Environment
The great turning
Another reckoning is coming with climate change. How do we deal with our mental health — and ultimately find hope?
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Most Relevant
01
Learning from water with Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
02Framing the wild: images of Canada’s globally vital ecosystems
03Inside the ambitious Indigenous-led plan to protect northwestern Ontario’s “Breathing Lands”
04“It potentially will get worse” — hot, dry summer predicted for fire-stricken central Canada
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Articles
Environment
Planting trees will save us, and other climate myths
Climate scientist Andrew Weaver on the backwards logic of carbon offsets and why the world urgently needs to rethink its definition of “net zero”
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Environment
Lending a kelping hand: how genetics research is innovating seaweed restoration
Researchers are taking a new approach to kelp conservation by studying how their genes could be key in protecting B.C. kelp forests from climate change
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- 7 minutes
Environment
How the forest sector conserves biodiversity in our forests
Human intervention in natural forest processes might seem counterintuitive, but experts say active management can actually help reduce wildfire risk and restore forests’ value to wildlife
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- 4 minutes
Toronto
Environment
From wasteland to wetland: re-naturalizing Toronto’s Don River into Lake Ontario
The $1.3-billion flood prevention project in Toronto’s Port Lands is one of the most ambitious urban nature restoration projects in Canada’s history
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Environment
Toronto high school students are shoring up urban biodiversity, one acorn at a time
The student-led Ravine Stewardship Team at Toronto French School is providing local acorns to neighbours and nurseries to increase the city’s native tree canopy
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Environment
Toronto’s newest park is turning an industrial landscape into a recreational hub
Located in Toronto’s Port Lands, Leslie Lookout Park will welcome visitors in June 2024, complete with a mini forest, lookout tower and a public beach
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Environment
Planting local: In major shift, Toronto requires some developers to source native plants from local seeds
Changes to the city’s Green Standard aimed at protecting its fragile ravine network will pose challenges and opportunities for landscapers — and could kick off a national trend
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- 5 minutes
arctic
Environment
ᓴᐳᒻᒥᑦᑎᔨᖏᑦ ᐊᖅᕕᖅᑑᖅ
ᖁᓛᓂ ᓄᓇᓪᓗᐊᑕᖓᓂ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᐱᐅᒋᔭᐅᒻᒪᕆᑦᑐᖅ ᓇᓄᕐᓄᑦ, ᑐᑦᑐᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐃᖃᓗᓐᓄᑦ ᓱᓕ ᐸᕕᓴᑦᑕᐅᓯᒪᖏᑦᑐᑦ ᐅᔭᕋᓐᓂᐊᓂᕐᒧᑦ. ᓄᓇᓕᒻᒥᐅᑕᐃᑦ ᑕᓗᕐᔪᐊᖅ, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ, ᑕᐃᒪᐃᖏᓐᓇᑎᑦᑎᒐᓱᐊᖅᑐᑦ.
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Environment
Last bastion of ice
What the collapse of the Milne ice shelf and the loss of a rare Arctic ecosystem might teach us about a changing planet
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- 12 minutes
Environment
Highlights from the 2022 Arctic Report Card
Warming trends continue due to human-caused climate change
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Environment
Searching for seaweed in Canada’s Western Arctic
A multi-year diving expedition led by the Canadian Museum of Nature aims to learn more about the diversity and distribution of seaweed in the Arctic
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Environment
Inuit in Canada, U.S. seek greater involvement in climate change decision-making
Inuit food security and self-governance in a rapidly warming Arctic are at the centre of a new policy paper issued by the Inuit Circumpolar Council
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book excerpt
Environment
Excerpt from Sing Like Fish: How Sound Rules Life Under Water
Award-winning journalist Amorina Kingdon explores how marine animals use sound to survive and the ways humans are impacting critical underwater soundscapes
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Environment
Excerpt from Dispersals: On Plants, Borders, and Belonging
Nature writer Jessica J. Lee combines memoir, history and scientific research in her newest book, exploring how plants and people come to belong
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- 5 minutes
Environment
The importance of forests for our survival
An in-depth look at how trees work to keep us alive and the value of old-growth forests
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- 10 minutes
Environment
Excerpt from Sweet in Tooth and Claw: Stories of Generosity and Cooperation in the Natural World
A look into the subtle ways nature is in constant collaboration and not as competitive as we think
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- 7 minutes
Environment
Timber poaching: The secretive crime decimating North America’s forests
Timber poaching has become “a problem in every national forest,” with an estimated $1 billion worth of wood poached yearly in North America
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- 7 minutes
Explore
featured
Environment
How does your garden grow?
As cities and towns continue to expand into our wild landscapes, conservation gardens can provide refuge for Canada’s plummeting biodiversity
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- 15 minutes
Environment
The many benefits of the minuscule but mighty Miyawaki forests
Pioneered by a Japanese botanist, compact Miyawaki forests are beginning to replace backyard lawns on tiny plots around Canada
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Environment
Space invasion: Is it too late to save the Great Lakes?
How a cocktail of invasive species and global change is altering the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River ecosystem
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- 9 minutes
Environment
I am Mutehekau Shipu: A river’s journey to personhood in eastern Quebec
In February 2021, the world was introduced to Mutehekau Shipu — also known as the Magpie River — when the people of Ekuanitshit, Que. and the regional municipality made a joint declaration granting the river legal personhood and rights. The declaration carries broad implications for the fight to protect nature across Canada and around the world.
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Environment
Environment
Safeguarding the future of Canada’s environment
Environmental scientist Dr. Ciara Raudsepp-Hearne explains how Canada can expand protected areas to maximize biodiversity protection
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Environment
“We are all connected by water. We live under the same sky.”
Filmmaker Len Morissette on the new underwater docuseries taking viewers into a confluence between worlds
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Environment
Biodiversity or bust? Here’s what happened at COP16
The 16th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity landed a stronger role for Indigenous Peoples in biodiversity conservation, but failed to secure 30 x 30 financing or monitoring plans
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Environment
Burned but not lost: How wildfire salvage is giving new life to Canada’s impacted forests
As forest fires grow in size, intensity and severity, foresters are rethinking forest management
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Environment
Researchers design cooling stations to help Atlantic salmon
As Atlantic Canada’s rivers heat up, engineers may have devised a solution to increase critically important cold spots
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climate change
Environment
Forest mast: Nature as a community of care
What is lost when we destroy a forest? In an excerpt from her new book, Our Green Heart, renowned biochemist and botanist Diana Beresford-Kroeger reveals the profound and far-reaching effects of an abundant year — and issues a call to action.
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Environment
Mapping 100 years of forest fires in Canada
How exceptional is Canada’s 2023 fire season? Unprecedented, according to a map of the past century of fire activity
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Environment
Farming a changing sea
Struggle and success in Atlantic Canada, where aquaculturists strive to overcome climate change and contamination while chasing a sustainable carbon footprint
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Environment
A light at the end of the summit: Historic climate deal sealed at COP27
Though a “landmark” climate fund for poor nations is being hailed as a major step forward in fighting the climate emergency, critics say the global conference did little to address the root cause of the crisis
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Environment
Climate change is affecting vegetation in Yukon. What should we do about it?
Yukon-based ecologists uncover four main patterns influencing changes in Yukon and address how outcomes can be improved
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Network of Nature
Environment
Planting a network of mini forests across Canada
Six new mini forests were planted in cities across Canada in 2023 as part of a national pilot project to combat biodiversity loss and create new green spaces in urban areas — and the work is just beginning
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Environment
Biodiversity by design: A birds and bees tour of Calgary
Alberta’s largest city has a lofty goal to restore some of its roadsides, boulevards and other open spaces to a more natural state. Here’s a look at some biodiversity-friendly projects already underway.
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Environment
Network of Nature and Green Communities Canada launch National Mini Forest Pilot program in Richmond, B.C.
Community members and local organizations gathered to plant a Miyawaki forest
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Environment
Network of Nature: The new program working to restore Canada’s biodiversity, one plant at a time
Network of Nature aims to inspire Canadians to improve the long-term health of our ecosystems through the planting of native species
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environment
Environment
Wonder and loss: the deep ocean and its future
Environment
Taviss Edwards and Melissa Peters on teaching the next generation about the Canadian wilderness
Environment
Conservation translocation: helping endangered plants recover
Environment
Canada officially recognizes the right to a healthy environment
Environment
The truth about carbon capture
Environment
The promise of COP15
conservation
Live Net Zero
Environment
“I’ve never been so speechless”: Alberta family emerges victorious after eight-month Live Net Zero competition
The Shannons competed in six themed challenges to reduce household emissions and walked away with the $50,000 grand prize
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Environment
‘Tis the season to Live Net Zero
In their final challenge, Canadian Geographic’s eight Live Net Zero families find ways to modify their holiday traditions to reduce household emissions
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Environment
What does Canada’s journey to net zero look like?
Four members of Canada’s Net Zero Advisory Body — from an economist to a scientist — discuss the best pathways to reaching Canada’s aggressive climate targets
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Environment
Live Net Zero: Turning up the heat
In the heating and cooling challenge, the participating families found ways to improve the energy efficiency of their home’s HVAC – from heat pumps to solar panels
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Environment
Live Net Zero: Getting creative with commuting
From biking to “big epic walk days,” the families found fun and practical ways to cut down on their household vehicle emissions in their first challenge
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Environment
The Winter Grab: “First-of-its-kind” Great Lakes winter sampling takes place
Research institutions from across Canada and the U.S. collaborate to collect and analyze carbon samples from the Great Lakes during peak ice coverage
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Environment
How four Manitoba First Nations are protecting one of the world’s remaining wild watersheds
An agreement with the government says nations can move forward with feasibility study for new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area in the Seal River watershed
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Environment
Hopes for the first field school on Arctic snow
Researchers, students and hunters are coming together in Iqaluktuuttiaq (Cambridge Bay) to learn from each other about snow in the High Arctic.
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Environment
Robert Courteau on the fungiverse beneath our feet
The fun guy behind the mushroom hunt that became North America’s largest fungi bioblitz
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Environment
Into the fungiverse
Robert Courteau, the former chef behind FungiQuest, discusses his passion for mushrooms and the goal to map every species of fungi on the planet
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Environment
Modelling threats to caribou in Ontario’s Ring of Fire
As interest in Ontario’s mineral-rich Ring of Fire region grows, caribou face threats on multiple fronts. New research could help chart a path to their conservation.
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Environment
Announcing the winners of the 2023 ECOP Canada Ocean Decade Photo Competition
Canadian Geographic, ECOP Canada and SOI Foundation are proud to recognize five early career ocean professionals who captured outstanding images showcasing what it’s like to work on, in and for the ocean
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Environment
Making waves: Seven highlights from the IMPAC5 conference
In February, the 5th International Marine Protected Areas Congress was hosted in Vancouver on Musqueam, Squamish and Tseil-Waututh territory. Here are seven highlights for the seven seas.
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Environment
Bathtubs of the plains
Tiny hotspots of biodiversity, prairie potholes can ease the effects of climate heating — if we stop draining them
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Environment
The underwater mountains that can’t be hiked: Canada’s newest marine protected area
Tang.ɢwan-ḥačxʷiqak-Tsig̱is isn’t merely Canada’s largest and newest marine protected area; the deep ocean life protected in its bounds is truly unique.
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Environment
Splendour and Awfulness
Stephen J. Pyne, the author of Awful Splendour: A fire history of Canada, says we are well beyond learning to live with fire — we now have to live with a fire age
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Environment
Pooneh Maghoul on the goals and challenges of studying permafrost thaw in the Arctic
The civil engineering professor at Polytechnique Montréal discusses how AI is being used to forecast permafrost thaw in northern Canada
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Environment
Come wind or rain: the latest Chalk River protest
Protesters gather outside of the Supreme Court to oppose nuclear dump development near Ottawa River
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Environment
“Do it like your granny did it:” Candice Batista on what it really means to live sustainably
The environmental journalist and television personality dives into the complexities of sustainable living in a new book
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Environment
Death on the ocean floor: a great white shark mystery
Encountering the carcass of one of the ocean’s top predators and how studying its remains can help researchers save the living
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Environment
Opinion: Environmental racism and Canada’s wildfires
Ocean Bridge Ambassadors address the burning injustice of the climate crisis on marginalized communities
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Environment
We knew Vancouver’s ecosystem was damaged. The truth is so much worse
More than a century after colonization nearly eradicated key fish populations around Vancouver, British Columbia, the Tsleil-Waututh Nation is looking to the past to restore the ecosystem.
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Environment
Big tree hunters: saving the last untouched areas of the planet
How a niche British Columbia-based community is working to bring attention to the importance of old-growth forests
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Environment
The research project trying to find every tornado in Canada
Tracking the country’s extreme weather events to answer the question: are storms getting worse?
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Environment
A new spark in wildfire investigation
How new techniques may be able to help solve more cases of large-scale arson
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Environment
Our shared garden: The importance of native plants
As cities and towns continue to expand into our wild landscapes, conservation gardens can provide refuge for Canada’s plummeting biodiversity
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Environment
Sackville, N.B., scores prestigious UN wetland accreditation in a Canadian first
This will be the first town in North America to be accredited as a United Nations Ramsar City Wetland Site
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Environment
Everything you need to know about COP15 in Montreal
Representatives from 196 countries will meet in December to create a plan to save the planet’s dwindling biodiversity
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Environment
Before and after photos show devastating effects of intensive logging on B.C.’s old-growth forests
Conservation photographer TJ Watt advocates for the protection of old-growth ecosystems by documenting the loss of giant trees
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Environment
Thinking about Thanksgiving: How the Live Net Zero families modified their holiday habits
From cutting back on travel to preparing vegetarian meals, the Live Net Zero families made a concerted effort to reduce the environmental footprint of their Thanksgiving celebrations
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Environment
King tides: preparing Canada’s coastline for a future of flooding
King tides are the tipping point at which storms can become devastation — as well as a glimpse of Canada’s coastline 100 years from now. Can green infrastructure help weather the danger?
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Environment
Why we’re challenging Canadian families to “live net zero”
Live Net Zero will follow five households from across the country this fall as they compete in bi-weekly challenges to lower their carbon emissions and spending on energy
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Environment
All about bees: Common misconceptions, helping pollinators and how to actually ‘save the bees’
A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee: Creating Habitat Gardens for Native Pollinators is an inspiring and practical guide that will help gardeners create habitats full of life and learn about what is needed to take action to support and protect pollinators
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Environment
Native Shoes: The recyclable shoe for “Generation Do”
Vancouver-based Native Shoes is exploring innovative ways to reduce its footprint
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Environment
Vanishing birdsong: How climate change is altering Canada’s soundscape
Indigenous conservationists are listening in to track the impacts of climate change on the boreal forest
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Environment
Key Biodiversity Areas bring conservation close to home
One of the most complex challenges for nature conservation comes from a simple question: what must we save?
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Environment
Excerpt: The Ocean’s Whistleblower
David Grémillet explores the remarkable life and work of fisheries scientist Daniel Pauly
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Environment
À quoi ressemble l’architecture durable dans l’Arctique?
La conception traditionnelle des bâtiments dans l’Arctique est en train de changer pour refléter la diversité géographique et culturelle de la région et pour donner plus d’autonomie aux habitants du Nord
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Environment
What does sustainable architecture look like in the Arctic?
The conventional thinking around building design in the Arctic is changing to reflect the region’s geographic and cultural diversity and give northerners more agency
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Environment
Four things to know about Arctic policy and sustainable ocean management in Canada and Norway
The Royal Norwegian Embassy and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society teamed up for two days of talks on the future of the Arctic and the “blue economy” in Norway and Canada
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Environment
Emily Choy on climate change in the Arctic
Episode 27
The Royal Canadian Geographical Society’s newest Explorer-in-Residence shares insights from her summers studying murres in the High Arctic — a region she calls an “early warning system” for climate change
- 28 minutes
Environment
Harvey Locke on COP26 and why “nature needs half”
Episode 25
The UN Climate Change Conference taking place now in Glasgow might be the planet’s last best chance to prevent a climate and biodiversity catastrophe, according to one of the world’s foremost conservationists
- 39 minutes