Welcome to EcoWest News, a weekly round-up of news and resources that you can put to use in addressing environmental issues and protecting the wild in your community.

Across the West

If it weren’t for the stock market crash of 1929, Assiniboine Forest might have been covered in houses just like any other suburban area. It still requires protection. [CBC]

A community group is asking the City of Regina to set aside the site of the former Craig golf course from any form of development so that it can become Regina’s Healing Prairie, a place for land-based Reconciliation action, education and cultural experience in a grassland that approximates the original landscape of the region. [video - Trevor Herriot]

An overview of the North Saskatchewan River watershed emphasizes the connections between different bodies of water and the land that surrounds them. [CBC]

The White Rock and Surrey Naturalists Society has started addressing local light pollution through discussions with specific businesses. They plan to adopt a more proactive approach through efforts to influence building and lighting design guidelines. [BC Nature]

Community and youth engagement is helping Lower Mainland farmers to reduce and recycle plastic waste. [CBC]

“Clear-cutting spotted owl habitat for the Trans Mountain pipeline highlights a problem with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s message that Canada can both be a natural resource superpower and champion biodiversity and conservation.” [The Narwhal]

When it comes to kelp farming, small is beautiful. [Hakai Magazine]

Big Trees of the Inland Temperate Forests of British Columbia by Terry Nelson shares in words and pictures the author’s search for the last big trees of Canada’s inland temperate forests.

Have your say on the BC government's Coastal Marine Strategy. For more information, check out CPAWS-BC’s background paper.

Around the World

Libraries Love Lakes is an outreach project which pairs school and public libraries with lake scientists to provide collaborative programming emphasizing the importance of lakes in our everyday lives during July, Lake Appreciation Month. [Libraries Love Lakes]

Daylighting urban creeks and streams helps prevent flooding, provides residents with green spaces to enjoy, and revitalizes neighbourhoods. [Smithsonian Magazine]

Waste heat from small data centres is being used to heat public swimming pools in the UK. [The Verge]

Africa is leading the campaign to end plastics pollution. Countries like Canada, which produces more plastic waste per capita than any other in the world, are lagging far behind. [Canadian Dimension]

Nijmegen may be the oldest city in the Netherlands, but it punches above its weight in terms of green initiatives and sustainability, including a major project to make room for the river. [BBC Travel]

The Free Street Manifesto imagines a post-automobile future where streets are places where people gather and enjoy spending time rather than simply travelling from A to B. [Pop Up City]

Nature’s Wonders

Why fly if you don’t have to? Birds are often unexpected stowaways on ships around the world. [Hakai Magazine]

Some water bugs, especially water boatmen, can survive the winter in ponds that are frozen solid if they’re encased in an air bubble. #TroutreachSaskatchewan [Canadian Journal of Zoology]

John Muir Laws’ website, Nature Stewardship Through Science, Education, and Art, offers free tutorials on developing an illustrated journal as well as lessons in how to draw birds, mammals, and plants. [John Muir Laws]

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/apmckinlay/52757996669/

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 Twitter, or subscribe by email.