By Mary Anne Schoenhardt, Science in Society editor “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words”. These were the words Greta Thunberg used at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York in 2019. “The young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon […]
climate change
How we predict and manage fire – and why it matters
By Naeema Bhyat, guest contributor With Canada’s wide expanses of forest, grasslands and shrublands, wildfires have always been part of our landscape. But as more Canadians experience eerie, smoky skies and a dull orange sun, these fires loom larger in the public’s imagination. Events like the 2016 wildfire that tore through Fort McMurray, Alberta and […]
Rebuilding our urban forests with the My Tree app
By Ishara Yahampath, Communication, Education & Outreach editor Tree planting is an essential nature-based action for mitigating the effects of global warming. As trees grow, they absorb and store the carbon dioxide that drives global warming, provide shade for roads, buildings, and people, and food and habitat for local wildlife. While many Canadians recognize the […]
Crushing snowbanks could help to preserve permafrost and keep northern communities connected
By Patrick Jardine, new science communicator Northern field work 2:00 p.m. on March 9th, 2021: I was finishing sampling snow density along a mine access roadside in the central Yukon with my co-worker, Jen, when I heard branches breaking deep within the forest beside me. It was a balmy –15 °C out — a significant […]
Tiny plants could be key to improving climate change predictions
By Rose Lefebvre, new science communicator Have you ever looked closely at moss? These tiny plants, described by F. E. Tripp in his 1868 book British Mosses, their homes, aspects, structure, and uses as “the soft green beds into which our feet sink”, grow almost everywhere in the world. And yet mosses are often overlooked […]