"Nature Needs Half" - That's the amount of land needing protection globally by 2030 in order to stop the sixth mass extinction and protect the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people. 

The UCP Alberta Government are changing the protection status of 175 parks throughout the Province, and this puts us well below the meagre 2020 promise of protecting 17% of land in Alberta. International organizations including, Conservation International and Scientific American have also sounded the alarms, noting that this is one of the largest ever examples of land protection being removed, which equals 37% of Alberta's parks. 

Why is Minister Jason Nixon moving ahead with this plan, despite 7 out of 10 Albertans opposing it? We'll never really know the answer, but the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) has taken up the fight to Defend Alberta Parks. 

In this episode of Outside the House, CPAWS Northern Alberta Program Director, Tara Russell, tells us why parks are so important to not only the planet but also to our overall wellbeing and values. Learn more about the Defend Alberta Parks campaign, and how you can get involved here. 

Thank you for listening!