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
Educators for Climate Action Manitoba is a group of nature-based educators using teaching outdoors to connect to and care for the environment. [Educators for Climate Action]
The One School One Farm Shelterbelt Project links rural stewards with urban classrooms. Their goal is to create corridors for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife throughout Saskatchewan’s agricultural regions. 11 projects are underway and there’s a waiting list. [One School One Farm]
The LNG site currently under construction on BC’s northwest coast will add 350 new ships with a predicted 30-fold increase in whales being hit, resulting “in the deaths of two more fin whales and 18 humpbacks each year than are already being killed”. [The Guardian]
An overview of what the NDP win in Manitoba will mean for the environment – some wins but much that remains to be seen. [The Narwhal]
More old-growth trees were logged in 2021 than in 2020 — despite the BC government’s promise to protect old-growth forests. [CBC]
Around the World
Thermal energy networks can build grid resilience, provide a stable source of energy, and offer continued employment to utility workers skilled in traditional energy infrastructure. [Planetizen]
Canopée, the world’s first hybrid industrial cargo ship using both wind and fuel to propel itself across the oceans, has set sail. The 37m-high vertical wings are fully automated and can rotate 360° to follow the wind. [Ariane]
Wildlife living in protected areas, such as national parks and wildlife refuges, decline five times more slowly than populations living elsewhere, buying much-needed time to reverse the decline. [Anthropocene]
We need to stop solar panels from being sent to landfills and provide incentives for reuse and recycling. [Inside Climate News]
Crops grow better thanks to earthworms that increase soil fertility and help soils to capture and retain water. [The Guardian]
Build Back Better
10 thought-provoking questions about the future of design in a circular economy: Do you really need that renovation? Who will compost your chair? Are reclaimed materials good enough? Are trends destroying the planet? [Metropolis]
“What matters in a Passive House is not the number of gables but the number of holes. You generally keep it simple and build with care because “craftsmanship makes high performance.” A comparison of the choices people make when rebuilding following a climate-caused fire. [Lloyd Alter]
DIY
In California, a small group of volunteers relies on empathy and education to protect elephant seals resting on the beach. [Smithsonian]
Look inside your closet—do you know where your clothes come from? “Stay curious about what is happening with your textiles [and] where they’re coming from. Think about them as you would your food.” [Modern Farmer]
So many dreams never come to fruition. But what if you took one element of that dream or built on something that already exists to see how it evolves? [Strong Towns]
On the Bookshelf
In Pitfall, Christopher Pollon asks, “How do we get the metals we need without fouling our collective nest, or recreating the social and environmental abuses of the past?” [The Tyee]
Nature’s Wonders
Track and listen to the whales as they move along the BC coastline. [Whale Sound] Humpback whales are particularly vocal at this time of year as they prepare for mating season. [National Observer]
Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/apmckinlay/51573982916
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 Mastodon, or subscribe by email.