EcoSask News, December 21, 2021

Ocean-dwelling Christmas tree worms use their festive crowns to catch dinner as it floats by. [Oceana]

Upcoming Events 

Participate in iNaturalist’s Winter Bug Project from now until March 1, 2022. Photograph any arthropod (insect, spider, sowbug, etc.) found active indoors or out – in Alberta or Saskatchewan – on land or in water (but not including pets or pet food) and post it online. Experts will help you identify it and it will be added to the count.

Gardening at USask is offering the following online classes, beginning at 7 pm: 

Jan. 3 – Winter Compost Tips 

Feb. 7 – Wasps 

Details about all upcoming events can be found on the EcoFriendly Sask Calendar 

Construction 

Climate Caucus, a group of locally-elected climate leaders, has asked the federal government to adopt an energy-efficient, zero-carbon, outcomes-based building code that will set a high standard for local governments. [LinkedIn] 

“If buildings are to make meaningful contributions to keeping global temperature rise to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels, limiting emissions from building materials is crucial.” [The Conversation]

 

Transportation 

“Instead of funding new and wider roads, we should build places where people want to slow down and get out of their cars.” [Undark] 

A cartoon lampoons the growing size of trucks and SUVs – Share the road? No way! [The Nib via Planetizen] 

Toronto has amended its bylaws to allow pedal-assisted cargo e-bikes for personal and commercial delivery purposes, but “emerging issues regarding vehicle and pedestrian safety highlight a need to examine how best to regulate cargo e-bikes.” [Pembina Institute] 

Consumption 

The sale of peat to gardeners in England and Wales will be banned by 2024. The government hopes to end use of peat in the professional horticulture sector by 2028. [The Guardian] 

Le Printemps, an iconic Parisian department store, has transformed its top floor into an haute couture and vintage thrift store that also showcases sustainable brands. [Sortir à Paris] 

“The Day the World Stops Shopping offers a thought experiment: what if, overnight, we reduced shopping by 25%? What would happen? … What would it mean for fashion brands? What about the people who make those clothes in low income countries? How would it affect the advertising industry, or traffic rates? What would happen to the global economy, and to carbon emissions? Nature gets a look in too, with a chapter investigating the impact on wildlife.” [book review, The Earthbound Report] 

Water 

Proposed coal mining in southern Alberta could lead to contamination of the South Saskatchewan River from metals such as arsenic, selenium, and cadmium. “If you’re going to look at mining development of the headwaters, you have to look at the whole river basin, the whole watershed, and follow the impacts downstream … And that hasn’t been done.” [The StarPhoenix] 

Shifting Priorities 

“Genuinely sustainable investing could help shift trillions of dollars toward renewable energy and other clean technologies, but only with strong parameters. So far, however, there are no stringent requirements in Canada for climate disclosures, nor is there a single set of standards for what counts as a sustainable investment—regulatory gaps that can make it hard for climate-conscious investors to know how to make the right choices.” [The Walrus] 

Wishing you a very happy Christmas from Andrew and Penny at EcoFriendly Sask. We’ll be back next Tuesday with a Boxing Day Book Special and EcoSask News will resume on January 4. 

Snowshoe Hare snort when they’re annoyed. Find out more on EcoFriendly Sask’s free nature website/app for Canada’s 4 western provinces. [Nature Companion]

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).

EcoSask News, November 30, 2021

Upcoming Events 

One School One Farm is planning an online talk on carbon sequestration in shelterbelt trees at 7 pm, Dec. 7. 

Gardening at USask is offering the following online classes. All classes begin at 7 pm. 

Dec. 9 – Birds in Winter 

Dec. 12 – Insects in Your Garden: An Introduction to Beetles 

There will be a presentation on Saskatchewan’s woodland caribou at the 7:30 pm, Dec. 9, online meeting of the Saskatoon Nature Society. 

Martensville families are invited to make lanterns and take a walk to light up the night with Wildernook Fresh Air Learning at 5, 6:30 & 8 pm, Dec. 12. 

Full details on all events can be found on the EcoFriendly Sask Calendar 

Across the West

The “Trudeau government needs to clarify its competing objectives, with goals to reduce algae blooms while ramping up agricultural production, which will increase nutrient runoff … ‘Lake Winnipeg won’t wait and we need to get on with restoring (its) health.’” [Winnipeg Free Press] 

The Nature Conservancy of Canada has acquired 646 hectares of grasslands and wetlands located along the eastern shoreline of Chaplin Lake, the second-largest salt lake in Canada. During spring and fall migrations, thousands of shorebirds use Chaplin Lake and the surrounding grasslands to refuel or nest. [Toronto Star] 

“More than 70% of boreal woodland caribou herds in Canada are in decline, and recent analysis suggests that provincial exemptions allowing forestry and oil and gas activities in critical habitat have accelerated the trend.” [Pembina Institute] 

Farming the Future: Agriculture and climate change on the Canadian Prairies - a report on improving climate resilience while supporting local livelihoods. [International Institute for Sustainable Development] 

A “Victoria-based photographer and activist has spent much of the past 15 years searching for and photographing some of Canada's biggest, oldest trees … Most of the trees that Watt finds are slated to be cut down.” [CBC]

 

Neighbourhood Planning 

“To create a circular and regenerative future, we should be looking at our neighbourhoods as fertile grounds of change, not merely as consumers of change decided elsewhere … Because the kind of transformative change needed doesn’t happen abstractly – out there – it happens here, in our houses, our offices, our streets, our river catchments, our institutions. And critically, change happens in our own ways of thinking and being … We need to be alert to context and not ask ‘what will work, generically?’ but ‘what will work and be right for this place and contribute to the bigger picture?’” [RSA] 

Durham Region’s green building practices are expected to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build infrastructure that is resilient to future climate change and create a healthier environment for residents.” [DurhamRegion.com] 

Choices 

“Economists recognize that congestion reflects underpricing: driving is so cheap that it becomes inevitable. You can have free roads or you can have free-flowing traffic but it is economically infeasible to have both.” [Planetizen] 

6 ways to make your flights greener and ecologically friendly. [Hand Luggage Only] 

Check out EcoFriendly Sask’s Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces

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). 

EcoSask News, November 16, 2021

Upcoming Events 

CaféSci Saskatoon is hosting an online presentation on UNESCO Biosphere Reserves: Reconciling people and planet at 7:30 pm, Nov. 23. 

SK-PCAP is hosting a noon-hour webinar on prescribed fire as a conservation management tool on Nov. 30. 

Full details on all upcoming events can be found on the EcoFriendly Sask Calendar 

Climate Solutions 

“Research suggests that there are significant health and learning benefits for students attending green schools: schools that are built to last and fill classrooms with natural light and freshly-circulated air.” Find out more in this 13-minute video. [Sustainable Building Manitoba] 

New Las Vegas golf courses won’t be able to access municipal water. Golf courses in southern Nevada annually consume over 1400 times as much water as a residential home. [Las Vegas Review-Journal] 

Passive solar heating systems could supply enough heat for a third of the residential space in the United States. Skylights, for example, are an untapped resource. [Futurity] 

Washington, DC’s wastewater treatment plant describes itself as a resource recovery facility. “When recycled properly, poop can power your home, cook your food, fuel your car, and even stave off algae blooms and floods.” [Nautilus] 

Is there a case for sucking carbon out of the air? A long, in-depth article explores the pros and cons of this visionary proposal. Is it crucial to our long-term survival or simply a boondoggle to keep big oil in operation? [Mother Jones]

 

We Can Do Better 

“Sharrows don’t make a road safer — there’s data that they are worse than doing nothing. Drivers don’t understand them. They extend no actual legal benefits to riders. Cities like to install them to seem like they’re doing something. In short, sharrows are bullshit.” [Peter Flax] 

“While governments play a role in certain policies, such as transit and urban planning, consumers can shop their way out of a warming climate … Just make everything last longer and buy less." [CBC]

 

Mushrooms are Magic 

“All mushrooms are magic … It’s time to say their name by acknowledging them all around - from the dinner table to international conservation policies - and including them in our conception of ecosystems that need to be cherished and protected. Say it with me: the world is inhabited by fauna, flora and funga.” [The Guardian] 

For more information about the all-important presence of fungi in our lives, check out the article we posted last December. [EcoFriendly Sask] 

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).

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).

EcoSask News, October 5, 2021

Upcoming Events 

Find out about all-season composting at an online Regina Public Library presentation at 7 pm, Oct. 7. 

Join Meewasin staff in removing invasive European buckthorn from Saskatoon Natural Grasslands on Oct. 12 or 15 (morning and afternoon sessions). 

The Saskatchewan Association for Environmental Law is holding its annual general meeting online at 7 pm, Oct. 14. 

Library of Things, Saskatoon, will be open for pick-ups by reservation from the back door in the alley from 1-4 pm, Oct. 15. 

Looking Ahead 

The Saskatchewan Environmental Society is offering online training on Nov. 5 & 19 to help non-profits and small businesses operate their buildings more efficiently. 

Full details on all upcoming events can be found on the EcoFriendly Sask Calendar

 

Local News 

Iain Phillips, Saskatchewan’s senior ecologist for aquatic macroinvertebrates, says that climate change and environmental degradation are playing havoc with aquatic insects. “And what happens to the insects he studies can be a valuable early warning sign of environmental problems.” [CBC News] 

The City of Regina is exploring noise reduction options in response to residents’ complaints about noise on the Ring Road. [Global News] 

Making Smart Choices 

“Pumped hydro has an important role to play in the renewable energy transition, but only where projects cause minimal harm to people and nature” [The Conversation] 

In the last 3 years, 10% of Vancouver’s building permits were in areas prone to flooding. Warmer temperatures will strain electrical distribution systems and transportation systems throughout the country. We need to publicize the risks, build for resilience, and take climate change into account [Canadian Institute for Climate Choices] 

Bad for us and bad for the planet – traces of 122 different pesticides in the 12 most polluted fruit and vegetable products, many with links to cancer and groundwater contamination [The Guardian] 

Canadians who purchase cheap fast fashion from online retailers may be exposing themselves to potentially toxic chemicals. For example, a jacket for toddlers contained almost 20 times the amount of lead that Health Canada says is safe for children [CBC Marketplace] 

An international review of the cruise ship industry “finds that cruising is a major source of environmental pollution and degradation, with air, water, soil, fragile habitats and areas and wildlife affected” [Science Daily]

 

Read, Watch, and Play 

A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching: Getting to Know the World’s Most Misunderstood Bird by Rosemary Mosco is “part field guide, part history, part ornithology primer, and altogether fun” [Saskatoon Public Library] 

You may also enjoy 10 Surprising Facts about Pigeons and Rita’s Re-Coop-eration 

11 new bird- and nature-themed books for kids – from hummingbird migration to dandelion seed travels and piping plover parents [Audubon] 

Orphaned, an hour-long documentary, examines Alberta’s ‘orphaned’ wells. “Thousands sit idle, ‘orphaned’ by companies that went bankrupt and left the pricey cleanup for taxpayers to take care of." A problem but also an opportunity for new purposes and new jobs [Calgary Herald]

In Season, a new video game, you’re invited to join a bicycle-riding woman as she travels around the world documenting plants, animals, and cultures before a mysterious cataclysm washes them away [Season]

Free! In honour of our 10th anniversary, we’re giving away individual or sets of our souvenir glasses. Email us if you’re interested. Supplies are limited, so act fast :-)

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).

EcoSask News, July 20, 2021

This Week’s Highlights 

One quarter of methane emissions on oil and gas sites come from tanks, which are designed to allow the methane to off-gas: that’s not a leak, that’s a design problem. [CBC]

Beavers are being reintroduced to Utah’s desert landscape. If they become established, “their impacts can be wide-reaching. Just one beaver dam can improve water quality, as well as acting as a firebreaker for the surrounding land.” [BBC] 

Upcoming Events 

Efficiency Canada is hosting a virtual energy efficiency networking event from 1-1:45 pm, July 22. 

Join a nation-wide backyard bioblitz coordinated by the Nature Conservancy of Canada, July 29-Aug. 2. 

City of Saskatoon residents can dispose of household hazardous waste from 9 am-3:30 pm, Aug. 8. 

All events are listed on the EcoFriendly Sask Calendar

Local News 

SOS Trees is urging Saskatoon residents to ask City Council to eliminate landfill fees for the safe disposal of elm as a contribution to protecting the city’s urban forest. [SOS Trees] 

Global warming, urban growth, and spring run-off from farm fertilizers are degrading surface waters in southern Saskatchewan and creating poisonous toxins. [Regina Leader Post] 

The Wildlife Rescue Society of Saskatchewan and The Fur-Bearers address issues surrounding human-wildlife coexistence through local efforts to protect a family of foxes and to respond to the trapping and killing of coyotes in Vancouver’s Stanley Park. [WRSOS, The Fur-Bearers] 

Prince Albert's plastic bag ban will go into effect Oct. 12 after being delayed due to the pandemic. Saskatchewan produces the second-most waste per capita in Canada. [CBC]

 

Reuse & Repair

Some reusable kitchenware products have a greater environmental impact than single-use products. Silicone sandwich bags and beeswax wraps use too much water and energy to be beneficial. [Anthropocene] 

More and more products aren’t easily repairable – from laptop computers to farm machinery. Here's why we need the right to repair and what it should entail – information, parts and tools, legal unlocking, and accommodating repair in design. [New York Times Wirecutter] 

Retrofitting Our Homes & Cities 

“Pavement — comprising roads and parking lots — takes up roughly 30% of the city surface. . . Removing urban pavement would reduce stormwater run-off and treatment, rebuild natural climate buffers in cities, release soil from confinement, make space to plant trees, sequester carbon, and allow people to breathe fresh air, not asphalt.” [Next City] 

Home energy renovations (insulation, heat pumps, better windows) could create jobs and save on healthcare costs. [Pembina Institute report] 

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 subscribe by email (top right corner).

Did you know? Hawk Moth fly and move like hummingbirds and can be seen hovering in front of a flower while they unfurl their long tongue and insert it in the flower to sip the nectar.

EcoSask News, July 6, 2021

Upcoming Events 

Sierra Club – Prairie Chapter is organizing a series of hikes in Saskatchewan this summer: 

7 pm, July 6 – Cranberry Flats Conservation Area, Saskatoon (1.8 mile loop, easy) 

7 pm, July 9 – Northeast Swale, Saskatoon (5 km, easy) 

1:30 pm, July 15 – Anglin Lake Loop, Prince Albert (9 km, moderate) 

noon, July 20 – Fairy Hill Trail, Regina (5.6 km, moderate) 

11 am, July 21 – Wascana Trail Loop, Regina (4.8 km, easy) 

There will be a Train the Trainer: Orienteering workshop in Regina from 10 am-noon, July 10. 

City of Saskatoon residents can dispose of household hazardous waste from 9 am to 3:30 pm on July 11. 

Forests 

Miniature urban forests, from 6 to 250 square metres, may not solve climate change but “can have positive impacts on things like urban cooling, water regulation, and biodiversity.” [National Geographic] 

Canadian government and industry representatives are lobbying against a California proposal that would protect intact boreal forests and respect Indigenous rights. [The Narwahl] 

Protecting endangered species is never easy and often conflicts with industry. Take, for example, the marbled murrelet in BC: “The marbled murrelet may be small, but its nesting habitat requirements are vast and specific. Just a moss covered branch that’s high in the canopy of a centuries-old tree, close— but not too close—to the sea.” [Capital Daily] 

Urban Opportunities 

What a wealth of natural resources and biodiversity in the area currently under consideration for the new University Heights neighbourhood in Saskatoon! Rare plants and birds, wetlands, native grasses, a sharp-tailed grouse lek, and more are all at risk from construction, roads, and houses. [City of Saskatoon] 

Cities can help solve the biodiversity crisis with wildlife creating niches in unexpected places - from golf courses and cemeteries to community gardens, backyards, and vacant lots. [Yale Environment 360] 

Green roofs have an important role in climate action and sustainable, energy-efficient and biodiversity-integrated design and development. [National Environmental Treasure] 

Energy 

A water treatment plant in Halifax will supply renewable energy to six mixed-use buildings. [Water Canada] 

Diesel subsidies to remote communities impede transition to clean energy systems. [Pembina Institute]

 

What a Great Idea! 

A decommissioned bridge across the Mississippi River could be turned into a national park and wildlife bridge. [Inhabitat] 

Alex Honnold’s Sustainability Tick List outlines small steps leading to big change in lowering our environmental impact. [Honnold Foundation] 

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 subscribe by email (top right corner).

EcoSask News, June 8, 2021

This Week’s Highlights 

What impact does mountain biking have on wildlife? How can parks managers reconcile their dual mandate of nature conservation and human recreation? 

Wascana Junior Naturalists is hosting nature programming for kids in Regina every Saturday from June 19-Aug. 21 from 9-10 am. 

Upcoming Events 

Nature Conservancy of Canada is presenting a webinar with 10 stories of Canadian wildlife recovery and why they matter at 12:30 pm, June 10. 

Regina Public Library is offering a virtual series of short talks with artists with environmental elements to their practices at 7:30 pm, June 15. 

As part of this year’s Spring Meet, Nature Saskatchewan is hosting a variety of online activities, including Nature Trivia on June 15, a presentation on Leave-No-Trace outdoor cooking on June 16, a photo/video sharing session on June 17, and an AGM at 7 pm, June 21. 

The Provincial Association of Resort Communities of Saskatchewan is hosting a virtual panel discussion on waterways, wetlands, and stewardship at 7 pm, June 16. 

SK-PCAP is hosting a native plant Id and quiz webinar at noon, June 16, as part of Native Prairie Appreciation Week. 

Partners FOR the Saskatchewan River Basin is hosting an online annual general meeting at noon, June 16. 

SK-PCAP is hosting a webinar on Stewards of Saskatchewan: prairie species at risk at noon, June 16, as part of Native Prairie Appreciation Week.

 

Local News 

Ron Jensen will be banding ruby-throated hummingbirds at Beaver Creek Conservation Area. The hummingbird feeders were donated by Wild Birds Unlimited.

Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre has gathered 3,000 signatures, calling on the City of Saskatoon to ban the use of neurotoxins on pigeons. 

Let’s Get Practical 

Canada Greener Homes Grants – who is eligible, what they cover, drawbacks, and how to get the most bang for your buck. 

Should you replace a used car with an EV? That depends on how many miles you’ll put on it and on how electricity is produced in your area. 

Art & Nature 

“Cities around the world should identify, protect and make accessible places in nature that are dedicated to silence in the outer sense and stillness in the inner sense.” 

An online photography exhibit explores 3 themes: Incredible Wildlife, Wildlife in Crisis, and Reasons for Hope. 

The arts can help solve the climate crisis by telling stories that persuade people to “fall in love with nature again” and prompt government to back green policies. 

Success Stories 

Toronto’s TD Centre is undertaking North America’s largest bird-safe building retrofit by installing bird collision deterrent markers on glass. 

People are more likely to install solar panels if their neighbours have already done so. 

A 5-storey residence at Red Deer College is covered in solar glass cladding on 3 sides. 

Did you know? Bears pull chokecherry to the ground and tear its branches apart in their eagerness to eat the fruit (Nature Companion, a free nature app, downloadable directly from its website) 

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 subscribe by email (top right corner).

EcoSask News, June 1, 2021

This Week’s Highlights 

SaskPower is holding online conversations on June 9 & 16 to consult with the public on its long-term power strategy. You can register for morning or afternoon sessions. 

“Environmentalism emerged from the 1960s as a movement to save the natural world. Now it seems to have been appropriated to describe the fight to save industrial civilisation — life as we know it.” 

Upcoming Events 

Margret Asmuss will provide an overview of climate impacts and action in Saskatchewan at 6:30 pm, June 3, online. 

City of Saskatoon residents can dispose of household hazardous waste from 9 am to 3:30 pm on June 6. 

There will be a noon-hour webinar on bats on June 8 as part of the Native Prairie Speaker Series. 

The Provincial Association of Resort Communities of Saskatchewan is hosting a webinar with Jo Jozsa discussing zoning bylaws to protect lakes at 7 pm, June 9. 

Project WILD and Flying WILD will be combined in a one-day virtual workshop on June 10. 

City Life

Form follows fuel: “From the earliest known archeological remains to the trends of the 21st century, the availability of energy has shaped architecture. That’s a perspective that deserves exploring, especially since the energy constraints imposed by climate change now present ‘the toughest challenge the world of architecture has ever faced’.” [book review] 

Canadian cities tend to sprawl – and sprawl costs money, time, and energy. What if we moved away from that model to the “20-minute city” where everything you need (work, grocery store, coffee shop) is within 20 minutes? “Touted benefits include better air quality, a healthier population, higher property values and lower transportation costs for those who can eschew an automobile. . . . Making cities more walkable involves creating a more compact footprint, where more businesses are built near existing homes. But it also means building housing near existing businesses, such as stores and restaurants.”

Canmore, AB, has grown from a small coal-mining community to a large bustling tourist destination. Residents are now struggling to reconcile tourism development with climate, transportation, and housing goals, as well as protection of an important wildlife corridor. A group of residents hopes to purchase a piece of land to create a permanent conservation area and affordable housing. 

 

We Can Do Better 

Smokescreen: Debunking Wildfire Myths to Save Our Forests and Our Climate by Chad T. Hanson explains why wildfire are beneficial, the role fire-burned trees play in maintaining biodiversity, and the need to focus on home fire safety and defensible space as opposed to back-country vegetation management. [book review] 

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are used in air conditioning and refrigeration systems and are “hundreds to thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere”. Refrigeration systems in supermarkets aren’t air-tight, so they lose 25% of their refrigerant every year – “that amounts to emissions equivalent to more than 12 million cars driving for a year”. There are alternatives, as demonstrated by a New York City grocery store, but no easy answers. [podcast & transcript] 

Arbor Week 

Five easy ways to keep our trees happy. 

There are four main groups of conifers on the Canadian Prairies: fir, pine, spruce, and larch. 

SOS Trees pairs advocacy with education.

Did you know? Female Spotted Sandpipers mate with up to 5 males, leaving the males to incubate the eggs and feed the young [Nature Companion is downloadable directly from its website] 

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 subscribe by email (top right corner).

EcoSask News, May 18, 2021

This Week’s Highlights 

Citizens Environmental Alliance has initiated a House of Commons petition regarding the need for an environmental assessment of the Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Expansion project. 

SOS Trees is hosting Arbor Week in Saskatoon from May 28-June 6 with activities ranging from art to talks, tree planting, and tours. 

Upcoming Events 

Kids ages 6-13 are invited to participate in the Get Outside Kids Club on May 19 or 26 in Regina. 

Join some of Regina’s city councillors as they talk with Seth Klein, Jamie Kirkpatrick, and Haley Carlson about Regina’s path towards sustainability from 6-8 pm, May 25, online. 

Nature Saskatchewan is hosting a virtual book launch for Backyard Bird Feeding: A Saskatchewan Guide at 7 pm, May 25. 

Peter Leavitt will discuss what controls lake water quality at 7 pm, May 26, online. 

Looking Ahead 

SaskOutdoors and the Saskatchewan Orienteering Association are offering orienteering for kids and youth in Saskatoon on May 31, June 7, 14, and 21. 

Saskatoon Nature Society – Golden Eagles 

May 20, 8 am – Forestry Farm Spring Bird Walk 

May 27, 8 am – Warblers, Pike Lake Acreage 

Retirees and partners who are interested in birds and the natural world are invited to participate. 

Other Saskatoon Nature Society Field Trips 

May 22, 9 am-12 pm – Birding Trip to Porter Lake 

May 23, 7:30-9 am – Warbler Walk at Forestry Farm 

May 25, 7-9 pm – Birding at Maple Grove 

May 26, 6:30-9 pm – Wildflowers at NE Swale 

May 29 – May Bird Count 

Field trips are currently for members only, so sign up now. Advance registration is required.

 

 

Well Done! 

The City of Victoria will soon require buildings to be deconstructed rather than demolished in order to salvage reusable materials. “Currently, more than a third of materials going to Victoria landfills each year are generated from the construction sector, and much of that is a result of poor demolition waste management. . . . City staff estimate that salvaging materials from single-families alone would divert 3,000 tonnes of waste from landfills each year.” (via Capital Daily) 

Opera houses are going green. La Scala in Milan has installed solar panels and LED lights, while Sydney Opera House built an artificial reef. Opera North in Leeds is creating sets out of recycled materials. 

New York State is addressing plastic pollution by banning the use of small toiletry bottles in hotels. 

We Can Do Better 

“Population growth, more houses with air conditioning, larger homes, and fewer people per household . . . are all driving residential energy use and emissions upwards. . . . Hitting climate targets depends on building smaller single-family homes and more multi-family housing (including converting large single-family homes to multi-unit dwellings), consistent with the shrinking number of people per household.” 

AirBnB’s carbon footprint is bigger than you think – a look at ways of making tourist accommodation more environmentally sustainable. 

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 by email (top right corner). 

We’re in it for the birds! (Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces)

EcoSask News, March 30, 2021

This Week’s Highlights 

“The key to bringing the environmental impact of architecture in line with planetary limits is to dramatically improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings while radically reducing new construction. In other words: less demolition, more refurbishment.” 

Jeff Olson will discuss the effects of farmland drainage on our environment in a 1:30 pm, Mar. 30, webinar hosted by the School of the Environment and Sustainability Students’ Association. 

Upcoming Events 

Learn about research directions and a grassroots movement that led to a reduction in the amount of lead exposure in wildlife during the WildEcol Seminar at 3:30 pm, Apr. 2. 

Saskatoon Nature Society is planning a bluebird trip on April 3 and a crocus trip on Apr. 14. Field trips are currently for members only, so sign up now. Advance registration is required. 

Learn how to use a compass for orienteering in a free online webinar from 7-8 pm, Apr. 6. 

There will be an online discussion on plastic pollution and the efforts globally, nationally, and locally to identify solutions at 7 pm, Apr. 6, as part of the Sustainability Speaker Series. 

There will be a discussion on the Saturn power story and its Highfield solar project at the virtual breakfast meeting of the Energy Management Task Force on Apr. 7. 

Global Water Futures is offering an online lecture series on women and water with a presentation at 12:30 pm, Apr. 8, on women in the field. 

Saskatoon Nature Society’s Golden Eagles are planning a bluebird trip on Apr. 8 and a crocus trip on Apr. 15. Retirees and partners who are interested in birds and the natural world are invited to participate. 

Local News 

SOS Trees Coalition Saskatoon (trees@sostrees.ca) is looking for interesting true tree stories that will be shared in the organization’s newsletter right before Arbor Day. 

Join Stan Shadick, Saskatoon, for a socially distanced private birding tour or online/outdoor workshops (Signs of Spring, Sounds of the Night, Dancing Grouse). Proceeds will support Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation. 

A petition calls for an environmental assessment for agricultural drainage networks in Saskatchewan.

 

Neighbours 

“Nature, declares Richard Mabey, makes us ill. . . . ‘Bacteria and viruses and man-eating tigers and predatory Asian hornets are also all part of nature.’ . . . The most respectful terms of engagement, he argues, are not ‘anthropomorphism or manufactured empathy’ but ‘a sense of neighbourliness’. This is not friendship but ‘based on sharing a place, on the common experience of home and habitat and season’. ‘It might provide a bridge across the great conceptual divide between us and other species.’” 

“We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” 

From Information to Action 

Irrigation canals covered with solar panels are a powerful combination. 

“The quest for net zero health-care emissions involves re-imagining a society where health and wellbeing are prioritised, and incentives are aligned to promote fiscal and environmental stewardship. . . . Mitigating the health-care footprint requires interventions both to the health-care system and to the factors driving demand.” 

“In the last five years, while acceptance of climate change has gone more mainstream, the 60 largest commercial and private investment banks in the world financed the fossil fuel industry to a tune of nearly $4 trillion.” 

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 by email (top right corner). 

Did you know? Each adult female Richardson’s Ground Squirrel has her own tunnel where she raises her litter without help from the male.

EcoSask News, March 2, 2021

Upcoming Events 

Let’s Talk About Water is showcasing two online films about food, water, migrant workers and farmers from now until Mar. 22. 

Join Wascana Solar Co-op’s Group Buy Director for a virtual question and answer around net billing and the Co-op’s group buy process at 7:30 pm, Mar. 4. 

Join the McDowell Foundation for an online discussion of the value of outdoor learning from 7-8:30 pm, Mar. 4. 

There will be an online presentation on geographic song and plumage variation in Willow Flycatchers at 3:30 pm, Mar. 5, as part of the WildEcol Seminar Series. 

Songs 4 Nature will host a virtual winter showcase of original songs at 7 pm, Mar. 5. 

Saskatoon Nature Society members will be birding at Pike Lake from 1:30-4:30 pm, Mar. 7. Advance registration is required. 

SaskOutdoors is holding an online annual general meeting from 7-8 pm, Mar. 8. 

Pick up some tips and tricks for reducing your waste in a virtual presentation in Regina from 7-8 pm, Mar. 9. 

For Peat’s Sake – Protecting Northern Saskatchewan Muskegs will be screening and discussing For Our Peat’s Sake documenting the fight to protect the Winnipeg watershed region wetlands at 7 pm, Mar. 10. 

Nature Regina’s Get Outside! Kids’ Club will meet from 10 am-12 pm, Mar. 10. Be sure to register in advance. 

Find out about the managing for bird species at risk and incentives guide with Nature Saskatchewan at 7 pm, Mar. 11. 

A full list of upcoming events (online and in person) can be found on the EcoFriendly Sask Calendar 

Waste Reduction 

If Regina’s organic waste pilot project went city-wide, it could divert 18,000 tonnes or 31% of waste annually. 

The Saskatchewan Waste Reduction Council has set up a Facebook group for people to connect about anything regarding repairing. 

Feed your moths and embellish your imperfections – the expert guide to making clothes last forever. [Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle: Tips for Decluttering Your Home and the Planet] 

France is tackling throwaway culture with a repairability index to be displayed at the point of sale. “If you’re in the market for a new device, the score out of ten will tell you how easy it will be to get it fixed.” 

The Circular Economy Global Sector Best Practices series engages Canadian firms and innovators in the journey towards a circular economy. This month’s episode looks at construction.

Local – Naturally 

The YXEWildlife project is now posting on Facebook to show us what is happening around us and when we’re asleep at night. [You Don’t Have to Leave the City to Connect with Wildlife] Dr. Ryan Fisher, Royal Saskatchewan Museum, has plans for Regina to join the Urban Wildlife Information Network by setting up an urban wildlife monitoring system similar to the one in Saskatoon.

Help Doug Clark, University of Saskatchewan, process photographs of Arctic bears. 

The Canadian government will invest $402,000 over 3 years to conserve and restore native prairie and shoreline habitat around Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve. 

Book Time 

In Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future Elizabeth Kolbert explores the unintended consequences of human initiatives to tame and control nature. 

Kathleen Dean Moore, author of Earth’s Wild Music: Celebrating and Defending the Songs of the Natural World, says, “The sounds of the natural world are beautiful and they make us happy.” If we lose them, “we lose joy.” 

Bird Play 

Bird jokes so bad they should be “ill-eagle” 

Play Crow Bingo - beginner & intermediate levels – on your next walk. 

Check out EcoFriendly Sask’s Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s four western provinces 

EcoSask News is a weekly round-up of local news and events. Email us if you have items you would like us to include. 

You can follow EcoFriendly Sask by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or by email (top right corner).

EcoSask News, February 16, 2021

Good day! We’ve made a few changes to the newsletter this week. If you’re looking for additional information about one of the events, you’ll find it on the EcoFriendly Sask Calendar. We’ve also tried a new approach of grouping articles around a theme. We try very hard to find meaningful articles you might otherwise miss. Let us know what you think and have a good week. Andrew & Penny 

This Week’s Highlights 

Conscious consumerism: “Keep sustainability, love, and gratitude for the earth and all people at the centre of everything you do” 

The Let’s Talk About Water virtual film festival will be showing two films about groundwater (access, resource management, over-consumption) at 7:30 pm, Feb. 25, with a community discussion forum on Feb. 26. 

Upcoming Events 

EnviroCollective Regina will hold its monthly online meeting from 7-10 pm, Feb. 18. 

The WildEcol Seminar Series presents an online talk on tropical birds and forest fragmentation/restoration at 3:30 pm, Feb. 19. 

Join Saskatoon Nature Society on a birdwatching outing in City Park from 2-3 pm, Feb. 21. 

 

There will be an online panel discussion on creating a supportive policy environment for renewable energy co-operatives from 4-5:30 pm, Feb. 24. 

Children ages 6-12 are invited to register for Nature Regina's Get Outside! Kids’ Club at 10 am, Feb. 24 or Mar. 3. 

SaskOutdoors will train participants to become certified Growing Up WILD and Getting Little Feet WET Education facilitators from 7-9 pm, Feb. 25, Mar. 4, and Mar. 11 (online). 

Join Regina Public Library online to learn inexpensive strategies for building and living in an environmentally friendly way at 7 pm, Feb. 25. 

Find out all about burrowing owls in a Nature Saskatchewan webinar at 7 pm, Feb. 25. 

Explore Les Sherman Park with Nature Regina at 10, 11:15, 1, or 2:15 pm, Feb. 26. 

You’ll find information on these and other events on the EcoFriendly Sask Calendar

The Urban Environment 

Bird-friendly urban design makes for healthier and more pleasant cities for humans and other animals [interview with Timothy Beatley, author of The Bird-Friendly City] 

Construction projects threaten the urban forest by displacing trees and by damaging them during the construction process [more information is available from SOS Trees] 

A sand-paint mixture may discourage beavers from chewing and felling trees [10 Surprising Facts about Beavers] 

Feeding pet cats meaty food and playing with them to simulate hunting stops them killing wildlife, according to a study 

“The reality is that we’re ‘wishcycling.’ In fact, less than 10 percent of plastics are recycled” [Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle: Tips for Decluttering Your Home and the Planet] 

Municipalities of Saskatchewan will lobby the provincial government for a water policy similar to Manitoba and Alberta and the publication of quarterly water test results [We’re Losing our Wetlands and That’s a Big Problem] 

EcoSask News is a weekly round-up of local news and events. Email us if you have items you would like us to include. 

You can follow EcoFriendly Sask by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or by email (top right corner). 

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it. Thank you! 

Thank goodness for our year-round avian friends who brighten our winter walks. One of our favorites is the magpie. [Nature Companion]