EcoSask News, January 25, 2022

Upcoming Events 

PCAP-SK is hosting a webinar on habitat occupancy by breeding Pied-billed and Horned Grebes in Prairie Canada: correlates of pond use and breeding success at noon, Jan. 27. 

Nature Regina is hosting a winter bio-blitz at various times on Jan. 29. Register on their website. 

EMTF-SK will host an online breakfast presentation on Saskatchewan's Energy Storage Advantage: Compressed Air Energy Storage in Salt Caverns on Feb. 2. 

PCAP-SK is hosting a webinar on a watershed stewardship approach to invasive species education and management at noon, Feb. 2. 

The Institute for Environmental Sustainability is hosting a webinar on the importance of peatlands for nature and people on Feb. 2. 

Full details of all upcoming events are listed on the EcoFriendly Sask Calendar 

Low Tech 

A low-tech solution – hot water bottles. [Low-Tech Magazine] 

Zero Waste 

British Columbia leads the way on recycling and composting programs, but more is still needed. A plan to get BC to zero waste by 2040 emphasizes reducing waste production, repair & maintenance, extended producer responsibility, and closing disposal loopholes. [The Tyee] 

A frying pan made from recycled aluminum cans, bicycle parts, and other recycled metal can be manufactured using 95% less energy than a conventional aluminum frying pan. [Kuhn Rikon] 

Energy 

Carbon capture at Shell’s blue hydrogen facility near Edmonton is capturing less than 50% of the facility’s total emissions. [Gizmodo] 

Satellites can play an important role in identifying methane emissions, the first step in tackling a key source of GHG emissions. [Smithsonian] 

Turning big box store rooftops into solar farms could generate a lot of electricity. [Gizmodo]

 

We Can Make a Difference 

A new conservation foundation plans “to provide Indigenous and other land-based communities with funds to protect endangered ecosystems and build economic alternatives to the logging of at-risk old-growth forests.” [CTV] 

A low-energy kitchen, carpets made from recycled fishing nets, solar panels, and bees and wildflowers on the roof – this hotel is paying more than lip service to environmental sustainability. [The Guardian] 

John Stimpson has built 30,000 nest boxes for swifts, not to mention the nest boxes he’s built for barn owls, blue tits, finches, blackbirds, and thrushes. [The Guardian] 

Tips to help you clear dangerous pollutants out of your home (and your body). [The Guardian]

The hidden cost of fish oil pills to personal and environmental health. [The Guardian] 

On the Bookshelf 

Though the Earth Gives Way, a novel by Pullitzer Prize-winning journalist Mark S. Johnson, shares the stories of individuals fleeing a climate apocalypse. “We are good at divorcing ourselves from consequences,” Johnson says. “I wanted readers to feel as if they’d glimpsed the other side, the world to come.” [Madison Magazine] 

Nature’s Wonders 

A rare sighting of blanket octopus. Males are 2.4 centimetres – females grow up to 2 metres! [The Guardian] 

When large numbers of snowy owls appear in southern Canada and the US, we assume they’re starving. Not so, according to SK researchers. “It’s due to a bumper crop of young snowies during a very good breeding season.” [All About Birds] 

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 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 23, 2021

Upcoming Events 

Learn about the effects of land use and climate change on ferruginous hawk habitat in Canada at the online WildEcol Seminar at 3:30 pm, Nov. 26. 

The Society for Ecological Restoration – Western Canada is holding its AGM online from 11 am-2:30 pm PST, Nov. 28. 

Learn about orienteering, geocaching, and Adventure Smart online with SaskOutdoors at 7 pm, Nov. 30. 

EMTF SK is hosting a presentation on energy management systems – leveraging IoT, AI, and cloud-based solutions at a Dec. 1 breakfast meeting. 

Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy is hosting an online lecture on Bridging Science, Policy, Community and More: Cases of Transdisciplinarity from Climate Change from 12-12:55 pm, Dec. 2. 

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

Water 

Abbotsford, Calgary, Fort Simpson, New Orleans – flooding is no longer a rare, isolated incident. We have drained our wetlands, logged our forests, and built homes and communities without taking climate change into consideration. “Water management techniques developed over the 20th century will no longer be useful in this vastly changed water future. Every fen, tree and moss banked stream will count even more so than they have in the past.” [from an article by Edward Struzik, author of Swamplands: Tundra Beavers, Quaking Bogs and the Improbable World of Peat, The Tyee] 

“We need extraordinary and co-ordinated planning and efforts to protect our freshwater through conservation of rivers, lakes and their watersheds. And we need a national water agency with the capacity, financial means and legal foundation to co-ordinate this. We need the research and science capacity to inform wise water decisions and build state-of-the art water prediction and management systems.” (John Pomeroy, Canada Research Chair in Water Resources and Climate Change, U of S, Globe and Mail) 

Two academic papers examine how flood risk management on the Canadian prairie has defaulted towards flood resistance and recovery rather than resilience. “If the aim of flood risk management (FRM) is to increase society’s resilience to floods, then a holistic treatment of flood risk is required that addresses flood prevention, defence, mitigation, preparation, and response and recovery.”

 

Prairies 

What is the best approach to conserving prairies in the face of rapid climate change? Chris Helzer says, “We can’t afford to be so invested in current or past versions of our prairies that we don’t allow them to adapt to changing conditions. We’re hurtling into the future whether we like it or not. Let’s make sure we bring prairies along with us.” [Prairie Ecologist] 

Forest 

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs; Arnold Bercov, past president of the Public and Private Workers of Canada; Torrance Coste, national campaign director for the Wilderness Committee; and Ben Parfitt, resource policy analyst, CCPA BC Office, outline the problems and possible solutions for a forest revolution in BC: “Perpetuating logging rates that anyone with an iota of common sense knew could not go on was guaranteed to have brutal consequences, including old-growth forests so fragmented from logging that they are no longer capable of supporting caribou and vibrant songbird populations; community watersheds where once-clean drinking water has turned to mud; drastically reduced or eradicated salmon stocks; and 41,000 direct jobs lost in the forest industry in just 20 years.” [The Tyee]

 

Sustainable Joy 

“A little daily crow therapy reminds me that other lives — every bit as ordinary and epic as mine — are being lived alongside mine … This is a sustainable joy, free, readily available to anyone, and consuming no natural resources … and it’s the kind of joy I’m trying to rely on more and more.” [The Urban Nature Enthusiast] 

Wild and wonderful – a 3-minute video about the unseen world of living microscopic plankton. [Vimeo] 

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 2, 2021

Upcoming Events 

City of Saskatoon residents can dispose of household hazardous waste from 9 am to 3:30 pm, Nov. 7. 

Looking Ahead 

SaskOutdoors is offering Projet Wet (en français) online from 4-6 pm, Nov. 30. 

SK-PCAP will be holding a virtual Native Prairie Restoration/Reclamation Workshop from Feb. 8-10. 

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

Local News 

Regina residents are invited to complete a survey regarding the City’s approach to becoming a 100% renewable energy city by 2050. [City of Regina]

 

Forests 

Canada’s “logging industry continues to clearcut more than 400,000 hectares of the boreal each year — about five NHL hockey rinks every minute — much of this in irreplaceable primary forests, which have not been previously impacted by human disturbance.” [The Narwhal] 

Conservation organizations, with assistance from the Earth Law Center, are challenging the state of Washington for managing forests for revenue generation. “These lands are a gift that should not have to be squeezed for every dollar when they already benefit us in so many ways, from storing carbon to providing clean water, wildlife habitat, and healthy recreation access.” [OPB] 

Aiming for Zero Waste 

While BC is a continental leader in composting and recycling, it continues to generate large amounts of unnecessary waste. A report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives outlines upstream solutions to reduce the flow of material, looking at plastics, demolition and construction waste, and repair and maintenance. [CCPA]

 

Small but Mighty 

There’s more going on in spider brains than they normally get credit for. Jumping spiders have developed devious hunting tactics and are skilled at getting out of dangerous situations. [Knowable Magazine] 

Moths have finessed an extensive repertoire of tactics to avoid being caught and eaten by bats. They issue warning cries, jam bat signals, create false targets, and use sound-absorbing cloaking devices. [Knowable Magazine] 

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).

Take a look at EcoFriendly Sask's Nature Companion, a kid-friendly nature app for Canada's 4 western provinces

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, August 31, 2021

Upcoming Events 

EMTF-SK is offering an online presentation on hydrogen fuel technologies from 7:30-9:15 am, Sept. 1. 

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

Looking Ahead 

SaskOutdoors is offering a virtual Project Wild training from Sept. 13-Oct. 4. 

Nature Saskatchewan is hosting its fall meet in Moose Jaw on Sept. 18. 

The Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Areas Inc. has planned a number of activities during National Forest Week from Sept. 18-26. 

Full event details are provided on the EcoFriendly Sask Calendar 

Agriculture 

“Diversifying landscapes . . . could conserve nature and help to boost food production . . . landscapes with increased diversity typically produced around 17 to 18 bushels more per acre, of corn and wheat” [Anthropocene] 

A study of Alberta’s Bow River Basin shows that many farmers who adopt modern irrigation systems expand their operations, leading to increased agricultural water demand and potential water shortages. [Science Direct] 

Housing 

“What if the most American symbol of unsustainable consumption isn’t the automobile, but the air conditioner?” [Vox] 

As a result of the pandemic, Americans want larger homes, farther apart, with greater distance to schools and stores – despite the fact that urban sprawl fails to address climate change. [Planetizen] 

Low-rise, high-density cities have a lower carbon impact than high-rise, high-density cities as high-rises use more materials and need to be built further apart. [npj Urban Sustainability]

 

Cohabiting with Wildlife 

Letter from an urban deer: “Don’t fret if you see us on your lawns. Rewilding is not just about letting a few species run free far away from human civilization. It’s about allowing our world to cross over into your world.” [High Country News] 

A UK study has found that LED streetlights cause worse light pollution resulting in fewer insect pollinators than traditional sodium bulbs. But that doesn’t have to be the case. “LEDs are dimmable, can be linked to motion sensors and can have cheap filters fitted to screen out blue light.” [The Guardian] 

Did you know? The width of the banded woolly bear caterpillar's red band is said to predict the severity of the coming winter, but this isn't the case. The red band lengthens as the caterpillar matures, while wetter weather lengthens the black bands. [Nature Companion, a free nature app for Canada’s 4 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, August 24, 2021

Upcoming Events 

City of Moose Jaw residents can dispose of household hazardous waste from 9 am-3 pm, Aug. 28. 

SOS Trees is holding its annual general meeting at 7 pm, Aug. 30, outdoors in Saskatoon. 

Looking Ahead 

Register to help the Nature Conservancy of Canada remove old fencing, a barrier and hazard for wildlife, from their Asquith property from 9:30 am-3:30 pm, Sept. 11. 

SaskOutdoors is offering a canoe certification course in Regina on Sept. 18-19. 

Full event details are available on the EcoFriendly Sask Calendar

 

Horsetail is one of the oldest plants on earth, reproducing by spore rather than seed. It can be found in or near wetland areas such as marshes, rivers, and streams throughout North America. [Nature Companion] 

Wetlands 

This could be the worst drought year ever in Saskatchewan, and wetland drainage has exacerbated the situation. “We have tax incentives for farmers to get as much land into production as possible, we need to put incentives in there to make it worthwhile financially for farmers to retain those wetlands,” says John Pomeroy, U of S hydrologist. [CKOM] 

One of our readers thought she had observed a decline in the number of Franklin’s Gulls. We did a little research and she’s quite correct. Franklin’s Gulls have declined by 95% in the United States between 1968 and 2015. A major factor has been the loss of wetlands where the gulls nest. [All About Birds] 

Climate Action 

Whether they are Canadian or US politicians, playing nice with the fossil fuel industry is climate denial. “It’s not that politicians in powerful countries have done nothing in the past two decades. The problem, rather, is that where they’ve done anything at all, it has tended to be the wrong thing, emphasizing subtle market tweaks and shiny new technologies instead of the core work of decarbonization: getting off fossil fuels as quickly as possible.” [The New Republic] 

The Canadian Standards Association (CSA) Sustainable Forest Management Standard “leaves it up to the logging companies to self-identify that their activities are sustainable. The result is akin to having the fox guard the henhouse”. [Ecojustice] 

How to Think About the Climate Crisis by Graham Parkes looks at how the way we think can either choke off climate solutions or lead us out of philosophical dead ends. There is a focus on Chinese ways of thinking such as feng shui and animism because “We can’t resolve the climate crisis without Chinese cooperation – and that requires a more open attitude to, and better acquaintance with, their ideas about politics.” [book review, The Earthbound Report] 

Appreciating Nature 

Meet 10 racialized female and non-binary trailblazers who are transforming our sense of who belongs in the natural world. They say nature is for everyone and are trying to make it more accessible. [The Narwhal] 

With their fancy colours, elaborate sex lives, and strong parenting instincts, there’s a lot we don’t know or appreciate about mosquitoes. [Smithsonian Magazine] 

Outdoor Education 

We published a list of nature and environmental educational programs for young people last year. There may be some changes, but it should still provide a solid starting point. 

Earlier this year, we did some digging on the internet and came up with some nature apps we think look great for families with kids. 

Cattails play an important role in purifying and removing pollutants from bodies of water. They also form an important habitat for birds, insects, amphibians, and fish. [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, August 17, 2021

Upcoming Events 

Help Meewasin protect wildlife in Saskatoon’s Northeast Swale by fence tabbing from 6-9 pm, Aug. 18. You can also protect birds during fall migration by applying stickers to the rink in downtown Saskatoon from 9-11 am, Aug. 21. 

Library of Things, Saskatoon, will be open for pick-ups by reservation from the back door in the alley from 1-4 pm, Aug. 21. 

Stan Shadick is offering 3 online workshops to assist with identifying warblers during fall migration from 7-8:30 pm, Aug. 22 & 29, and Sept. 6. There will be an optional field trip from 9-10:30 am, Aug. 29, in Saskatoon. Registration fees will support Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation. 

West Coast Environmental Law is offering a webinar on environmental justice in action at 1 pm, Aug. 26. 

Full event details are listed on the EcoFriendly Sask Calendar

Local News 

The Citizens Environmental Alliance says the proposed Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Project comes at colossal expense and high environmental consequences. [Citizens Environmental Alliance]

Indigenous land users, scientists, and youth are rallying to protect northern Saskatchewan’s peatlands from harvest. [CBC News]

City of Regina will be scanning blue carts to check for items that can’t be recycled. Their goal is to reduce the number of wrong items placed in the carts, which can lower the value of recyclable goods, harm recycling facility workers, and damage equipment. [CJME]

 

Energy Options 

Carbon capture and storage technology “has been under discussion and development for decades and governments are increasingly relying on it to meet their climate goals. But . . . by early 2021 there were only 26 CCS plants operating around the world, capturing 0.1 percent of global yearly CO2 emissions at most. And most of the CO2 captured to date has been used to dig up more oil through Enhanced Oil Recovery.”  [Desmog]

A new report from the Pembina Institute “shows that the climate benefits of blue hydrogen vary depending on the technology used to create it.” [Pembina Institute]

What Can We Do? 

“The key to fighting [climate] despair is to think beyond the individual and seek community support and solutions — especially those that put pressure on governments and companies to make the large-scale changes that are necessary to truly curtail emissions.” [Vox]

Fall bird migration is just around the corner and with it an increased risk of birds fatally colliding with buildings. Here are 5 tips for educating building tenants about bird-safe best practices. [FLAP Canada]

The Cheakamus community forest near Whistler, BC, “is charting new territory when it comes to sustainable timber harvest that outlaws clearcuts, respects Indigenous governance and combats the climate emergency.” [The Narwhal]

The Comox Valley Regional District in British Columbia is considering phasing out gas stations. “Existing gas stations wouldn't be forced to close, but would be considered ‘legally non-compliant’ — and wouldn't be able to add new pumps. New service stations would be allowed to open, but not to provide petroleum-based fuels.” [CBC News]

New Approaches 

“If we want robust and meaningful science to reach the courts, we need to start thinking about how science and the law operate together.” [Union of Concerned Scientists]

Presenting 4 novels that explore climate change and the Anthropocene. [Cool Green Science]

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, August 3, 2021

Upcoming Events 

Join CPAWS-SK in inventorying species in the boreal forest pre- and post-fire on Aug. 8 and 10 from 5:30-8 pm. 

SK-PCAP is hosting an online webinar about research into where bats hibernate in Saskatchewan at noon, Aug. 10. 

Passive House Canada is hosting an online conversation with Harold Orr, passive house pioneer, at 10 am (SK), Aug. 11. 

Golden Eagles, a sub-group of the Saskatoon Nature Society, will be holding a variety of events on Thursdays in August. 

Aug. 12 - Fall shorebirds 

Aug. 19 - Pike Lake area 

Aug. 26 - Petrofka Orchard & Crooked Trees 

All events are listed on the EcoFriendly Sask Calendar

 

Back to the Future 

"Like the stone lined canals in Kyoto, the terraced rice fields of Java allowing for millennia of continuous rice growing, the sandstone aqueducts of Italy still able to transport water after two millennia, the ancient Greek amphitheater still in use for plays and concerts, the cobblestone streets of Copenhagen that haven’t been resurfaced in five hundred years, we need to go back to thinking about our infrastructure not in terms of five year plans and technical efficiency, but in long term sustainability. If a bridge cannot be built that will last a thousand years, why build it? Why not build one that will last, even if it will be a less efficient or more expensive in the short run?" [Wrath of Gnon] 

Regina is a dusty ghost town; the legislature has moved north of La Ronge where water still flows in the Cumberland River system. The main characters are close to developing a genetic cross of wheat and perennial native grass. As Canada confronts drought and wildfires, Dry, Barbara Sapergia’s futuristic novel published in 2005 rings true today. [book review, Niche] 

Urban Planning 

Re-thinking the 15-minute city – not as an entity created with stopwatches timing how long it takes us to get from one location to another but as places with streets where people gather and enjoy themselves. [Governing] 

Prairie Life 

The Government of Manitoba is asking its residents for feedback on a proposed water management policy. How could we adapt it for use in Saskatchewan? [Government of Manitoba] 

Fossil-fuel exporting countries could see a loss of jobs as a result of a switch to renewable energy but could more than make up for it by emphasizing renewables manufacturing. [Anthropocene] 

Biodiversity 

Is it time to put the brakes on beekeeping? “Campaigns encouraging people to save bees have resulted in an unsustainable proliferation in urban beekeeping. This approach only saves one species of bee, the honeybee, with no regard for how honeybees interact with other, native species.” [The Guardian] 

Firefly flashes – the ins and outs of how they create light and why. [Scientific American] 

Did you know? Goldenrod doesn't cause hay fever as the pollen is slightly sticky and can't blow on the wind. 

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).

Community Highlights: Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas

1. How and when did you form your group? 

The non-profit Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc. was created to preserve and restore the 326-acre Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and the George Genereux Urban Regional Park in compliance with the City Council decision that these areas “be preserved in perpetuity.” Situated on the western edge of the city, the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and George Genereux Urban Regional Park are unique natural semi-wilderness habitats of great biodiversity. They are areas of all-season mixed woodland beauty with special geological, geographical, and historical elements, including Paleo-Indian and First Nations heritage. 

These man-made forests on the prairies are the only remaining portions of a 1970s City Plan to create a greenbelt around Saskatoon and were planted in response to the Green Survival program promoted in the US and Canada at that time. The afforestation area’s 50th birthday will be celebrated in 2022. We often remember City Manager Murray Totland’s words, “What would Saskatoon look like if it grew to half a million people?” and then we need to consider, “What do we want it to look like?” Greenspaces are not only nature-based solutions for climate action, but they promote health and wellness and support biodiversity and ecosystems. 

The Friends became an official environmental charity in October 2019 and received provincial non-profit incorporation in August 2019. Before that the Stewards and Stakeholders of the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area volunteers were a loosely knit group of people meeting regularly to conduct afforestation area clean-ups and speak before City of Saskatoon council and committee meetings. 

2. What are your principal activities and why do you believe they’re important? 

We believe this project can be part of an effective long-term strategy to focus our vision of living together on the land in the spirit of Witaskêwin. In a significant way this project allows the past to meet the present and future. The rich geological, historical, natural, and cultural heritage of the areas honours where we have been. Science, conservation, and hands-on learning about the land, the environment, and sustainability ensure our future. “In the end, we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.” (Baba Dioum) 

Richard St. Barbe Baker said it best when he adopted the African Kikyuyu word Twahmwe meaning “all as one” or “pull together” as the slogan for the International Tree Foundation when he initiated the Watu wa Miti Forest Guardians who had three missions: 

1. Plant ten trees, seedlings, or seeds each year. 

2. Do a good deed every day. 

3. Care for trees everywhere. 

3. What were your successes (big or small) in 2020? 

We worked with University of Saskatchewan classes, engaged in virtual tours, education and awareness campaigns, and supported the “Take it Outside” City of Saskatoon program during COVID, promoting the use of about 475 acres of greenwoods for social distancing with seating and bird stations in the forest. 

We were very grateful to Paul Hanley and Robert White, who personally knew Richard St. Barbe Baker, for increasing public awareness of the great humanitarian efforts achieved worldwide by Baker. 

We appreciate the volunteers who come out to document flora and fauna on the iNaturalist app (individually or during bio-blitzes) to assist the City of Saskatoon and the Meewasin Valley Authority develop their ecological assessment, which will lead to the Master Plan for the afforestation areas in conjunction with the Blairmore Sector development plan. 

On June 5, 2021, World Environment Day, an amazing team of volunteers removed 9,860 kg of trash from George Genereux Park. In the spring, we removed a make-shift log structure which had started to fall down and could have harmed both people and the nearby ecosystem. 

In the past few years, the Friends have organized community volunteer clean-ups removing over 21,790 kg of trash from George Genereux Urban Regional Park and over 38,300 kg of illegally dumped materials from the two afforestation areas. This has made the areas safe for public enjoyment and a variety of recreational and educational user activities. 

4. What would you like to achieve in 2021? 

The afforestation areas have received $100,000 of federal funding to build barriers to stop motorized vehicles from entering and dumping garbage. We will also be installing identification signage, conducting ecological surveys and bio-blitzes to identify significant species and landscape features, and holding garbage clean-ups and educational programming. 

With this Government of Canada funding, it is hoped that environmental protection programming can take place in healthy green spaces. Classes can take part in bio-blitzes; families can engage in nature walks; wedding parties can come out for photographic sessions; and folks can come out and gaze at the meteor showers. 

We look forward to working with our partner, SOS Trees, on climate action activities the Friends will be undertaking. 

5. If you could have 3 wishes for improving your community, what would they be? 

1. To welcome to both afforestation areas those users who appreciate the value of these hidden treasures – man-made mixed woodland oases on the prairies. Benefits are community development, user health and wellness, alongside fabulous all-season nature sightseeing at both the Richard St. Barbe Baker Afforestation Area and the 148-acre George Genereux Urban Regional Park. Everyone is welcome to join the Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas and recognize the true treasure and value of the afforestation areas, which have great potential. (https://stbarbebaker.wordpress.com, friendsofafforestation@gmail.com, 306.380.5368) 

2. That people recognize the importance and value of EcoFriendly Sask and their invaluable service to green groups and the environment of Saskatoon and area. Thank you for your funding support and for all that you do, because EcoFriendly Sask is a mentor and provides role models for improving the community in Saskatoon. 

3. “It is fitting that the afforestation area named after Richard St Barbe Baker, arguably the first global conservationist, be protected and become a site where the public can see the rich biodiversity resulting from planting trees in what was a summer fallow field in 1972.” (Robert White, Masters in Science in Ecology, Friends of the Saskatoon Afforestation Areas Inc.) 

Photo Credits: #1 Vivian Allan, #2 Shwetha Gopinath, #3 Julia Adamson

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 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, March 16, 2021

This Week’s Highlights 

There will be an online discussion on the potential for conservation and restoration of Saskatchewan forests to mitigate against climate breakdown at 7 pm, Mar. 23. 

A climate activist in California has spent 589 days cleaning up a park and is encouraging others to follow his example. "Climate action is a group project," he tweeted. "There will be no hero that will emerge from the fog to save us from ourselves. To preserve this planet, we'll need a billion climate activists." 

Upcoming Events 

Regina residents are invited to a virtual public open house at 7 pm, Mar. 18, for the Foxtail Grove Solar Energy Project, a 10 MW project that will generate enough green electricity to power over 2,600 Saskatchewan households. 

The WildEcol Seminar Series is hosting an online presentation on the research studying contaminants in loons and gulls being undertaken as part of the Boreal Watershed Initiative at 3:30 pm, Mar. 19. 

Join Nature Regina for an online presentation on how you can grow native plants for pollinators in your own yard from 2-3:30 pm, Mar. 20. 

Join the Saskatoon Nature Society on the following outings. Field trips are currently for members only, so sign up now. Advance registration is required.

Mar. 20, 8:30 am-4:30 pm - Gardiner Dam Waterfowl Trip

Mar. 26, 7:30-10 pm - Owling Evening

Mar. 27, 10 am-4 pm - Snowy Owl Trip

Saskatoon Seedy Saturday has gone virtual with online gardening workshops and presentations from Mar. 20-27. 

The Saskatoon Zoo Society is holding a virtual annual general meeting at 1:30 pm, Mar. 21. 

Let’s Talk About Water is hosting an online panel with experts from the industry, research, and non-profit sectors about valuing water at 11 am, Mar. 22. 

The Saskatchewan Chapter of The Wildlife Society is offering an online workshop for members on navigation from 3-6 pm, Mar. 22. 

Blue Gold: World Water Wars will be screened in Regina at 7 pm, Mar. 22. 

The film, Addicted to Plastic, will be shown in Regina at 7 pm, Mar. 24. 

Public Pasture - Public Interest will be holding its AGM online from 7-9 pm, Mar. 24.

Regina Public Library is hosting an online talk on starting to compost at 7 pm, Mar. 25. 

The Moose Jaw River Watershed Stewards will discuss biosecurity and invasive species online at noon, Mar. 25, as part of PCAP-SK’s Native Prairie Speaker Series. 

Find out about Climate West, a regional hub for climate services, at a noon-hour, Mar. 25, presentation hosted by Partners FOR the Saskatchewan River Basin. 

Local News 

The City of Saskatoon is reviewing speed limits in residential neighbourhoods. The survey is open until April 30. 

A USask research “study hopes to find ways to better manage the wetlands and marginal areas in Saskatchewan fields . . . in order to design effective incentive programs for improving sustainable farm production.” 

The Saskatchewan Orienteering Association has been established to promote and administer orienteering as sport and recreation in Saskatchewan. 

Transportation Options 

“Without the Keystone XL pipeline . . . Canadian oil producers are turning to trains. And using a new technology to help make it more affordable — and less flammable.” 

The demand for materials needed to make batteries for electric cars and other clean technology is driving interest in deep-seabed mining. “One of my greatest fears is that we may start ocean mining because it’s profitable for just a handful of years, and then we nail it with the next gen battery or we get good at doing low-cost e-waste recycling . . . . And then we’ve done irreversible damage in the oceans for three years of profit.” 

Drive-thru fast food chains have become increasingly popular during the pandemic and the trend is expected to continue, reinforcing a reliance on cars over more environmentally friendly forms of transportation. 

A Pembina Institute report looks at the costs, benefits, and uptake on fuel-efficiency technologies in the highway transportation sector.

 

Forests 

“The lodgepole pine’s ability to live in many environments—and to live a long time—gives it a genetic boost that could make it more resilient to climate change than other species.” 

“In western North America, huge swaths of forested areas may become unsuitable for trees owing to climate change.” 

Natural Wonders 

“Dismissing all wasps because of a few aggressive ones is kind of like giving up on Mexican food because you don’t like cilantro.” 

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). 

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

EcoSask News, February 9, 2021

This Week’s Highlights 

Join SaskOutdoors at outdoor events for all ages in your bubble in Rosthern (Feb. 21), North Battleford (Feb. 28), and Prince Albert (Mar. 7). 

Join the Pembina Institute for an online discussion of passive house retrofits from 6-8 pm, Feb. 15. 

Upcoming Events 

Women & Water, Feb. 11 (online) 

Global Water Futures is offering an online series on women and water with a discussion on sustainable ecosystems at 12:30 pm, Feb. 11.

Get Outside – Lakeridge Park, Feb. 12 (Regina)

Explore Lakeridge Park with Nature Regina at 10, 11:15, 1, or 2:15 pm, Feb. 12. 

Eco-Scavenger Hunt, Feb. 13, 18, 19 & 27 (Saskatoon) 

Meewasin Valley Authority is hosting self-directed eco-scavenger hunts to help track wildlife at Beaver Creek Conservation Area on Feb. 13, 18, 19 & 27. 

Train the Trainer, Feb. 13 (Regina) 

Nature Regina is looking for volunteers to learn more about the birds, wildlife, and plants at Les Sherman Park from 10 am-12 pm, Feb. 13, in order to lead a public event. 

Gardening with Nature, Feb. 15 (online) 

Nature Regina will host an online discussion on organic and ecological gardening with nature at 7 pm, Feb. 15. 

Genetic Diversity & Food Security, Feb. 16 (online) 

The importance of maintaining genetic plant diversity as well as farmer-led and public plant breeding will be discussed at 7 pm, Feb. 16, as part of the Sustainable Speaker Series. 

Dessiner des Insectes, Feb. 16 (online) 

Learn about and draw insects, a program in French for 6-12 year olds, at 4 pm, Feb. 16, Regina Public Library.

Ferruginous Hawks, Feb. 18 (online) 

Janet Ng will present highlights from her research on ferruginous hawks at the 7:30 pm, Feb. 18, online meeting of the Saskatoon Nature Society. 

North Saskatchewan Heritage River, Feb. 18 (online) 

Find out about Alberta’s plans for designating the North Saskatchewan as a heritage river at noon, Feb. 18. 

Sustainable YXE, Feb. 18 (online) 

Saskatoon Public Library is hosting an online discussion for teens about making our community more sustainable from 6-7 pm, Feb. 18. 

Get Outside – Wascana Lake, Feb. 19 (Regina) 

Explore Wascana Lake with Nature Regina at 10, 11:15, 1, or 2:15 pm, Feb. 19.

Looking Ahead 

Nature to the Rescue, Feb. 27 (online) 

The Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan’s annual general meeting on Feb. 27 will discuss how we can be more involved with nature on a local scale. 

Building Operator Training (online) 

The Saskatchewan Environmental Society is helping building operators to lower their utility bills and make their buildings more comfortable through online training. 

Mar. 5 or 26, 9 am-noon – lighting & electrical equipment and water 

May 7 or 28, 9 am-noon – heating, ventilation, and cooling 

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

Local News 

The first stage, including environmental consultation, of the Lake Diefenbaker irrigation expansion project will be conducted by Regina-based Clifton Associates. 

A new study has found that exposure to glyphosate and its commercial Roundup formulation has potentially serious effects on human health. 

Clearing started on a peat mine in Manitoba before applying for an environmental licence. 

From Information to Action 

“If deforestation in the Tropics were a country, it would be the third-biggest polluter in the world, after China and the US.” 

Plans to improve carbon-credit markets include better standards and more transparency and oversight but also weigh in on the trickier issue of the best variety of carbon offset. 

Good News 

A Mayan beekeeper who led a coalition that stopped Monsanto from planting genetically modified crops in seven states in southern Mexico was recently awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize. 

A California teenager helped install seed libraries in all 50 states. 

The Ecological Society of America and the British Ecological Society are marking Black History Month with a series of blog posts by and about black ecologists, their work, and their experiences in ecology. 

 All-electric delivery vehicles – more storage space with a smaller vehicle footprint. 

An Alberta farmer is turning agricultural plastic into fence posts. 

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). 

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