Hardest Working Community Members
At the last council meeting I brought my shovel. Tonight I have my bell, to sound the alarm. We are in a climate crisis! And yet engineers and planners working for the city continue to destroy and remove trees to make sidewalks, sewer pipe lines, roads and other infrastructure. Why is so little value put on trees, our hardest working community members?
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Habitat and Housing in Harmony
I recently stood before the Victoria City council and mayor to urge them to implement the Recommended Actions of the URBAN FOREST MASTER PLAN of 2013 and that leaders of the local Indigenous Nations of Esquimalt and Songhees be invited to participate in this work. Affordable HOUSING a green and livable HABITAT must be part of Victoria’s Strategic Plan.
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The Environment Should Be Front Page News
‘Good evening. And now, here is the environment news.” Well, that is a daily news segment we won’t be coming across soon — although we should. But we do hear or see the business news on a daily basis, in fact many times a day.
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The Human Benefit of Trees
Kudos to Michael Meagher for this Letter to the Editor in the Nov. 22nd Times Colonist. “Anyone for a tax reduction on properties that contain trees?”
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Let’s Make It A Great Day Again
It was a great day when the council and mayor the City of Victoria approved the Urban Forest Master Plan in 2013. It is comprehensive, sustainable, and inspiring. The trouble is – it hasn’t been implemented. This plan recognizes the disconnect between what has... Read more
An Antidote to Despair
We are in a climate crisis. Daily we witness or hear about climate disasters all over the world. A recent windstorm in Italy wiped out over a million trees that were 200 years old. Currently in California drought conditions have caused horrific wildfires resulting in a loss of lives, of homes, of trees, plants and wildlife.
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Suggestions For Tree Health and Preservation
Trees perform important eco-services, such as creating oxygen, cooling the air during our increasingly long, hot summers, reducing storm water, and most importantly, they store carbon. Big trees store a lot more carbon than saplings do. Big trees do more of everything on that list than saplings do.
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Development With Vision
Victoria’s lush natural environment is what the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral is to Paris, a crowning jewel. No one would suggest taking the Notre Dame apart stone by stone to the ground and selling it off, however, that is exactly what we are doing to our... Read more
Healthy Saplings Lead to Healthy Ecosystems
The first three years, especially the first, are the most critical to tree saplings as they don’t have a developed root system to gather water, ward off pests, avoid being trampled or damaged. We lose the benefits mature trees provide when we replace them with... Read more
Losing trees in Victoria: one mature tree equals 269 saplings
We should all be concerned about global warming. We can see the changes happening now; our summers are longer and a lot drier. But I wonder if the City cares. Because I don’t see much evidence they’re trying to save our mature trees, one of the few factors that reduce... Read more
Why Trees Matter, A Lot!
Mankind has embarked on a huge, uncontrolled experiment – we have destroyed about 80 per cent of the world’s forests. More are destroyed every minute. How long can we last without them? Instead of waiting to find out, many people are planting thousands, even millions of trees.
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Proportional Representation: Getting More of What We Want
Would you like to live in a fairer, more compassionate world where community issues are are given consideration and you are inspired to have someone and something to vote for? This fall we will have a historic, once in a generation opportunity to say goodbye to First... Read more
Community Trees: Questions for Candidates
Thank you to the candidates who responded to our tree preservation questionnaire and put themselves forward to run in the 2018 municipal elections. Congratulations to all! Updated October 19th with new responses Dr. Jennie Moore of BCIT recently estimated the... Read more
One-Planet Questions For Candidates
As the Oct. 20 municipal elections loom, I suggest we should be asking all candidates about a very serious issue — in fact, in my view, the most serious challenge we face in the 21st century, both globally and locally: How do we make the changes that move us toward being a One-Planet Region?
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Skaana Podcast: Saving Scarlet, surrendering on Scoter, grieving with Tahlequah and praying for pregnant orcas. A news update on the southern residents
Listen to the podcast here! Saving Scarlet, surrendering on Scoter, grieving with Tahlequah and praying for pregnant orcas. A news update on the southern residents with Skaana host: Mark Leiren-Young (@leirenyoung). Read more
All Things Trees: A Collection of Articles Worth Reading
From climate change to local developments, these links contain lots of great information about trees and keeping our forest communities green.
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Skaana Podcast: Orca author and alt-right expert David Neiwert talks about why fighting for orcas still matters in the age of Trump
Listen to the podcast here! David Neiwert (@DavidNeiwert) – an expert on orcas and America’s Alt-Right – talks orcas, empathy and why fighting for whales still matters in the Age of Trump. Neiwert is the author of Of Orcas and Men: What Killer Whales Can Teach Us... Read more
Nature Doesn’t Negotiate
There are some things that we just have to accept. Basic fundamental truths of math, physics, chemistry, and biology are simply not up for negotiation. As humans we have shown that we get these natural laws, or we wouldn’t have been able to create human flight,... Read more
A Victory To Celebrate
Victories are being won that bring power back to the people and help protect our planet and democracy from abuse. This story is one to celebrate. It’s a victory for all of us. — Dear Avaazers, Our hearing just ended, and the judge absolutely DESTROYED... Read more
Skaana Podcast: Saving Salmon in Washington
On our latest Skaana podcast Kelly Iriye, project coordinator for Damsense (@DAMSNSE) on how breaching the Snake River dams could help save the endangered southern resident orcas and why the arguments against damsense are nonsense. #FreeTheSnake
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BC’s Climate Intentions Papers: A Timid Response – and the Twelve Solutions We Really Need
I wish I didn’t have to write this. I count myself a friend of the NDP/Green Alliance, and I had high hopes for the government’s new climate action plans. BC’s Ministry of Environment has published a series of Clean Growth Intentions Papers, with a deadline for public feedback of August 24th, in the heart of this fire and smoke-filled summer.
Read moreWatch Now: Creating a One Planet Community Event
Everyone wondered how we could possibly feature more than 20 presentations in less than two hours, but we did it! Inspiring stories of innovation, collaboration, community and creativity were shared with both a live and livestream audience worldwide around the theme... Read more
Book Review: The Man Who Planted Trees: Lost Groves, Champion Trees, and an Urgent Plan to Save the Planet
Jim Robbins was incredulous when David Milarch first told him he was cloning ‘champion trees’ because angels had told him to during a near-death experience. “I thought he was joking or spinning a yarn, but he said it all with a straight face,” Robbins said.
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Film Review of Call of the Forest: The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees
Call of the Forest is all about the incredible and vital importance of trees. If you want to get motivated to plant trees, this is the film to watch! “For every breath you take, thank a tree,” says Diana Beresford-Kroeger, the Canadian botanist, author and medical... Read more
Informative Tree Links
List updated August 13th, 2019 Urban Forests: A Climate Adaptation Guide Planting Our Future: A Tree Toolkit For Communities Citizen’s Coolkit on Climate Change & Urban Forestry Tree Canada Resource List Read more
Special Skaana Episode: Updates on Scarlet & Tahlequah
As the world watched Tahlequah (J-35) grieving, US and Canadian officials prepared a joint mission to try to medicate and feed three-year-old Scarlet (J-50). Skaana talked to Ken Balcomb from the Centre for Whale Research about the rescue attempt he calls, “a moon shot.”
Read moreWhale of a Wake Up Call
When I think of the 17 days of the “tour of grief” exhibited by the endangered female Orca whale known as J35, I can’t help but think this was done as a very public way of saying “look at what you’ve done you ignorant humans!”... Read more
Skaana Podcast: Dr. Lori Marino on Blackfish in Captivity
Dr. Lori Marino (Blackfish; The Sanctuary Project; The Kimmela Centre for Animal Advocacy) on seeking sanctuary, captive orcas (Corky, Lolita & Kiska), animal rights and wrongs & more on the latest episode of the Skaana podcast. “Being a dolphin in a captive... Read more
Light Pollution: The One Form of Pollution That Can Be Fixed in a Flash
We often do not realize the effects we are having on our natural surroundings. Last fall, Tri-City Greendrinks featured lighting specialist and long-time member of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA), Brian Bury, to enlighten us about one of the least talked... Read more
Environmental Lawyer to lead Sierra Club BC into 50th Year
Environmental lawyer Hannah Askew will be leading the Sierra Club of BC as its new Executive Director. She replaces Bob Peart, former Executive Director, who retired last year. 2019 will mark the 50th anniversary of Sierra Club BC’s founding. Confronting the climate... Read more
One Planet Conversation
How is my faith tradition (the Christian tradition) equipping myself (and others) … to live into this vision of the Greater Victoria Region “achieving social and ecological sustainability, with a high quality of life and a long life in good health for all its... Read more
Let’s Shed A Couple of Planets’ Worth of Ecological Footprint
The ecological footprint measures our impact in terms of the amount of biologically productive land and sea we need to provide the crops and fish we use for food, the grass and feed crops we use for livestock, the timber we use for paper and wood, and the land we need planted in trees to absorb our carbon emissions (“energy land”).
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Aube Giroux on Modified Salmon and the Fishy World of GMOs
Listen to the podcast here. BC fish farms and Frankenfish? BC’s farmed salmon are the only genetically modified animals for sale in Canada according to guest, Aube Giroux. Mark Leiren-Young talks to the filmmaker behind Modified about genetically modified fruits,... Read more
Global Warming: How It Works
Below you will find a short , easy to understand explanation of the science behind global warming and why it is so important to our life on this planet. The excerpt is from Oil’s Deep State by Kevin Taft, with permission of James Lorimer & Company Ltd.,... Read more
Solastalgia: The Painful Result of Man’s Ongoing Reviling of Nature
The term solastalgia was coined 15 years ago by Glenn Albrecht, an Australian philosopher. He derived it in part from the idea of nostalgia, which means home-sickness. In the 19th and into the 20th century, he wrote, it was considered a medical condition caused by a desire to return to one’s home.
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EcoJustice Podcast: The Case for a Better Earth Episode 7
In this episode, we take a look at some of the Pacific Northwest’s most iconic inhabitants: The Southern Resident killer whales.
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Skaana Podcast: BC Environment Minister Won’t Talk About BC Environment
Listen to or download the podcast here. The latest episode of Skaana was supposed to be an interview with BC Environment Minister, George Heyman. So was last month’s episode. So was our year-end episode. For that matter, we were also trying to interview the... Read more
Book Excerpt: Conversations With A Tree by Jane Warren Campbell
The book explores Jane’s communication with trees, revealing that what they have to share is deep wisdom and pure love. Jane not only shares the heart-felt messages from the trees, she shows you how to experience for yourself the guidance and healing that the trees have to offer.
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Alberta Proclaims Its Right To Pollute
Not all resources must be mined, used and exported; the sorry story of asbestos proves that point, although it took a long time to overcome stubborn government support for this industry. The last asbestos mine in Canada closed in 2011, and Canada finally agreed to ban the use of asbestos as of this year — 30 years after the World Health Organization declared asbestos a carcinogen in 1987.
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Review: The Killer Whale Who Changed The World
“The Killer Whale Who Changed The World” is a true and fascinating west coast story of the first killer whale captured alive in a world where they were the most feared “monster” in the oceans, and routinely shot out of fear and for sport. After... Read more
Skaana Podcast: Green Party Leader, Elizabeth May, Talks On Saving Orcas, Kinder Morgan & More
Canada’s Green Party leader, Elizabeth May, talks to Mark Leiren-Young about the southern resident orcas (and the threat their facing from Kinder Morgan), the right whales (and the threat their facing from Bilcon) and the work we all need to do to look after our oceans.
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Don’t Let Timber Salvage Damage Our Forests
Forest health is best understood as the rate of recovery from ecological stresses caused by fire, logging, insects, etc. Greater stress means poorer health and longer recovery.
Stewardship is not about “cleaning up the mess.” Salvage logging will rarely contribute directly to ecological recovery.
ECOreport: What Do You Think Site C Is Really About?
“They are going about it in completely the wrong way. To force this project through on First Nations that does not want it, on a public that does not want it: is not how you build support and trust. “
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Climate action must include protecting old-growth rainforest
Eliminating destructive logging to protect ancient forests and their vital carbon reserves is a key step in the fight against climate change. Hardly a day passes without news of unprecedented wildfires, hurricanes, and other climate related-disasters. In British... Read more
Lieutenant Governor recognizes Government House Gardens as part of a NatureHood
The Honourable Judith Guichon, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia and Nature Canada, Canada’s oldest national nature conservation charity, officially designated the grounds of Government House, a NatureHood site, as part of the expansion of the existing Saanich... Read more
Local Senior Making A Difference | Planting the Way to a Sustainable Future
Retirement isn’t in the vocabulary of Victoria speech language pathologist Marlene Lewis. By day, this vivacious Victoria-based, 65-year-old mother is on a mission to end-dyslexia and by night, she volunteers with Landmark Education Worldwide as a... Read moreClimate Change & Sustainability and its Relevance to Society
Having recently attended a climate action talk this week hosted by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC it was extremely encouraging to hear how engineers are now questioning their liability, ethics and moral responsibility.
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Cuthbert Holmes Park Miracle
A Great Horned unfledged Owlet falls from its nest, right at the site where boaters chained sawed through two very important river wildlife trees.
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