
Environment
The great turning
Another reckoning is coming with climate change. How do we deal with our mental health — and ultimately find hope?
- 3646 words
- 15 minutes
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
Environment
Another reckoning is coming with climate change. How do we deal with our mental health — and ultimately find hope?
Environment
Climate scientist Andrew Weaver on the backwards logic of carbon offsets and why the world urgently needs to rethink its definition of “net zero”
Environment
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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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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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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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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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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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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ᖁᓛᓂ ᓄᓇᓪᓗᐊᑕᖓᓂ ᑲᓇᑕᒥ ᐱᐅᒋᔭᐅᒻᒪᕆᑦᑐᖅ ᓇᓄᕐᓄᑦ, ᑐᑦᑐᓄᑦ ᐊᒻᒪ ᐃᖃᓗᓐᓄᑦ ᓱᓕ ᐸᕕᓴᑦᑕᐅᓯᒪᖏᑦᑐᑦ ᐅᔭᕋᓐᓂᐊᓂᕐᒧᑦ. ᓄᓇᓕᒻᒥᐅᑕᐃᑦ ᑕᓗᕐᔪᐊᖅ, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ, ᑕᐃᒪᐃᖏᓐᓇᑎᑦᑎᒐᓱᐊᖅᑐᑦ.
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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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Warming trends continue due to human-caused climate change
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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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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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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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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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An in-depth look at how trees work to keep us alive and the value of old-growth forests
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A look into the subtle ways nature is in constant collaboration and not as competitive as we think
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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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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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Pioneered by a Japanese botanist, compact Miyawaki forests are beginning to replace backyard lawns on tiny plots around Canada
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How a cocktail of invasive species and global change is altering the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River ecosystem
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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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Environmental scientist Dr. Ciara Raudsepp-Hearne explains how Canada can expand protected areas to maximize biodiversity protection
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Filmmaker Len Morissette on the new underwater docuseries taking viewers into a confluence between worlds
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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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As forest fires grow in size, intensity and severity, foresters are rethinking forest management
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As Atlantic Canada’s rivers heat up, engineers may have devised a solution to increase critically important cold spots
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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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How exceptional is Canada’s 2023 fire season? Unprecedented, according to a map of the past century of fire activity
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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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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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Yukon-based ecologists uncover four main patterns influencing changes in Yukon and address how outcomes can be improved
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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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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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Community members and local organizations gathered to plant a Miyawaki forest
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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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The Shannons competed in six themed challenges to reduce household emissions and walked away with the $50,000 grand prize
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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The fun guy behind the mushroom hunt that became North America’s largest fungi bioblitz
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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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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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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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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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Tiny hotspots of biodiversity, prairie potholes can ease the effects of climate heating — if we stop draining them
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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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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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The civil engineering professor at Polytechnique Montréal discusses how AI is being used to forecast permafrost thaw in northern Canada
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Protesters gather outside of the Supreme Court to oppose nuclear dump development near Ottawa River
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The environmental journalist and television personality dives into the complexities of sustainable living in a new book
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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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Ocean Bridge Ambassadors address the burning injustice of the climate crisis on marginalized communities
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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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How a niche British Columbia-based community is working to bring attention to the importance of old-growth forests
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Tracking the country’s extreme weather events to answer the question: are storms getting worse?
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How new techniques may be able to help solve more cases of large-scale arson
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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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This will be the first town in North America to be accredited as a United Nations Ramsar City Wetland Site
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Representatives from 196 countries will meet in December to create a plan to save the planet’s dwindling biodiversity
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Conservation photographer TJ Watt advocates for the protection of old-growth ecosystems by documenting the loss of giant trees
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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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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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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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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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Vancouver-based Native Shoes is exploring innovative ways to reduce its footprint
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Indigenous conservationists are listening in to track the impacts of climate change on the boreal forest
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One of the most complex challenges for nature conservation comes from a simple question: what must we save?
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David Grémillet explores the remarkable life and work of fisheries scientist Daniel Pauly
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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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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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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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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
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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