With apologies to Max, the central character in Maurice Sendak’s 1963 classic Where The Wild Things Are, and his arduous journey “in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night of his very own room”, Alice the Moose puts his to shame. Alice left her home park in the Adirondacks in upstate New York, swam across the St. Lawrence river, somehow made it across the four-lane 401 highway and finally completed her 570 km-long journey by arriving in Ontario’s Algonquin Park. Talk about a wild trip!

Alice was just doing what comes naturally – migrating with the seasons, in search of safer grounds and more plentiful sources of nourishment. And not just Alice. Lots of other animals. Thousands of different species of animals in every glorious manifestation have been migrating through what’s now known as the ‘Algonquin to Adirondacks’  region (A2A) for thousands if not millions of years. We humans joined the pilgrimage for our own survival, dodging the worst of winter’s wrath and following our meal-tickets as they embarked on their own migrations.

Turns out, there’s an interconnected network of trails and wildways stretching up the east cost of North America. You – or an Alice – could travel from Everglades National Park through Georgia’s Smoky Mountains, up the Appalachians, through the Adirondacks, across the Frontenac Arch and the St. Lawrence river and on into Algonquin Park. And there’s an organization that has charted these wildways, the species (and their movements) and the threats to biodiversity, particularly the numerous species-at-risk.

In October 2019, Wildlands Network released an interactive map of the Eastern Wildway, representing a major step forward in realizing a vision of connectivity for this region:

In their own words:

The Eastern Wildway contains some of North America’s most beloved national parks, preserves, scenic rivers, and other wild places, from the wilderness of Quebec, the Adirondacks, and the Shenandoah Valley, to the Great Smoky Mountains and Everglades National Park. Protecting and expanding these and other key core areas is crucial to rewilding the East.

I like the idea of rewilding. Of our spaces and our souls. Allowing our footfalls to provide the syncopation as we walk away our worries, lost-to-be-found in nature. And allowing nature to reclaim, to repossess, what we humans have taken from them, the birds, the bees, the flowers and the trees.

I was thinking about Alice recently when I came across a tragic story about a deer. This deer had managed to swim to Prince Edward Island – akin to Marilyn Bell swimming across Lake Ontario – only to be hit and killed by a transport truck not long after its arrival on the island. Alice had somehow survived an ordeal similar to our dearly-departed deer friend in PEI. And in Alice’s case, she was crossing one of the busiest highways in North America, the 401/TransCanada. At the point where Alice dodged death, the 401 is four lanes wide and busy almost 24 hours a day. This was Alice’s reality and the reality faced by every other ground-based species that migrates through the A2A region. The animals are simply following deep programming, genetic memories of migrations from hundreds of generations. The pathways are ancient. Highways are the interlopers, the recent development that benefits one species to the detriment of all others.

There are solutions. They go by a variety off names – wildlife overpasses, animal bridges, wildlife crossings – but I like to think of them as a modern iteration on an ancient tale. In the biblical story of Noah and his Ark, human wickedness required global cleansing, as the Almighty prepared to wash the sins of humans away through the medium of an unprecedented flood. But recognizing that the animals did not cause the wickedness and therefore should be saved, Noah was instructed by the Big Boss to construct a gigantic ark, a boat, that could hold a pair of each species. This would allow the animals to repopulate the world after the forty days of ‘cleansing’.

In our modern times, humanity constructs transportation monuments that seem built to demand animal sacrifice. But when we build a bridge – a Noah’s Arch – that allows wildlife to cross our highway infrastructures, we fulfill an obligation to right a wrong.

The A2A Collaborative’s Road Ecology project is aiming “to help reduce wildlife road mortality across the entire Algonquin to Adirondacks region by making recommendations on the best possible locations for wildlife crossings.” There are strong financial reasons to support these public works projects that buttress the moral reasons. In Alberta’s Bow Valley, a study found that “from 1998 and 2010 (there) was…an average of 62 WVCs (wildlife-vehicle collisions) per year. This amounts to an average cost-to-society of $640,922 per year due to motorist crashes with large wildlife, primarily ungulates.”

An “analysis of a wildlife underpass with fencing at a 3 km section… within the project area near Dead Man’s Flats showed that total WVCs dropped from an annual average of 11.8 per-construction to an annual average of 2.5 WVCs post-mitigation construction. The wildlife crossings and fencing reduced the annual average cost by over 90%, from an average of $128,337 per year to a resulting $17,564 average per year.”

The judicious construction of wildlife crossings saves lives and saves money. And it makes our wildways that much more alive with wildlife. It’s time for us humans to do our part and prioritize wildlife crossings on our major highways and roadways.

Alice would thank you.

The post WHERE THE WILDWAYS ARE appeared first on A\J.

Murder hornet has become the popularized name for Vespa mandarinia, but the established common name is simply Asian giant hornet — a name that describes where the insect is from and what it looks like. While in this case of this species the colloquial and standardized common name are quite different, common names aren’t always as straightforward as Asian giant hornet. They can be just as cryptic as the name murder hornet. 

“Sometimes common names are very misleading or they are not very informative,” says Adam Brunke, Chair of the Common Names Committee for the Entomological Society of Canada (ESC). “It’s a communication issue.”

However, ease of communication is exactly what a common name is for. They’re used to bridge the divide between those who study a field of biology, such as the study of insects called entomology, and those who don’t. So when a name fails to add ease, has confusing descriptors, or uses derogatory language, there’s a problem. 

These issues are what the Better Common Names Project aims to address. Led by the Entomological Society of America (ESA) and a steering committee made up of many ESC members, the Better Common Names Project involves revisiting common insect names, proposing new ones, and approving a new standard common name for both the United States and Canada. 

The first renaming for the project was for Lymantria dispar where the official common name “gypsy moth” was changed to “spongy moth” due to the term gypsy being an ethnic slur for the Romani people. The new name “spongy” refers to the insect’s distinct sponge-like egg masses. It’s a characteristic that’s unique to the insect and easy to understand. 

Male spongy moth (Lymantria dispar) // Credit: S. McCann; Source: Entomological Society of Canada

“What happens is that we don’t actually propose any names ourselves. We get proposals from the entomological community and they do some background research and provide a rationale. They explain why any existing names are appropriate or not appropriate,” Brunke says. “Normally, there’s two or three names that are already out there, or maybe the name exists in French, but not English, or vice versa. So this is a bit of a special case where we had a pest insect with a very, very dominant name.”

It’s easy to look at this project or renaming happening in any field as only a means of creating a more inclusive and equitable society. And while that’s certainly not a bad thing to consider, the main goal is to enable clear communication and understanding. 

Though we often learn and accept terms for what they are and can adapt to a pre-existing language, it doesn’t mean the language is as effective as it could be. In fact, it’s possible people may get the wrong idea of what an insect is or does if a name is too ambiguous or nondescript.

Take the case of a newly introduced tick in Canada.

“It was starting to get a lot of media attention because it is a potential disease vector.” 

A disease vector is something that carries and spreads disease, like an insect, which is definitely information that the broader community should be aware of. But the way in which this information is communicated should be done carefully. It was important that this insect be given a name that’s more than just clickbait. No one needs a new case of “murder hornets”.

“We were trying to use something neutral and something descriptive before it could, you know, sort of get out of hand or go in a direction we’d rather it not,” Brunke says, emphasizing that a common name should help someone identify an insect. This is especially important for those monitoring for a specific pest that may be harmful or damaging to the environment.

Murder hornet news headline // Source: Saanich News

Identifying, suggesting, and standardizing common names is definitely not a one-person job. After all, there are an estimated 10 quintillion insects out there. The collaborative effort of the entomological societies and the great entomological community are key for identifying what names work and what don’t. 

Though there are many experts and enthusiasts out there, it doesn’t necessarily mean they always have the answers about why a common name exists as it does. Their origin may ultimately remain unknown because no one documented the rationale and it’s because of this that a common name may come into question.

“That’s the problem. We never get the reasons for things.”

If there isn’t a well-understood reason for something or if in hindsight a reason isn’t very well justified, then there’s room for change. Just like science itself, it’s a process of hypothesizing, researching, and concluding. And if you don’t agree with the outcome, or in this case, the name? Create a new hypothesis, test it, and come up with a more acceptable, well-founded standard.

The post They Call It Worm. They Call It Lame. That’s Not Its Name. appeared first on A\J.

CAUTION: Serendipitous roads may cause new perspectives

It was early March, just before Covid-19 exploded into our collective consciousness. We – my partner and I – decided on a quick weekend getaway to celebrate an anniversary. We live in Kitchener and had wanted to visit the Lake Huron shore. We found a resort just north of Grand Bend and made our plans to escape. And when I say ‘plans’, I do mean so, given that we drive an electric vehicle, and one that happens to be best suited to inter-urban transit.

Don’t get me wrong; I love driving ‘Mr. Bobby Button’, the moniker (and character) attached to the 2017 Mitsubishi MiEV that can be seen tooting around KW in all seasons. BB is about the size of a Smartcar-on-steroids, has all-wheel drive and can turn in a phone booth, and is remarkably spunky when the light goes green. This generation of EV, however, was built just-before the innovations embedded in today’s EVs that practically eliminate ‘range anxiety’. BB has an ‘effective’ full range of 150 kilometres on a full charge but temperature, ancillary electrical use (radio, phone charger, heater, etc.) and travelling speed can combine to reduce the 150 km range by a third or more. That’s not much of a problem when you are doing errands or running across town and back; you plug in at home and are fully good-to-go by the morning. But when you’ve got an extended journey ahead of you in an EV of BB’s vintage, you need to put a bit of extra planning in place to ensure that you arrive at your destination without the necessity of pushing the last kilometre or two!

And, truth be told, I’m a bit of a nervous-Nelly when it comes to range anxiety. When driving gas vehicles, the EMPTY light was a frequent travelling companion and a reminder to stop….soon-ish. In BB? Not so much. There have been a couple of ‘adventures’ that came close to running down the battery and getting the travelling party stuck in the middle of a farmer’s field. Oh, and there’s that other time that saw yours-truly come close to committing B&E to access an electrical outlet in a barn by the side of a country road somewhere west of Belleville.

With that in mind, the route was carefully planned, thanks to the ‘Queen of Google Maps and the EV Charging Apps’. Oh yes, there’s an app for charging your EV (recommended), or for scouting out potential stopping points (also recommend, and be sure to check the latest check-in). Actually, there’s three or four apps that you need in this part of SW Ontario. In Quebec and eastern Ontario, one app gets you from Montreal to Kingston….but then you’ll encounter a patchwork of stopping points, some demonstration projects brought forth by municipalities and some for-profit, app-based solutions. In southwest Ontario, there’s pretty good coverage in the cities like Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Stratford, Guelph and Brantford. For our trip to Lake Huron, we’d first need to stop and top-up in Stratford. And then find another place to stop before getting to the shore, as the top-up only takes BB to 80% charge and the temperature was cool to the point of chilly (and passengers likewise).

We made the first leg to Stratford without incident, although that luck wouldn’t be repeated on the homeward journey as the erstwhile-working charging suddenly wasn’t working on Sunday! But that’s a story for another day.

The battery in BB read 40% when we plugged in to the fast-charger, ChaDeMo (google it….I can’t remember what that stands for at the moment). It takes about 20 minutes to get to 80% from empty, although I’ve never risked that; in this case, the charge took about 15 minutes, which afforded us the perfect opportunity to advance scout the next stopping point.

As I mentioned, the Queen had a full array of apps to check and then cross-check with Google maps to plot time, distance and likelihood that I’d have a mini-meltdown before we reached the charging point. At this stage, I was focussed not so much on the bucolic nature of the quaint town housing the charging station – and much more focussed on not running out of ‘juice’ somewhere between Varna and Staffa….which last time I check an atlas were both located near the Black Sea? How could that be?

I should mention that in addition to the high-powered, separately-powered ChaDeMo fast-charger (15-20 minutes), there’s a mid-range charger (that runs on 220) that takes 4 hours to reach full charge from empty…and a plug-in, take-with version that can take up to 12 hours to get you to full charge from empty. Oh, and because we don’t drive a Tesla, Elon’s e-stations do absolutely nothing for us ‘plebs’. So figuring out which station was working in which location, and with which app to pay for the privilege of powering our progress, is kind of important.

The Queen remarked that there seemed to be a new station, just up and running in the town of Exeter, which was conveniently located on our route to the shore from Stratford. With an almost-full charge under our engine’s fanless belt, we headed out with a load of enthusiasm and just a tad of concern about what would await us at the destination. We checked out the Google maps, saw that Exeter is located about 20 kilometres from the Lake Huron shore near Grand Bend, with an extra dozen clicks taking you up the shore to Bayfield. Exeter is also the largest and best-appointed town once you’ve left Stratford if you’re heading in the Grand Bend/Bayfield direction. The perfect waypoint, as it turned out.

And talk about serendipity! I was almost out of coffee and the charging station was located in the parking lot of the Timmie’s on the main street (actually, Main Street)!

The station was easy to find (which is NOT ALWAYS the case), the app connected easily (again, NOT ALWAYS the case), and we both let out a bit of an exhale knowing that we’d leaped the final range hurdle, with an 80% charge more than capable of speeding us the 20+ kilometres to our final destination, where we’d plug-in the overnight charger. I ducked inside, grabbed another double-double, and sat back, enjoying the respite while the vehicle charged. The Queen, not content with EV apps and Google maps, turned her attention to another favourite, real estate dreaming.

Firing up the MLS, we noticed a couple of properties for sale and for lease in Exeter, and specifically a couple of properties in the historic downtown core. Now, there was no impetus to look at properties but why not follow the way that the road was taking us, and Exeter was leaving us happier and recharged by the minute. Once we reached the max, we headed down to the core and spied out the listings. One or two looked promising – again, not sure promising what – so in the days after we reached out to the agents to explore what-ifs. And then the pandemic hit HARD, lockdown came, and more pressing realities pressed the idea away…..for a while.

In early September, to recharge from a strenuous summer spent developing two print issues and delivering a wealth of online content, we decided to head back to the shore for a Covid-safe weekend, this time staying in Bayfield. It was a lovely time, and on the road back home we decided to stop in Exeter to recharge the vehicle. There’s also a lovely park in Exeter, and we’d recently added a puppy, Zoey, to the family. Zoey needed a good stretch-of-the-legs in some deep, green grass and lungs full of fresh, clean air. So Exeter it was (we could have made the full trip to Stratford with the full charge and the warmer temperatures). The fact that we could stop at Timmies and recharge the vehicle (and the driver) only added to the appeal. We also took the time to drive to the downtown core and see how the local merchants and businesses were doing. We were happy to note that most businesses had managed to sustain operations in spite of the historic challenges, and that people were (safely) going about their daily activities, a smile in their eyes as they greeted us from behind the masks.

When we returned to Kitchener, we made a few enquiries in regard to real estate in Exeter. Well, as things would happen, an interesting proposition was brought to us by a friend of A\J: there was a street level shop in a building in the middle of the historic downtown core, and the rent would be ‘subsidized’ by the philanthropically-inclined new owners for a year (at least). But we’d need to be ready to put staff in that office once the pandemic lifted – and be ready to use this gift as an opportunity to learn, listen and grow more earthy in our opinions and in our writing. We’re there now.

We’ve got plans again, tentative plans given the uncertain circumstances. But the plans are rooted in the core mission of our organization: to become the most effective story-teller of environmental stories that are read by a broad cross-section of Canadians. We’ve got roots in cities and bigger towns, graduating from Peterborough to KW, with stops in Toronto in between. We’ve got roots in academic circles of informed-opinions and opinion-formers. We’ve got roots in the eNGO community, and frequently seek to empower collaborations that deliver 1+1=3. But, as an organization, our roots had not yet extended to the fertile soil of a community like Exeter. So, we leaped…. again….and we’re ready to take bigger leaps in the near future.

We’ve already made some friends in the community, and have discussed how we can best become a good neighbour and an economic development supporter. We’re ideating lectures and panels and musical events. We’re engaging with schools and businesses and organizations to understand their environmental stories – and to share them with our national readership. Admittedly, we’re doing it slowly; slowly but surely. We’re planting the seeds that we hope will grow into strong roots that will allow our writing, our story-telling, to blossom and flourish.

In Exeter, Ontario, at the crossroad to Lake Huron shore, on the road to serendipity… and opportunity.

The post On The Road To Serendipity appeared first on A\J.

The podcast begins with Cate and Danny reminiscing on when they both first experienced electricity in a meaningful way. As kids, they each had realizations of the true power of electricity, which made me think back to my own experiences. I remember getting in bed on a cold winter night when I was a kid and my flannel sheets had built up so much static that they would produce little sparks under the covers. I was terrified at first until I realized the static sparks were virtually harmless and then I thought it was pretty cool. I enjoy how from the very beginning of the podcast, I was able to connect to the message as it made me start thinking about my own memories. As a listener, this intro definitely got me engaged from the start.

One major theme in this episode was that the sun is our main source of power and we take it for granted. Humans use the sun to power everything – directly and indirectly. It is and has been a resource, a tool, and a vastly powerful entity. I mean, it’s literally at the center of our solar system. So, Cate and Danny explain the relationship between humans and the sun throughout history.

Cate and Danny describe how different societies learned how to harness the sun’s power to develop new technologies and progress. They also spend time talking about our current society and where we’re at with solar energy. Danny explains that solar power currently makes up 3% of global energy use, but he says that even though it sounds small, that number is growing at a rapid rate, doubling every two years. This means we could be close to 100% solar energy in 10 years’ time. This statistic shocked me because I tend to imagine a dominant renewable energy future to exist in the far, far future, in a dream-like, sustainable utopia, in at least 50 to 100 years. But in just 10 years, I’ll only be in my early thirties. Is it possible that we could make so much progress in solar energy in just 10 years? I feel a bit skeptical of this fact, but I think that’s the point of this podcast – to make listeners think more about renewable energy possibilities and open up big questions for discussion.

Another topic that Cate and Danny made me think about was our human connection to the sun and to the natural world. Danny suggests that the sun is essential to everything we do and, therefore, we are connected to it, but Cate counters that by asking whether we are genuinely connected to it. I mean, it is a fact that we are connected to the sun in many ways, but the question is whether we feel and know that connection. Cate questions whether humans have separated ourselves from the sun in the same way many of us have disconnected from the natural world despite our reliance on it. One of my favourite parts of this podcast followed this discussion when Cate poetically shares her first memory of feeling connected to the natural world. She describes laying on the back of her dad’s car at night when she was a kid, looking up at the vast night sky. She describes it as the following, “Rather than looking at the stars, I kind of looked through them and it was the first time I sensed something absolutely massive, unknowable, and unknown to me. And I felt incredibly tiny.”

Cate goes on to explain the surreal feeling of realizing that your own existence is so small and sometimes seemingly meaningless compared to the vastness of the universe. Kind of existential, right? It seems depressing in a way, but it’s an important realization that we are a small part of a greater system. As 8-year-old Cate was staring at the night sky, she had a sense of awe and connection to the natural world, and they state that this is the sense we need to revitalize and feel again in the present day, in everything we do.

In my environmental studies undergraduate program, the idea of being connected to nature was ingrained in me. We learn that humans are not separate from nature but we are a part of it just as much as the other mammals, the birds, the trees, the lichens, and the microorganisms. We’re not the center of the universe and connecting with nature is how we will be properly able to coexist with it and allow it to thrive. Danny describes this exact idea by explaining the need for nature-based solutions in our technology and engineering, which he calls “biomimicry” – the approach of mimicking ways nature succeeds in human designs. He says this is the best way that humans can fit back into nature rather than work against it or separate from it. Solar energy is one of these ways.

The podcast also features a few interesting, sustainable-minded individuals, including Andrew Birch, the co-founder of the business, Open Solar. He describes the work Open Solar does, putting an emphasis on the beauty and simplicity of solar energy using the word “magical” to describe it. He discusses the economic benefits of solar energy, like the huge capacity to create jobs. One thing Andrew claimed that I was not convinced about was that developing countries will be able to jump straight to solar energy in the future and skip major fossil fuel development phases. I have a hard time believing that this is possible given the level of greed and wealth that exists in the world, but maybe that is just my skepticism shining through again. I am definitely interested in learning more about Open Solar after listening to Andrew speak so enthusiastically about solar energy and the future.

Moving on, Cate and Danny also address some of the common concerns people have with solar energy, landing on a “no one size fits all” solution. A mix of energy supplies will be needed in the future. This was a refreshing take on renewable energy for me because the downfalls of specific types of renewables are addressed and acknowledged, but there is still possibility.

About halfway through the podcast, Cate expressed that she was concerned about equitable distribution of renewable energy – exactly my own concern while listening. The two of them thoroughly address concerns of equity and environmental justice by explaining that clean energy initiatives need to be carefully thought through in order to guarantee that they are not displacing anyone and are benefiting everyone involved. Danny explains how his company ensures diverse entrepreneurs get training and funding to succeed in clean energy projects. The most important thing here is that communities have ownership and autonomy when it comes to the energy systems and the associated benefits. They also talk about the necessity of racial and gender equity in addressing the climate crisis, which is absolutely essential in my opinion. This discussion of the episode was so important to me and I think they did really well at addressing issues of inclusivity and justice in the sustainable development space.

Following the topic of equity, they introduce their next guests, Brett Isaac and Clara Pratte of the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation is an Indigenous territory in the States, covering land in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Brett and Clara saw a need for a clean energy future in their nation, so they decided to lead the nation out of a coal-dependent past into solar energy and possibility. They are the founders and co-CEOs of Navajo Power, which builds clean energy projects on Indigenous lands.

Brett describes solar energy in a humble way as the Navajo people have a strong relationship with the sun. The Navajo have traditional stories about the sun. They pray to the sun, believe in the sun, and it is clear that they have gratitude for the sun as they use it as a resource. The podcast dives deeper into the struggles of historical environmental injustice that the Navajo people have experienced, including legacy impacts from uranium mines and the exacerbated effects from COVID-19. 

The most encouraging part of this podcast episode was the hope embedded within it. When focusing on the Navajo nation, the exploitation and struggles are outlined, but the main focus is on the reclamation of energy, taking back power for themselves. The land and ecosystems are described beautifully along with the commitment of Navajo Power to conserving and restoring the landscape. Not only is the environment benefitting, but local communities are gaining electricity and running water on their own homelands, jobs are being created bringing in local income, and community empowerment is growing. I love that the podcast gave such a voice to Brett and Clara. The podcast probably spent about half of the time on Cate and Danny’s thoughts and half on the diverse voices of their guests who were able to speak on their own work. 

At the end of the podcast, Cate and Danny bring in Katie Milkman, professor and researcher of psychology and economics and author of How to Change, to address the human default to resist change. Katie explains the common barriers to change that humans have embedded in us as well as the best solutions to embrace change and begin with small individual actions. I enjoyed this part of the podcast, but I did feel like some things were missing. Individual actions are said to lead to bigger social change in the podcast, which I agree with, but I also think systemic issues go beyond the individual. I would have liked to hear more about ways to hold people in power accountable for creating and embracing systemic change as a way to overcome barriers to change. The closing of this podcast was a great starter, though. 

Overall, I learned a lot about the feasibility of solar energy in the future. I also gained a lot of hope from listening to all the stances on the social and environmental benefits of solar energy. If you are like me and the ideas of renewable energy bounce around back and forth in your head, I recommend giving this episode a listen. At the very least, you will think deeply about some of the questions Cate and Danny bring up and learn about some cool solar energy projects. 

You can give this episode a listen, as well as the other episodes of “Climate of Change”, exclusively at Audible.ca

The post Climate of Change Episode 3: “Faith, Hope, and Electricity” – A Review appeared first on A\J.

The episode starts by highlighting the sustainability measures implemented in their recording studio, ranging from solar panels powering it, and wooden diffusers and old truck tires as sound barriers. As Blanchett says, the green-powered “stuff” is working! I really enjoyed this quick peek into the ways they tried to integrate sustainable solutions as much as possible. The pair then moved from the studio to the roof that holds these solar panels, which resulted in Blanchett asking the questions that I have come to appreciate, such as what happens when there’s no sunlight for these panels. Knowledgeable as ever, Kennedy explains that while not quite as effective, diffuse light still allows for energy to be generated, even on a rainy day. The way this podcast fosters environmental communication, with Blanchett asking questions that many wonder, while Kennedy explains them in clear, easy-to-understand terms, is my favourite aspect of the show. 

As someone who considers themself an environmentalist, I can’t believe I haven’t heard of Blanchett’s sustainable endeavours. As mentioned by herself and Kennedy, in 2008 she installed the largest solar array on a single roof in the entire southern hemisphere, on the roof of the Sydney Theatre Company in Australia. With the help of Kennedy no less! As Kennedy said, this showed what was possible, and now Australia is the ‘solar capital of the world (as far as rooftops go)’.  

The first episode was full of good news, and this one continues the trend. As Blanchett says, we just don’t hear enough about the good news of the pace of positive change in the energy transition, compared to the bad news of climate collapse. Kennedy states that this is why we need to tell success stories and continue to inspire as Blanchett did with her solar panel installation at the Sydney Theatre Company. Coupled with sustainability measures by other organisations, it was easy to be inspired to implement sustainability measures at this time. Continuing, Kennedy says it’s the power of a cultural institution to make change. Now, Australia is on track to be coal-free by 2030, largely because at this point, it’s simply the economic thing to do

The podcast then moves on to discuss the Earthshot prize, which aims to help repair the planet over the next ten years by providing targeted funding, and a global platform for innovators around the world. This brings in the first guest, His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William. It was really interesting to hear Prince William talk about his first environmental awakening, going over his time in Kenya where he spent time understanding the challenges, and what it was like to live so close to the animals he grew up seeing on documentaries. I appreciate the optimism that the Prince brings, once again highlighting that for too long we have spoken about the issue too negatively, saying the Earthshot prize, COP, and even this podcast help move the dial and make him optimistic we can do this. Prince William’s reasons for starting the Earthshot prize echo this sentiment of positivity spreading hope, stating that it was inspired after a trip to Namibia where he saw lots of great measures in place but was greeted by the stark contrast of the doom and gloom attitude upon his return to the UK. 

For an event honouring green initiatives, you would of course hope that the Earthshot awards would be as green as possible. What was astonishing though, was that they had a 98% reduction in carbon emissions for an event of that size, an almost unbelievable feat that hopefully has inspired others. Even more astonishingly, Coldplay performed, and their entire show was powered by 60 cyclists – how amazing is that?!

The hosts and Prince William then move onto the different Earthshot categories, with the first being cleaner air. The goal of this category is to ensure that by 2030 everyone globally can breathe clean air to the WHO’s standard. The idea discussed here is a process in which crop residues in India, rather than being burned, are turned into fertiliser which benefits both farmers, as well as creates a new revenue stream. We then get to hear from Vidyut Mohan, the co-founder of Takachar. Here he talks about the negative air quality impacts he has witnessed in Delhi due to the burning of crop residues, and how it impacts the health of himself, his family, and all those breathing it. He talks about Takachar, a machine that converts this biomass into fertilizer, and hopes to prevent 2 million tonnes of smoke emissions over just ten years. Not only does this remove up to 95% of smoke emissions associated with farming providing cleaner air, but it also provides free fertiliser, as well as new jobs. 

The second Earthshot discussed is the “fix our climate” category, which Blanchett described as ‘absolutely massive’. This leads us to hear from Olugbenga Olubanjo, CEO, Reeddi. Olu hopes to solve the issue of energy connectivity that over one billion people suffer from. Here he talks about this issue in Nigeria, stating that at one point he didn’t have electricity for two entire years. This led him to build a solution – the Reeddi capsule which Kennedy describes as a small black box, about the size of a carton of milk which can charge laptops, lights and phones, making buying electricity as easy as buying a carton of milk. The way this works is by letting people rent the capsule at stores for a low rate. Similar to Kennedy, I enjoyed the fact that these prizes are creating change in less developed parts of the world that have less revenue to invest in sustainable initiatives. 

The third Earthshot prize is “save our oceans” which aims to repair and preserve our oceans by 2030 for future generations. Here Prince William talks about the winner Coral Vita, which breeds climate-resilient coral to be transplanted into reefs. If I may insert myself into this really quickly – I’m from Barbados and have had the unfortunate pleasure of watching some of my favourite reefs succumb to coral bleaching over the past decade, this is one of the most exciting climate initiatives I’ve ever heard of. They then speak to Dr. Katherine Dafforn, Co-leader, Living Seawalls – Living Seawalls uses modular habitat panels as sea walls, to ensure that we don’t have ‘concrete coastlines’ – once again, an amazing initiative I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of. As Dr. Dafforn says, the marine animals seem to love these with fish reappearing in days, and over just weeks, helping to restore ecosystems. I agree with Blanchett when she says there is a beautiful simplicity to this project, and it has great potential to be a global initiative. I think I have some suggestions for our Blue Economy back home!

I really appreciate that when asked about what Earthshot aims for in 2022, Prince William said they aimed to have more women-led, and indigenous-led solutions, noting that these groups were not represented as best as they should have been in 2021. Keeping on theme with the podcast, Prince William shares optimistic views of the future, and it is easy to share these feelings with him after hearing about so many wonderful initiatives being aided by Earthshot. 

Moving on, Blanchett says that all of this has also made her feel more optimistic, however, she says she feels we are running out of time. I really enjoy the way Kennedy framed his response by saying, ‘too late for who?’. Some communities are already feeling the adverse effects of climate change, and all we can do is try to make the future better for those who come after us. Kennedy’s way of thinking is something that I will be trying to integrate into my own life. 

We are then introduced to Tony Seba – thought leader, academic, and author of Clean Disruption of Energy & Transportation. Seba aims to disrupt the five main sectors of the economy. It was interesting to hear Seba say we already have the technology we need to address 90% of climate change issues by 2035, as this is contradictory to the usual discourse which says these issues will take decades to solve. Seba has a good track record of his predictions being correct as pointed out by Kennedy, as he predicted in 2010, that by 2020 solar would be cheaper than fossil fuels, or that by 2025 there would be an electric vehicle retailing for $12,500 – I wonder where he hides his crystal ball? It was interesting to hear his take on how quickly technology can be uptaken, and disrupt what is currently used. As he says, just twenty years after cars were introduced, the horse transport industry which was thousands of years old had become obsolete. Seba states that the key disruptors of energy right now are solar, wind, and batteries, and for the transport industry are on-demand rides, such as uber, and electric vehicles. Seba continues to say that it will be more expensive to not build with solar, and it will be interesting to see as the market shifts not due to the pursuit of sustainability, but due to economic factors. 

I appreciate Blanchett’s concern about the wealth distribution that needs to occur throughout the energy revolution, here she touches on the notion of a just transition (read more about this concept here!), stating that we can’t allow for new ‘solar billionaires’. Kennedy’s solution is quite poetic, saying that if we took a 1.5% tax on the wealthy, we would have enough funds to combat the 1.5-degree change we cannot allow to happen. The fact that this wealth distribution will be easier due to the opportunity to create power anywhere, and everywhere, is one that I had not considered, and a great point shared by Kennedy. 

The hosts then visit the Energy Gardens in London which maintain gardens along the London Overground stations using renewable energy. These are maintained by the community, and seem to share similarities with community gardens or CSAs which you may visit in your own cities in Canada! The aim of this is to transform urban spaces and make individuals feel empowered to be the change they want to be. I love this initiative because I truly believe time spent in nature is one of the most effective ways to make people feel inspired to act upon their eco-anxiety. The Energy Gardens also create youth training programs, allowing young people to build their own energy systems, and eventually install them at the train stations – thus creating green jobs for the future, and helping create a just transition. As Seba says, these gardens may not provide food for everyone or provide all of the power for the trains, but they open a dialogue as people pass these stations and see the beautiful, fully sustainable gardens. 

Blanchett puts it best when she says that as you see familiar spaces, such as your train station being transformed, it is really easy to feel inspired and hopeful about the future. This episode really filled me with a lot of hope and optimism about the future, from Prince William’s optimism through the Earthshot award, to Tony Seba’s bold predictions, it is hard not to shed some of the pessimism that environmentalists tend to feel. Moving forward, I suggest you follow the example of the Energy Gardens and look for sustainable initiatives happening in your own community. You might be surprised to find some great, inspiring projects happening near you! 

The post Climate of Change Episode 2: ‘The Disruptive Decade’ Review appeared first on A\J.

The first episode is titled ‘The Sooner the Better’. It starts with Blanchett describing her commute to London to record the podcast, in her electric car of course! She goes on to say this podcast is about “thing’s I’ve been thinking about”. She then moves on to talk about the range anxiety she is currently feeling on this commute as she forgot to charge her car, and not wanting to listen to the news as it feels like a constant barrage of bad news, both notions that almost all environmentalists can easily relate to, especially the anxiety-driven feelings of ‘what can we do’. As a quick aside, these feelings are known as eco-anxiety, and were covered in our Earth Day series! Blanchett then introduces Kennedy as the one she calls when feeling this climate, or eco-anxiety, saying that his optimism and solution-focused strategy for the future help with these feelings.  

I appreciate the optimism that Kennedy brings, stating that this is an ‘anti-cynical’ podcast that is all about the positives – I can relate to much of the pessimism that Blanchett feels, so it is great to listen to a podcast focused on ‘hope in a hopeless world’. As Kennedy says, there are tens of thousands of entrepreneurs, scientists, and innovators, all working to solve this same problem of climate change – a thought I found very reassuring. As Blanchett, the optimist in training says though, it’s not all good. There are a myriad of people who are already suffering the effects of climate disasters and can seem a daunting, and at times impossible problem to solve. Kennedy’s optimism doesn’t blind him to the realities of climate change, stating that a crime has occurred, how we need to confront the injustice of climate change, and how setting realistic goals is the key to making these tasks seem more possible. 

The first guest is introduced as climate action leader Mary Robinson – the former president of Ireland, and the first woman to hold that position, a UN envoy on climate change, and also a host of a climate change podcast of her own. Immediately, Robinson says a quote that stuck with me, quoting Desmond Tutu “I am not an optimist, I am a prisoner of hope.” As she says, if you have hope, you have the energy to make things happen. Within just a few seconds I already knew that I was going to love her time as the guest on the podcast. Robinson then brings up the earlier mentioned notion of eco-anxiety, which Blanchett realises she suffers from, saying that it often manifests itself as despondence, where an individual doesn’t know what to do, or does the opposite and acts as a motivator to create change. I will also be adopting her approach of asking environmentalists how they are doing, and how their self-care is, as eco-anxiety is something that I think impacts every single one of us in some form or fashion. I really enjoy the approach that Blanchett and Kennedy have, as it is apparent that Blanchett really cares about the environment, but isn’t quite as entrenched in some of the jargon, or language that most environmentalists have heard, so it is refreshing to hear a unique perspective, and curiosity as Kennedy explains some of these terms. 

Robinson goes on to explain a three-step plan that I think most of us should follow. This includes making the climate crisis personal by making individual changes in your own life, such as eating less meat, getting angry with those who aren’t doing enough, such as the government, investors, and cities, and joining organisations to use your voice. The final way she suggests is to envision the world we want, and through that understand how fast we need to change, understanding that this is a crisis, and we should be in crisis mode. I love Kennedy’s take on this, saying she has given us a cheat sheet for eco-anxiety. 

The relationship between Blanchett and Kennedy also makes this a great listen, they’ve known each other for years and it’s really easy to tell through the chemistry that they share. Even recounting marches that they went to years ago, and how Blanchett used her fame to bring more attention to those rallies. I was unaware of her climate activism, and really appreciate the work she has done throughout her life. Despite all of this, she still feels the same guilt that many do about not doing enough for climate change, even saying she feels guilty using the hairdryer, or when her family leaves the lights on. The relatability of statements like these really makes the podcast a great listen. This, coupled with Kennedy’s optimism, saying that what’s important is we know what to do and that we are doing it, even if it needs to be faster, makes the podcast a gripping, yet also inspiring listen. As he says, yes the climate is changing, but so is the world of energy, as we shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy more quickly every year. Optimism. What a breath of fresh air.

Kennedy’s optimism and hope for the future continue as Blanchett describes feeling trapped in society’s use of fossil fuels. Here, Kennedy states that he believes by 2040 we need to reach not net-zero, but true zero carbon emissions. He goes on to say that we are currently in the clean energy revolution and believes that the large drivers of carbon emissions, such as transport, are en route to being more sustainable. When Blanchett says she has been ignoring the news, Kennedy sounds surprised, going on to say that the constant ‘doom and gloom’ is part of our problem with our communications, and language surrounding climate change. As he says, believing in climate action and change, is the only way we can make it in the world. 

The notion of humans being special due to not our intelligence, but our friendliness, and willingness to cooperate is very interesting, and one I had not heard discussed before. The words of the second guest, Rutger Bregman really resonate with me, especially when he goes on to say that humans are the stories we tell ourselves, and how our future story must be one of hope and the possibility of change. Messages like this make the podcast both inspiring, but also a powerful listen. Only through collaboration can solutions be properly integrated, an idea echoed by Kennedy, and one to think about as we move forward with our renewable energy initiatives. 

Kennedy then highlights how his company works with innovators and entrepreneurs to revolutionise energy, with Jeraiza Molina, co-founder of SHIFTECH Marine who aims to give fisherfolk clean energy, as opposed to the conventional batteries they currently use. This is used to attract fish when night fishing and is powered by clean energy, through solar energy. Not only is this more sustainable, but also results in fisherfolk being able to spend less money on fuel. The guests really make this podcast shine with some of their quotes, here Molina says one of the best ways to combat climate change on an individual level is to look at the small problems in your community that contribute to climate change. This change can then be catalytic, and inspire those around the globe to follow suit. “To go Global, you have to go small”. I also must say, Blanchett provides such great insights and asks great questions to Kennedy. Here, she asks whether this initiative will contribute to overfishing and a question that popped into my head almost immediately. As Kennedy says, the real issue is with industrial, unregulated fishing, not the local fisherman. They may have a local impact, but not on the global scale that the fishing industry does. By saving money it also allows these fisherfolk to take more care and has resulted in a finer sorting of bycatch. 

I love the way this podcast ends, echoing back to Mary Robinson, with Kennedy asking Blanchett how she is feeling. Here, I can relate to Blanchett where she says she often hyper focuses on the negative and is grateful for Kennedy’s optimism to balance it out. Overall, I found this podcast to be a refreshing, and energising listen, especially when compared to the often (understandably) despondent discourse around climate change. The contrast between Blanchett’s relatable pessimism, and Kennedy’s optimism and solution-based focus for the future make this a podcast worth listening to. I am greatly looking forward to reviewing the rest of it!

The post Climate of Change Episode 1 Review appeared first on A\J.

A ‘just transition’ is defined as ‘a vision-led, unifying and place-based set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy’ by the Climate Justice Alliance. Just transitions take a holistic view of where we are going, as well as how we get there. When thinking of a just transition towards green energy, one of the groups that will be disproportionately affected is Indigenous communities. This is a direct result of a disproportionate dependency on fossil fuels to fuel both energy needs and daily life requirements. Additionally, these communities are also likely to experience the effects of climate change much more than others due to these changes impacting many aspects of their lives. Some of these changes can include loss of land and resources, extreme weather events impacting agriculture, future supply chain issues, and more. As a result of this, it is of paramount importance that for these indigenous communities, we ensure the transition to green energy is a just one.

This is where Melina Laboucan-Massimo saw an opportunity to make a difference. Laboucan-Massimo is Lubicon Cree, from the community of Little Buffalo, located in Alberta, Canada. Little Buffalo is an oil sands region, and as a result, Laboucan-Massimo grew up witnessing firsthand the negative impacts that oil sand development has had on the environment, as well as the development of her Indigenous community. To put into perspective how little the oil sands have done for Indigenous communities, Laboucan-Massimo states in this article with the Nobel Women’s Initiative that since 1978 over $14 billion had been made off of her family’s traditional territory, yet they still don’t have running water. She goes on to say that the more than 2600 oil wells on the land make it impossible to live sustainably, to make matters worse, almost 70% of Lubicon territory has been leased for future development without the consent of the Lubicon people, directly violating their charter rights.

Laboucan-Massimo has been attending protests about this matter since 1988, at the tender age of 7 years old. This first protest was in her Lubicron Cree community of Little Buffalo which held a 6-day protest against oil and gas drilling on their land. While her parents and grandparents were part of the blockade, Laboucan-Massimo watched from the safety of their car, with this experience having a profound impact on her. This protest in 1988 was a whole 34 years ago, yet oil and gas drilling continues on this land, much to its detriment. If the community of Little Buffalo sounds familiar, then you were probably paying attention to the news in 2011. This is because in 2011 the Rainbow Pipeline spill occurred on this land, causing a total of 28,000 barrels of oil to be spilled – the largest oil spill in Alberta in three decades. This spill is still impacting the community to this day, and those responsible for it, Plains Midstream, were only fined a measly $1.3 million two years after the spill. Were those funds used to clean up the area or were they enough to cover the costs of those cleanup efforts? No and no. After this spill, Laboucan-Massimo felt even more inspired to take action, saying in an interview with Mongabay, “Wow, I need to really start building: What does transition technology look like? What does a just transition look like in our communities? That’s why I founded Sacred Earth Solar, which began with my Master’s thesis…”

The creation and inspiration behind Sacred Earth Solar are why I find Laboucan-Massimo to be so inspiring personally. Sacred Earth Solar was born out of their Master’s degree thesis in Indigenous Governance, with a focus on energy which was completed at the University of Victoria. As part of her thesis, Laboucan-Massimo proposed building a solar-powered center in her hometown of Little Buffalo, in order to ensure just transition to green energy. This proposal was not without resistance, with Laboucan-Massimo recalling in an interview with Fashion Magazine, “One of my professors actually tried to dissuade me from doing it—he said ‘It’s too big of an undertaking, you’re not going to finish in time.’” Despite these concerns, Laboucan-Massimo decided to go ahead with the project due to her determination of creating a just transition for her community, as well as wanting to inspire others to do so. This was completed in 2015 and since then, the project has provided power to the community’s health center. This project, now known as the Piitapan Solar Project, involved the installation of 80 solar panels resulting in a 20.8kW renewable energy project – not only does this provide green energy, but also creates jobs in the community, and provides a template for other communities to follow. How inspiring is that? Despite even professors voicing their concerns, and having no experience directly in that field, Laboucan-Massimo followed through on her mission of creating a more sustainable future for her community.

After the establishment of this solar project, Laboucan-Massimo created the aforementioned Sacred Earth Solar. Sacred Earth Solar has now branched out to create projects outside of the Piitapan Solar Project in Little Buffalo. In all of its work, Sacred Earth Solar ensures that a just transition, as defined earlier in this article, can take place. According to their website, Sacred Earth Solar currently assists Indigenous communities in exploring renewable energy within the broader context of antiracist climate work, ensuring that these communities are given priority in keeping their communities safe and healthy. A just transition is one that Laboucan-Massimo is very passionate about, and in addition to setting up Sacred Earth Solar, also sits as the Senior Director of Just Transition at Indigenous Climate Action, an organization that aims to integrate Indigenous rights and knowledge into developing solutions for the climate crisis. Other initiatives by Sacred Earth Solar, and as a result Laboucan-Massimo, include the solarization of the art studio at Nimkii Aazhibikong with Onaman Collective in partnership with Indigenous Climate Action, which will serve as a centre for the language revitalization, transmission of indigenous knowledge, and communal space for Anishinaabek and surrounding Indigenous communities to have a communal space to share teachings. Another initiative included sending several sets of solar panels to Indigenous youth who were protesting at Ada’itsx/Fairy Creek. These solar panels were used to power the kitchen and charge devices so that they could have communication, but also record the police brutality that was on display. Laboucan-Massimo in addition to sending these panels also joined Indigenous leaders, environmental activists, and other celebrities in the condemnation of the logging at Ada’itsx/Fairy Creek. Sacred Earth Solar has continued to provide green energy for those fighting for climate justice by solarizing three homes at the Gidimt’en checkpoint in Wet’suwet’en Territory. This was done so that families could have access to their territory as the Gidimt’en checkpoint is directly in the path of the proposed Coastal Gas Link pipeline. Additionally, Sacred Earth Solar has been creating tiny homes that run off of solar energy to assist those protesting the Trans Mountain pipeline. These tiny homes are set up directly in the path of the pipeline, acting as both an act of resistance, but also a symbol of how green energy can be used for a just transition.

As you can see, Laboucan-Massimo’s Master’s thesis has grown a movement towards a just transition outside of her home community of Little Buffalo. Sacred Earth Solar may, in my opinion, be one of her most notable initiatives, however, Laboucan-Massimo has done much more than this. In addition to being the Director of Just Transition at Indigenous Climate Action, she was appointed as the first Indigenous research fellow at the David Suzuki Foundation where she has continued her research on Climate Change, Indigenous Knowledge, and Renewable Energy. In order to disseminate the message around green energy in Indigenous communities, Laboucan-Massimo created the Power to the People series. This series takes a look at the renewable energy revolution in Indigenous communities around Canada and the world, showcasing how a just transition may occur. This series found many different projects from wind farms, to solar plants, to tidal electric projects, and serves as a showcase for how other communities may become self-sufficient. Laboucan-Massimo has also worked alongside icons such as Jane Fonda, David Suzuki, and Naomi Klein to help build a better future for not only Indigenous people but the planet. She has also given many speeches which have inspired many, some of these including US Congress, the Harvard Law Forum, in British Parliament, and numerous international organizations like Amnesty International, allowing for her message of equitable climate justice to be heard around the world.

If you did a thesis, I implore you to think back to it. I can remember the thesis I completed in my undergraduate degree very well. Now, prior to this, have you thought about your thesis since completing it? Furthermore, has your thesis been of use? For some of you I’m sure that answer is yes, but for others like myself, not so much. It is of such great inspiration that Laboucan-Massimo took an issue that was so dear to her, and despite resistance from even her own professors, turned this thesis into a project that has since spiraled outwards, creating a movement. It is a great message of being the change you want to see, no matter how big the mountain you must climb is. Laboucan-Massimo could have stopped there, feeling that by improving her community she has done enough, but instead she has since campaigned to create a just transition to green energy for Indigenous people and communities around the world, and also acts as an example of how the entire world must act. It is for these reasons that Melina Laboucan-Massimo is an Every Day Eco-Hero.

The post Every Day Eco-Heroes: Melina Laboucan-Massimo appeared first on A\J.

Artwork by Margarita Krasutskaya

On the theme of eco-anxiety, we partnered with Earth Day Canada to create our ‘Every Day Eco-Heroes’ series. The aim of this series was to shine a spotlight on Canadian environmental activists who make every day, Earth Day. This series can be found here:

1. Autumn Peltier 
2. Shefaza Esmail
3. Melina Laboucan-Massimo

Additionally we created a few off series posts, centred around ideas of sustainability and the feelings of eco-anxiety! These articles can be found here:

1. Sowing a Better Future
2. Our Environmental Origin Stories
3. Addressing Eco-Anxiety
4. Touch the Earth

Thank you so much for joining us for this collaboration, and a very special thanks to Earth Day Canada for making this possible. We hope you have had a great Earth Day so far, and hope that these articles can inspire you in some form or fashion to make every day Earth Day.

The post Earth Day 2022 appeared first on A\J.

There are actions that individuals can take at the household level, such as planting native species in your garden or taking public transit. There are also actions that people can take at a collective level, such as organizing litter clean-ups. And then there are actions that people can take at a government scale, such as advocating for greener policies and voting for individuals who represent positive environmental and social change. All types of approaches are important and needed to address the slew of issues, but what happens when the laws and policies in a given area restrict certain sustainable actions at the household or individual scale? What if there are policies in place that perpetuate unsustainability? For these problems, the government scale is needed to make systemic changes. This starts with people who advocate for change to their local government as well as representatives of the people who translate their hopes into action and change. Our local politicians are these representatives who hold the power of listening to their community members, addressing their concerns, and implementing change to allow our individual and collective sustainable actions to continue.

This week’s hero for our Every Day Eco-Hero series is Shefaza Esmail, a researcher, teacher, nature-lover, and down-to-earth human who is passionate about making steps towards systemic change for the environment and for people. Through Shefaza’s studies in engineering and environmental studies, her PhD research experiences, and her teaching experiences, she has developed an understanding of the importance of politics and system-level change in the environmental movement. That is why she has decided to run for office in Waterloo as the Green Party candidate for the upcoming provincial election. This article shares Shefaza’s story of why she decided to take the path of politics to approach the systemic changes she wants to see happen in local communities, why she is an Earth Day hero, and what her hopes are for this election to work toward a sustainable and just future. 

Shefaza’s educational and environmental foundations

Born in Tanzania, Shefaza moved to Canada with her family in 2001. She started her undergrad at McGill University in the Arts and Science program. Her curiosity and enjoyment of learning fueled her studies and she realized she wanted to continue learning in a new area. She found a unique program called “bioresources engineering” in the Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at McGill, based at their MacDonald campus.

Not long after joining this program at MacDonald Campus, she realized that she was part of a strong community. It was a smaller campus with smaller class sizes and the classes were taught by professors who really cared about their students. One professor who particularly inspired Shefaza was Dr. Robert Bonnell, who created fun assignments that got students excited about engineering. Shefaza remembers having to power something using only rubber bands or only a flame, and also making sumo robots that would battle each other. Learning in this hands-on and creative way fueled the way Shefaza decided to teach when she became a teacher later on.

Shefaza did her Master’s in Chemical Engineering and worked a bit as a Facilities Engineering Intern before moving on to do her PhD in the Environment Faculty at the University of Waterloo (UW). She felt very excited about environmental engineering, but realized that there was more to learn about the social sides of environmental problems.

“The issues at the environmental level cannot only be solved by engineering solutions. We need to look at the policy, the economics, the social aspects – the social aspect is a really big aspect and I didn’t have a lot of grasp on that, so I came back to Environment [the faculty at UW], but this time, I brought the engineering and wanted to learn the other parts. That’s why I chose this interdisciplinary department, the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability (SERS).” 

From PhD researcher and teacher to politician

Shefaza’s PhD research focused on agriculture and food waste in Tanzania. She saw a lot of potential in Tanzania for a circular-based economy. Once beginning her research, she realized that Tanzania had a strong urban agriculture community of folks who did not want land to be idle but who wanted to give life to land and have that life sustain them and their communities. She noticed that lots of people were growing a variety of crops, but it was a volatile business given the fluctuating market prices and by-laws that restricted urban agricultural practices. She saw first-hand groups of people who were interested in doing sustainable, community-based projects for themselves, but there were laws that prevented them from doing those things and from being sustainable. 

During her PhD, Shefaza also got the opportunity to teach, which she continues doing at UW and loves. She has met many students who are eager to share great ideas and have strong interests in improving their understanding of the world. These students inspire her to show them new ways to see the world, for example, through field ecology courses that immerse students in nature.

“There is life that we can give to students connecting them back to nature, but also they are the ones who have these ideas of how we can make the world a better place. The systems we have are going to prevent that, similar to the folks who are trying to do urban agriculture in Tanzania.”

Through all her educational experiences and teaching, Shefaza learned that we need systemic change at the policy level. Then, she was approached by the Green Party twice. The second time, having finished her PhD and having had time to think about herself in the role of a politician, she decided that it was time to take that leap and run.

What made Shefaza say “yes” to politics?

When I asked her if she had ever imagined herself to be running for a political party 5 years ago or even 1 year ago, she quickly responded with the following: 

“I did not. I never imagined myself in politics because I found it all very confusing. I still remember grade ten civics learning about the first-past-the-post system and not understanding it, and I was a good student! I understood things very quickly.” 

Her confusion led her to feel turned off from politics in her early career.

“I wonder if other people feel the same way because it’s politics – it’s supposed to be decisions that affect our lives and I wonder what emotions that brings up in people. For me, the shame of not understanding led to guilt because I didn’t understand the first-past-the-post system and I also didn’t really understand the party system. I felt like I pushed away from that … Then, in university, Jack Layton was running for NDP and he made things accessible. I just remember understanding what he said and that made me feel like I had a chance at understanding what the politics were like here in Canada and that I could make a difference. After that, I lost interest again… but it came back when I was teaching … I learned a lot about it because I had to teach it.”

As Shefaza was teaching and learning, she was getting more involved in politics and getting to know the liberal, conservative, and NDP sides of issues but still didn’t really know much about the Green Party until she was approached to be a candidate. At this point, she learned about the Green Party’s values, federally and provincially, and found that they aligned very well with her own.

“I hadn’t really seen myself in a political point of view and I think that’s the problem with politics. We think that politics is about politics, but it isn’t. It’s supposed to be about people and I’ve always been a people person, and by translation, I could be a voice for people, which would make me a politician – a representative of the people.”

Shefaza’s vision for the future

“We can achieve a communal sense of being through sustainability. We just need to be able to envision what that looks like and that’s what politicians are supposed to do – to see where we are going, and to make decisions and set the roots for us to be able to get there. It isn’t about buying votes or a popularity contest or a tug-of-war, it’s supposed to be envisioning a future together.”

Shefaza has a vision of a better future for the people in Waterloo. Part of this vision stems from her time at MacDonald Campus during her undergrad at McGill University. MacDonald Campus was a “self-sustaining eco-hub”. It had a farm, a student-run composting initiative, and a student-run “happy belly” program where students would go to grocery stores on stocking days, take the food that would be thrown away, cook it all, and serve it for free to anyone on campus the next day. All of these initiatives brought people together and fostered a sense of community, creating an “in-built sustainability ethos”, which inspired Shefaza by showing her what life could look like – what a future could look like for other places.

“People want to have space to connect, to walk, have things to do, cook good food that is locally available and affordable … We can achieve a communal sense of being through sustainability. We just need to be able to envision what that looks like and that’s what politicians are supposed to do – to see where we are going, and to make decisions and set the roots for us to be able to get there. It isn’t about buying votes or a popularity contest or a tug-of-war, it’s supposed to be envisioning a future together. And we trust our politicians to do this for us, which is why we vote for them to make those decisions on our behalf. But that is not happening and it needs to happen.”

Politics is not just for the politicians

As I prepared for this interview with Shefaza, I reflected on my own limited knowledge of politics in Canada. My only formal political education came from grade ten civics class, which I didn’t enjoy and don’t remember much from. In my university studies, I began to learn a bit more about the importance of politics in a more indirect way and I am now just beginning to understand our political system and what it means to me as an individual. When I shared this with Shefaza, she said the following:

“Every decision that a politician makes has an impact, not just on you, but on your family, friends, neighbours – everyone.”

“It’s interesting that you bring up grade ten civics because it is the power of a teacher to either teach you well or turn you off completely, and even if they do teach you well, the system is still very confusing and there’s a chance you may turn it off anyway … But it’s funny because schools have student associations and you vote for someone to be your representative in those, so even though you’re not learning about politics in a structured way, you’re actually taking part in politics in high school and university.”

There are still many people, not only young people, who don’t fully grasp the importance of politics, likely because if our grade ten civics class does not teach us this importance, we have to find these lessons elsewhere, but some people may not find themselves in places where those lessons are taught. So, I asked Shefaza what she would say to someone who doesn’t fully understand why politics is important for them.

“Politics makes the decisions for your everyday life. They decide where money that you are giving as a tax-payer will be spent … From your income, there is a portion of it that goes to the government … It’s important to think ‘where is my money going once I don’t get it?’ First, your money is going to a government body that you are entrusting to spend well. If they end up going on a shopping spree with your money, will you feel good about it? Probably not. Although, it depends what they buy … Every decision that a politician makes has an impact, not just on you, but on your family, friends, neighbours – everyone.”

Eco-anxiety, youth, and politics

Shefaza is passionate about getting young people involved in politics as well as teaching youth the importance of connecting with nature. Having done several partnerships and Earth Day events with the Waterloo and Kitchener public libraries as well as the City of Waterloo Museum, she has been able to connect with several groups of youth in the region to teach them about nature and spark their curiosity.

“It’s really important to get the youth involved and not just the ones who can vote. It’s important for youth to be informed of the values of the people who are representing them or who want to represent them, and see what they stand for and make that informed decision at the polls. It’s time we voted from our hearts.”

Considering the importance of youth getting involved in politics and how youth are being severely impacted by eco-anxiety, I asked Shefaza what she had to say on these topics.

“With climate change, there is a potential for apathy and there is a potential for empathy, but it really depends on whether or not you’re acknowledging how you’re feeling with every piece of news that comes. And that is the first step to understanding what you can actually do about it.”

“When talking about the environmental movement to youth, it’s a bit like learning from them rather than telling them about it because they are living it. We’re seeing news of more natural disasters, fires, droughts – in places there didn’t necessarily used to be. And it’s not just a current effect but will be a future effect. I think the youth are already acutely aware of that. So, I wouldn’t say that there is anything I could tell them about the environmental movement except one thing: really understand how it’s impacting your emotions. In the way we live right now, emotions aren’t talked about as freely as opinions, and opinions are very much based on emotions … With climate change, there is a potential for apathy and there is a potential for empathy, but it really depends on whether or not you’re acknowledging how you’re feeling with every piece of news that comes. And that is the first step to understanding what you can actually do about it.”

One of the courses that Shefaza has taught at UW was on climate change and films. With each film, Shefaza had the students reflect on their feelings and thoughts as they watched. From conducting a research study in tandem with teaching the course, Shefaza learned that the students feel and think a lot about climate change. This experience really reiterated for her the power of a teacher to be able to guide students through their feelings.

“It is important to acknowledge the times that we are making them sad and help them through that, and it is important to acknowledge the times when they are inspired to show them how they can channel that inspiration into action.”

“We need to be able to support them on this journey as they are feeling things related to climate change, especially as we’re teaching them about climate change. It is important to acknowledge the times that we are making them sad and help them through that, and it is important to acknowledge the times when they are inspired to show them how they can channel that inspiration into action … Creating that support network for students is really important as we start talking more about climate change, not just in the Faculty of Environment, but in all Faculties.”

And this is why Shefaza is an eco-hero. Not only is she actively pursuing positive environmental change at the policy level, but she also aims to guide, inspire, and teach youth about environmental change and help them through eco-anxiety. Shefaza has explored environmental solutions in many spaces through the diversity of educational and professional experiences she has accumulated. The political space is her next challenge, which she is approaching with compassion, curiosity, and commitment. I can’t wait to see how she uses this political platform to share her visions for a sustainable and just future, especially around Earth Day. I hope to see many more people like her – people who see unsustainable, inequitable systems that need improvement and feel driven to change them – taking that leap and running for office in the coming years.

Note: Alternatives Journal chose the eco-hero to spotlight. Earth Day Canada is affiliated with the series, but is not a political organization and does not endorse the Green Party in this piece.

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Since our current food system gives us the freedom to go to the grocery store and buy any type of food packaged up on a shelf, the connection between the consumer and where food comes from is often lost and taken for granted. But all of our nourishment comes from the earth and that connection needs to be rekindled. We need to connect ourselves to our food to appreciate how important the Earth is to human existence, just like all other life, and to remember that we are a part of nature. Growing food in our own backyards is one way to foster this connection. People have been gardening for thousands of years, so through growing our own food from the land, we can learn skills that our ancestors have passed down to our generations and connect with history as well.

Cherry tomatoes from my best friend’s garden // Source: Siobhan Mullally

Growing our own food has so many benefits. The health benefits alone are plenty: gardening provides fresh produce, an opportunity to get fresh air and physical activity, and for many individuals, a way to de-stress. Many people have expressed their stress relief through gardening since the act of growing something in the soil takes you to the present moment where you can focus on your own hands planting seeds, weeding, and watering. In our current world, we can get so caught up in our work, our to-do lists, our future worries. With long hours on our computers and our phones always by our sides, it feels like there is no rest from the notifications and all the thoughts that come associated with them. I just finished my undergraduate degree and on my first day of “freedom”, I sat in my room and didn’t know what to do. I had to make a list of “things to do when you don’t know what to do” because my brain was so untrained to accept rest and free time. This is a product of the fast-paced, capitalist world we live in. But last summer, I visited my best friend’s house and helped her garden. When we were digging in the soil, spreading mulch, and watering flowers, there was no space to worry about other things. It was just me and the earth and the present moment. I think gardening can help us reduce our eco-anxiety and whatever other anxieties we feel by giving us this sense of peace.

In addition to growing food, planting native wildflowers is another way to garden that can improve native biodiversity, support pollinator and wildlife communities, and create beautiful, low-maintenance spaces of your yard to enjoy. Planting native vegetation is key to helping create and restore ecosystems for native wildlife.

“By planting vegetables or flowers, we can take those small steps towards sustainability in our own little corner of the world.”

Throughout history, people have planted non-native plants from different areas of the world usually for aesthetic reasons. Many of those non-native plants have since spread, dominated ecosystems, outcompeted important native species, and changed natural areas for the worse. Native plants are so important to support biodiversity and restore natural habitats for other wildlife. In the first article I wrote for A\J, I talked about ecological restoration and how individuals can help restore nature in their own backyard spaces. We all have an impact and we can all make those impacts positive. By planting vegetables or flowers, we can take those small steps towards sustainability in our own little corner of the world.

A mulberry from my mom’s backyard // Source: Siobhan Mullally

Gardening is such a wonderful way to connect to the earth, but it becomes a problem for those of us who do not have any space to do so. If you’re like me and you don’t have your own land to create a garden, there are other ways to plant and create mobile gardens. You can plant vegetables, herbs, or flowers in small pots in your house or apartment, on a balcony or porch, or in window boxes. You can also seek out local community gardens in your neighbourhood and look into renting or sharing a garden space there. There are options to be sustainable for nearly everyone and there continue to be more inclusive options as our communities move in the right direction.

If gardening just isn’t your thing or you can’t make it work for you, that’s okay. We’re all connected to nature and you can feel that just by going outside and appreciating what is around you. It starts with mindfulness. If you go outside, whether you are in your backyard, on a city street, or in a park, you can be intentional about what you focus on. Mindfulness teaches us to be present and aware of our surroundings. Being mindful in nature is paying attention to all the little details of nature around us. A mosaic of pinecones and leaves on your lawn, a fuzzy caterpillar crossing the sidewalk, birds singing to each other, the soft sound of wind blowing through trees, the feel of grass beneath your shoe soles. These details can ground you in nature and allow you to zoom in closer and feel like you are a part of it, not separate from it. It really comes down to establishing and fostering a relationship with nature whether you are planting a wildflower garden, growing tomatoes on your balcony, or taking a walk around your block and paying attention to the world around you.

Observing pollinators on my walk home from school // Source: Siobhan Mullally

“By stepping outside, not only are you getting a good dose of fresh oxygen, serotonin, vitamin D, and maybe a pretty sunset out of it – you’re reconnecting with the earth. The ground you’re walking on. The plants and animals that you coexist with. The little delights that live and thrive and breathe and walk and live all around you. And if we keep connecting with these things, I hope we will feel a little bit more grounded in our own backyards, realizing that we’re part of nature and we can take care of it in the footsteps of people who have done so for many generations. We can get to know the names of the species around us, the bird calls, the texture of the grass outside, the smell of the soil in our gardens. These details are important – they are vital to upholding the connection we have to the Earth. And we will be able to fight for this planet and remedy our eco-anxiety if we keep tending to the relationship we have with nature.” -Siobhan Mullally, “A Being in Nature: How the Mourning Dove’s Call of Inspiration Quieted My Busy Mind”

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