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

A panel of citizen science researchers and participants will highlight winter citizen science projects in an online presentation hosted by the Alberta Citizen Science Community of Practice. [CitSciAB]

Do you want to be an Earth Doctor? 10-16 year olds in Alberta can play a Dungeon and Dragons-style game to address the challenges of land reclamation. The event is sponsored by Nature Alberta in conjunction with Future Energy Systems and the Land Reclamation International Graduate School, University of Alberta. [Nature Alberta]

26 organizations active in climate change and environmental issues in Winnipeg are hosting a mayoral forum on the environment prior to municipal elections. [University of Manitoba]

How do you raise money and awareness to support wildlife rehabilitation efforts? Living Sky Wildlife Rehabilitation in Saskatoon employs everything from yard sales to bird tours to a community radio program, as well as holiday pet photos and adopting an animal. [LSWR]

Reporting Back

A free e-book, Water Resources Allocation and Agriculture: Transitioning from Open to Regulated Access, examines the issues that must currently be addressed in allocating water as well as case studies of innovative approaches. [IWA Publishing]

Community Action

BC municipalities are taking steps to address climate change by protecting natural assets, increasing population density, and reducing buildings’ carbon footprint. [The Tyee]

Cities in the US are calling on corporate maritime importers to switch to zero-emissions shipping through practices such as wind-assisted propulsion and lower speed travel: “It’s becoming more of an imperative for these companies to take action because their consumers are demanding it.” [Gizmodo]

DIY

About a million acres of Canada’s boreal forest are cut down each year to create toilet paper. Charmin tops the list of toilet papers that are destroying sensitive forests. [Gizmodo]

Frog hunting – one man’s effort to stop the spread of American bullfrogs on Vancouver Island. [The Westshore]

Natural Solutions

Beaver dams and canals can stave off wildfires and droughts. [CBC]

Re-establishing forest cover over seismic lines, pipelines, and roads used to access oil and gas reserves could lead to reduced predation on Alberta’s caribou. [CBC]

Transportation

Air Canada has signed a deal to purchase 30 hybrid-electric airplanes. The aircraft will be powered by lithium-ion batteries with reserve-hybrid generators that can use sustainable aviation fuel. They will have a range of 200-400 km (up to 800 km with fewer passengers). [CHEK News]

“A domestic EV battery supply chain could support up to 250,000 jobs by 2030 and add $48 billion to the Canadian economy annually.” [Clean Energy Canada]

Conversation Starters

“An honest conversation about our energy future must include proven non-emitting technologies, such as scaling up wind, solar and geothermal production and building inter-provincial transmission lines rather than locking in our dependency on natural gas.” [The Narwhal]

“Feminist science offers a powerful set of tools for examining the history, context, and power structures in which scientific questions are asked. By bringing marginalized perspectives to the table, it can generate new questions and methodologies that help scientists identify and correct for hidden bias. Think of it as a stake strapped to a growing tree: it provides scaffolding to help the tree get back on track when it starts to lean too far to one side.” [Undark]

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/apmckinlay/22047571041

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.