We profile local community leaders and post book reviews on a weekly basis on social media, along with excerpts from Nature Companion, our nature app/website. Once a month we repost these items on our website for those of you who may not be active on social media.
Community Leaders
Manitoba: The Manitoba Master Gardener Association presented the film Wilding on Feb. 8 and an online presentation on Learning from Indigenous Farming Before the Fur Trade on March 3. You may be interested in reading The True History of Farming on the Prairies [The Narwhal, 2022]
Saskatchewan: The Biology Undergraduate & Graduate Society, University of Regina, and Nature Saskatchewan, hosted a Wetlands Fest on March 6. Trevor Herriot presented thoughts from a one-acre marsh, while Jordan Rustad discussed the birds of the prairie potholes.
Alberta: Wasteless, an Environment Lethbridge project, celebrates people and organizations in Lethbridge that are leading the way in waste reduction through creativity and innovation, from turning compost into liquid fertilizer to deconstruction and sustainable community events.
British Columbia: Hamilton Wetlands & Forest Preservation Society works to preserve the ecological integrity of 360 hectares of wetland and forest on east Vancouver Island. Over 120 species of birds have been recorded here as well as 33 species of dragonflies (The Odonata of Hamilton Marsh - PDF)
Books
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating: Bedridden by illness, Elisabeth Tova Bailey is absorbed by the anatomy, hydraulic locomotion, decision-making ability, and courtship activities of a snail that takes up residence on her bedside table. “Each evening the snail awoke and with astonishing poise moved gracefully to the rim of the pot and peered over, surveying the strange country that lay ahead. Pondering its circumstance with a regal air, as if from the turret of a castle, it waved its tentacles first this way and then that, as though responding to a distant melody.”
No snow for skiing, midnight marathons to avoid the sun, oxygen tanks during wildfire season: Warming Up: How Climate Change is Changing Sport by Madeleine Orr explains how global warming is impacting sport and how the sport world can fight back.
The Owl Handbook: Investigating the Lives, Habits, and Importance of These Enigmatic Birds by John Shewey delves deep into the facts and folklore surrounding owls, provides an identification guide for 19 North American owls, and tips for respectful owling.
The Miraculous from the Material by Alan Lightman explores the science underlying the wonders of the natural world, from volcanoes and waterspouts to bright-scarlet birds and spectacular sunsets. Lightman says, “I don’t believe in miracles, but I do believe in the miraculous. The miraculous abounds, and the material world and its laws are quite enough to explain it. And that too is miraculous.”
Nature Companion
Least Chipmunks are good climbers and may build nests high above the ground or climb up a tree in cooler weather to warm themselves in the sun.
Nature Companion is a free app/website introducing many of the plants and animals found in Canada’s four western provinces.
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/apmckinlay/25965464031/
EcoFriendly West informs and encourages initiatives that support Western Canada’s natural environment through its online publication and the Nature Companion website/app. Like us on Facebook, follow us on BlueSky, X, and Mastodon, or subscribe by email.