A New Beginning

Penny McKinlay -

Welcome to EcoFriendly West, a personal initiative of brother and sister duo, Andrew and Penny McKinlay. Andrew is an avid runner and nature photographer as well as co-owner of a software company. Penny is a writer and editor who is happiest when she is out of doors or with her nose buried in a book.

For 10 years, while living and working in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, we published EcoFriendly Sask. In 2021, we both moved west to Victoria, British Columbia. Just as we’ve expanded our personal horizons, we’ve also expanded the scope of our website and publication to cover Canada's four western provinces.

EcoFriendly West is an online publication celebrating the people, places, organizations, and projects that are playing a positive role in addressing environmental issues and protecting and maintaining the wild around us. Our goal is to make connections and highlight the commonalities between people and organizations who are doing similar work in different locations or working on similar issues but with different impacts.

We’ve got some great stories already lined up and ready to post over the next few months. They include:

A profile of Green Kids Inc, a children’s environmental theatre company in Manitoba that’s been going strong for over 20 years

Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo’s wildlife conservation and translocation projects involving Vancouver Island marmots, burrowing owls, and hippopotamus

The benefits and risks of the Lake Diefenbaker Irrigation Project in Saskatchewan

Bat research in Alberta

Pacific coast seaweeds

Environmental research organizations in Western Canada

We also post a weekly news update on Tuesdays. The first issue of EcoWest News will go live on February 8, 2022.

We’d love to receive your ideas, suggestions, questions, and updates on your activities. You can reach Andrew and Penny at ecofriendlywest@gmail.com

You can follow EcoFriendly West by liking us on Facebook, following us on Twitter, or subscribing by email. If you like what you see, please share it with your friends and colleagues right across Western Canada.