, sea and sky and their amazing life." Rachel Carson

Building Energy-Efficient Homes

It takes a lot of energy to heat the average home, especially during Saskatchewan’s cold winters, but it doesn’t have to. We have the knowledge, techniques, and materials to build energy-efficient homes. All we need is the political will and public interest to improve our building standards.

The Saskatchewan Conservation House in Regina was completed in 1977 and combined superinsulation, airtightness, and a heat recovery system. Over the years, a number of people have pushed the Saskatchewan government to introduce more stringent building standards with little success. That has begun to change. The Government of Saskatchewan introduced energy efficiency standards in January 2019 and recent interest in passive house design has resulted in several energy-efficient residential buildings in Saskatoon (Temperance Street Passive House, Radiance Cohousing).

Michael Nemeth, engineer and Passive House Canada instructor, provided an overview of the current provincial legislation, its strengths and weaknesses, and the direction he believes we should be taking.

Current Saskatchewan Legislation 
The Saskatchewan government has adopted the National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings 2017 (commercial) and Section 9.36 – Energy Efficiency of the National Building Code 2015, Energy Efficiency (residential) for any permits issued after January 1, 2019. Under the new standards, builders are required to measure energy efficiency based on 3 possible paths or models:

The prescriptive path sets specific values that must be met for building materials, insulation, and heating equipment. For example, residential windows and doors must have a maximum U-Value of 1.60 W/m²K .

The trade-off path allows builders to substitute a less energy-efficient feature in one area so long as another feature exceeds requirements. For example, if the windows are of a higher standard, the insulation in the walls can be of a lower standard.

The performance path measures the overall energy efficiency of the building rather than measuring individual features. The efficacy of this model very much depends on what you are using as a reference model. For example, a building with small windows can have a lower energy rating if it’s compared to a building with large windows.

Requiring an energy model raises awareness and Michael hopes this will encourage builders to raise their standards. Overall, however, the standards set a low threshold for energy efficiency and Michael suspects they will remove bad behaviour and poor building practices but fail to increase energy efficiency. Both the prescriptive and trade-off paths focus on individual elements rather than looking at how the building functions as a whole. The performance path measures overall energy efficiency; however, by substituting one feature for another, builders can continue most of their current practices.

BC’s Energy Step Code
In 2017, British Columbia introduced the Energy Step Code as an alternative to the prescriptive approach. The Step Code establishes higher standards than the national code, requiring both an energy model and an airtightness test. It offers a stepped approach to allow municipalities to improve energy efficiency on a gradual basis. The lower steps are fairly easy to meet, while the upper steps are more ambitious, empowering “builders to pursue innovative, creative, cost-effective solutions” and “incorporate leading-edge technologies as they come available.” The province’s goal is to have everyone at passive house or net zero ready standards by 2032.

The stepped approach provides flexibility as municipalities can choose the step which best suits their community’s current capacity, although Michael believes it would be more efficient in the long run for builders to retool immediately to meet the optimum standards.

As of September 2018, 14 local governments referenced the Step Code in a policy, program, or bylaw, and 30 were consulting on the Code. Together with the City of Vancouver, which has set its own energy efficiency targets, the communities represent 61% of BC’s population. The majority are considering and/or implementing the lower steps, particularly for houses and small buildings. Some communities have introduced incentives for voluntary adoption of the Step Code or to encourage builders to achieve higher steps.

Measuring Overall Heating Requirements 
Michael firmly believes that the best approach for ensuring energy-efficient buildings is to set overall space heating targets. Space heating measures the energy required to heat a square metre, taking into consideration the characteristics of the building, the heating system, solar gains, and external weather conditions. (The Canadian average is 150 kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²). whereas passive house certified homes are at 15 kWh/m².) This comprehensive approach acts as an incentive for increased research and development into more energy-efficient products (e.g. windows) and provides builders with increased flexibility when developing their plans.

A good example is Souls Harbour Rescue Mission in Regina, a 4-storey facility housing emergency shelter for 24 men, soup kitchen, free clothing store, daycare, and 17 low-income residential units. The building will come very close to meeting passive house certification standards with space heating at 22 kilowatt-hours per square metre.

Building an energy-efficient home doesn’t have to cost more money, but it does require rethinking standard models. For example, Souls Harbour Rescue Mission saved $180,000 on mechanical equipment by replacing a more traditional boiler with four furnaces and a very high-efficiency ventilation system. The savings were invested in energy-efficient insulation, windows, and doors with an added bonus of reduced maintenance expenses with furnaces rather than a boiler.

Energy-Efficient Retrofits 
Raising standards for new builds isn’t sufficient. Government needs to introduce incentives to support energy-efficient retrofits of existing buildings. Michael points to PACE, Property Assessed Clean Energy, as a useful financing model. PACE programs provide homeowners with the upfront capital to finance renewable energy or efficiency upgrades to their property. This is already happening in Alberta and some US states. With minor changes to the Cities Act, Saskatchewan municipalities could finance a PACE program through property taxes. Monthly cost of living in these homes would be lower with ongoing energy savings, and the homes would be more attractive with improved thermal comfort and sound attenuation. Homeowners could also recoup the cost of the retrofits when selling their home as the expense would remain embedded in the property taxes.

Energy Monitoring 
Constructing or retrofitting an energy-efficient home is only the first step. Consideration must also be given to how much energy is being consumed within the home by appliances. Energy monitoring, using a system such as Sense, can improve occupant behaviour by increasing awareness of how much energy is consumed by the refrigerator, television, and other devices.

See also: 
Passive House: Comfortable, Energy-Efficient Homes 
Temperance Street Passive House: Saskatoon’s First Passive House

Photo credit: Souls Harbour Rescue Mission, Michael Nemeth