Terra Informa

Terra Informer Sofia Osborne speaks with Dr. Holli-Anne Passmore and researcher Emily Rugel about pandemic walks, mental health, and accessibility to nature. We also hear from a few other Terra Informers about their pandemic walk rituals!Program Log★ Support this podcast ★

We're halfway through the year! This week we're closing out the month of June with the environmental headlines you might have missed from the past four weeks. We've got coverage of the Keystone XL cancellations, land and water defender updates from across Turtle Island, and some headlines about some allegedly environmentally-conscious beverage and food producers.June was Pride Month and Indigenous People's Month here in so-called Canada! To keep the celebrations going, here are some two-spirit and queer Indigenous artists and authors you might want to check out!Billy-Ray Belcourt, writer and academicAria Evans, dancer and artistic director of Political MovementBrian Solomon, dancer, media and visual artistJeremy Dutcher, musician and composerLand and Water Defender Updates - ResourcesStop Line 3Unicorn Riot coverage of June actionsFairy Creek Updates:@fairycreekblockade on Instagram@rainforestflyingsquad on InstagramProgram Log★ Support this podcast ★

This week we're airing an archive episode from 2020. In the film, acclaimed actor Elliot Page, inspired by a book by Ingrid Waldron that also lends its name to the documentary, travels across their home province of Nova Scotia to explore cases of environmental racism. This week, we are talking about environmental racism, which specifically refers to the environmental injustice that is based on race.We reached out to Dr. Ingrid Waldron, a professor and author of the book “There’s Something in the Water”. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Dr. Waldron to discuss environmental racism towards Black communities in Nova Scotia and what liberation could look like.Program log linked here. ★ Support this podcast ★

June is Bike Month in Edmonton and lots of other cities, so we're revisiting an episode from June 2020 on the topic! In this archive episode, Terra Informers Charlotte Thomasson and Katherine Rogers listen to Curtis Blandy's 2020 interviews with Bike Edmonton Executive Director Chris Chan and LuGr Enterprises Founder Luke Grayston. Chan talks about his inspiration for, and experiences of, cycling in Edmonton. Grayson gives us the lowdown on Beet 55, an innovative deicer used to keep roads safe for winter cycling.Program Log★ Support this podcast ★

This week we’re bringing you a documentary where CSL students Brook Kelela and Ashley Krehut explore the significance of outdoor gardens in our communities. Listen in for discussions of food security, food sovereignty, and more!Original broadcast: 5 May 2021Prairie Urban Farm: http://www.prairieurbanfarm.ca/ Veg in YEG: https://veginyeg.ca/ Further listening: Seeds! https://terrainforma.ca/220Urban Beekeeping https://terrainforma.ca/209Indigenous Food Sovereignty: Wild Meat, Wild Stories https://terrainforma.ca/102 Program Log★ Support this podcast ★

It's the end of May - time to round up the environmental news headlines from the past month! This week, we cover a Super Typhoon that broke records in the Philippines, an Extinction Rebellion blockade of a bridge in Vancouver, an increase of old-growth logging approvals in British Columbia, and a story about a hummingbird that temporarily halted a pipeline. We also provide an update on land and water defenders that is focused on the Fairy Creek blockade and forest protection camps. Instagram accounts providing updates on Fairy Creek: fairycreekblockaderainforestflyingsquadProgram Log★ Support this podcast ★

It's spring, which means you may have started your own garden, or maybe you know someone who started bringing up little seedlings months ago. Seeds are where all home gardens and farmers' fields begin - but there are some key differences between the seeds that large agro-corporations sell and the ones that you can choose to plant in your backyard or balcony. This week, we speak with Denise O'Reilly, the head of operations at A'Bunadh Seeds and get down to the root of questions like, what does it mean to save seeds, and why is it important? What's an heirloom variety? Is that different than a hybrid? Program Log★ Support this podcast ★

Terra Informers Curt Blandy and Liam Harrap explore sustainable brewing with Steve Beauchesne at Beaus Brewing. They also chat with Christine O'Grady, from UCalgary’s Advancing Canadian Water Assets, and Jeremy McLaughlin, Head Brewer, on the Village Brewery project on making beer with waste water! We also get to listen to a local Edmonton beer song called Beer Tastes Better (When The Work's All Done) by the Denim Daddies. Download the program log here. ★ Support this podcast ★

This week on Terra Informa we do a little social science communication with Dr. Leila Harris, Professor at IRES (and more), at the University of British Columbia. Way back in January, we got the chance to interview Dr. Harris after she gave a talk titled "Human Right to Water & Ongoing Challenges: Equity, Implementation, and Shifting State-Society Relations”, at the UofA.We'll be talking about the U.N. Human Right to Water, what hydro-social relationships look like, and how water has more than just material dimensions. We'll learn what socio-ecological systems theory is, the concept of hydro-social relationships... and what is an ontology, again?Script, background - Andrea MillerEditing, interview - Elizabeth DowdellProduction - Sofia OsborneProgram Log.★ Support this podcast ★

This episode, Terra Informers Sonak Patel and Liam Harrap guide you through some of the impacts that a warming world will have on our blue planet. Drawing from estimates and predictions made in the IPCC Special Report, in this episode we prepare ourselves for what global warming and the climate crisis will mean to Alberta, Canada, and the rest of the world. It's not a heartwarming episode, but we are in this together. Written by Sonak Patel, hosted by Liam Harrap and Sonak Patel, edited and produced by Elizabeth Dowdell.Program log.★ Support this podcast ★

It's the end of April already! Tune in this week as the Terra Informa team rounds up environmental news headlines from the past month. In this episode, we cover Ottawa's constitutional carbon tax, the concerns of Parkland County residents' concerns over a church development near a local lake, an update on grizzly bear populations in Alberta, tensions over a forestry blockade in Fairy Creek BC, and a land and water defender update from northwestern BC. ResourcesNarwhal article by Matt Simmons on the Gitanyow's fight for a salmon-saving Indigenous protected areafRI Research Grizzly Project Summary ReportfRI Research Grizzly Project WebsiteThe Niitsítapi Water Protectors have partnered with The New Gallery in Calgary and are looking to collaborate with an artist or artists who are Indigenous to the Treaty 7 area. They are looking for a piece of visual art to be displayed on a billboard at The New Gallery in the historic Chinatown in Calgary over the summer months. The prompt for artists is: Water is Life. Applic

This week on Terra Informa we take you on an auditory journey into the swamp, where we do a little science communication about the Ghost Orchid. We were inspired by the short documentary, Chasing Ghosts, and dig into the flower, film, and scientific research about this rare and endangered plant.Download the program log here ★ Support this podcast ★

Is plant parenthood a big part of your life? Have you acquired some recent plant purchases to spruce up your new virtual workplace or classroom? This week on the show, our guest is Eric Gibson, co-owner of the Little Plant Shop. We're asking, how do our houseplants and all things green make us feel? We explore the connection between our houseplants and our health, along with the effects of spending time in public green spaces and bringing nature into the design of our built environment. You'll also hear some of the Terra Informers' favourite plant stories. Program log. ★ Support this podcast ★

This week, we're bringing you our annual Terra Misinforma episode! A mysterious tape has been found in the woods, and its origins and contents remain a mystery. However, they might suggest some shocking insight into the very nature of life on planet earth. April fools! Download program log here.★ Support this podcast ★

Spring has sprung, and it's time for another news roundup episode!This week, the Terra Informa team covers some of the environmental news you may have missed from the month of March. We start with the introduction of a new bill that aims to address the legacy of environmental racism in Nova Scotia, as well as a story on conflict between First Nations and Ducks Unlimited over water control structures in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Then, we introduce a new recurring segment that will be featured in our monthly news roundup episodes where we provide updates on land and water defenders from across Turtle Island. Lastly, we bring you a dose of good news in the coverage of a baby boom for North Atlantic Right Whales.Links and Resources:Braided Warriors on Instagram (@braidedwarriors)Raven Trust Site C Dam CampaignNiitsítapi Water ProtectorsThe ENRICH ProjectBlack Environmental InitiativeProgram Log.★ Support this podcast ★

On the Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, K'atl'odeeche First Nation is taking steps to create opportunities for their members to make their livelihoods through fishing. In our second episode on Indigenous-led fisheries management, we are joined by PhD student Kristine Wray. We investigate the management structures that govern the Great Slave Lake commercial fishery, and identify pathways towards the coexistence of a sustainable commercial and livelihood fishery. Our thanks to Kristine Wray for her contributions to this episode. Download the program log.★ Support this podcast ★

In the management and conservation of resources, what does it mean to coexist? This week on Terra Informa we are joined by PhD student Krista Tremblett to bring you a story on Indigenous-led approaches to fisheries management in Atlantic Canada. We explore the historical precedence and Treaty commitments that guarantee Indigenous rights to fish for a moderate livelihood. And we investigate the recent conflict that erupted between non-Indigenous commercial fishers and Indigenous fishers following the self-regulated moderate livelihood fishery launched by Sipekne'katik First Nation. Many thanks to our guest Krista Tremblett for contributing her knowledge to this episode. You can learn more about the Sipekne'katik moderate livelihood fishery and how you can support their ongoing efforts here. To learn more about Indigenous fishing livelihoods in a different context, the Mi'gmaq of Listuguj, Quebec, check out the new documentary series Gespe'gewa'gi - the Last Land, directed by Chisasibi filmmaker Ernie Webb.Prog

In this episode, we speak with urban beekeeper David Whitaker about how he picked up this unique hobby and the benefits of bees in the City.Learn more about beekeeping from the City of Edmonton and how to avoid the hype of bee-washing. To get your hands on some sweet, sweet, local honey email davesurbanhoney@shaw.ca!Thanks to: Sonak Patel for research + writing + hostingAndrea Miller for music Elizabeth Dowdell for interview + hosting + productionProgram log here.★ Support this podcast ★

It's time for our monthly roundup of environmental news and stories.This week, we start with an update to a story we brought you last month on coal exploration and mining in the Rocky Mountains. Next, you'll hear about a pipeline spill in Richmond, California and devastating blackouts to power grids across the United States. We'll head to Alberta's northern boreal forest and hear about the proposed expansion of Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park, and then end in Nunavut with the Nuluujaaq Land Guardians blockade of Baffinland's Mary River mine.Many of the stories in this episode have their roots in the efforts of Indigenous land and water protectors across Turtle Island. And at Terra Informa, these are the stories that we are committed to amplifying and sharing with you. Groups like Raven Trust and Niitsítapi Water Protectors have been invaluable resources for us to learn from, and we hope you find these to be good starting points to learn more about the ongoing work of these organizers.  Program log

Dear Listeners,My most sincere apologies but I could not secure the interview I needed for the new episode we had planned this week. Instead, we'll keep working on new content and invite you to listen to a deep dive on the Canadian Energy Centre, better known as the Alberta War Room. While you listen, maybe look at the news, and ask yourself what happens when an Emperor goes to war without his clothes?Program log.★ Support this podcast ★