Terra Informa

In this archive episode, we bring you some reading inspiration while we're on our break! This episode originally aired on February 13, 2017. 

It's the first week of our fall break! While we prepare new episodes, take a listen to this archive episode from September 2019 about Canadian youth and the climate crisis.

Download program log here. 

This week on Terra Informa, Charlotte Thomasson and guests talk trees.
On both an individual and collective level, the protection of these leafy giants has always been important, and the urgency to protect these ancient species only grows with the increasing threats of climate change, wildfire, industry, and development. Indigenous land-defenders have long led the effort to protect endangered old-growth trees on a large scale. But as we’ll hear today, you can be called to speak up for the trees right in your own backyard. We'll hear from Kelci Mohr, environmental advocate and resident of Nelson, British Columbia, as well as Terra Informer Dylan Hall and Troy Sebastian, a contractor for the Ktunaxa Nation.

Download the program log here. 

This week, Terra Informers Elizabeth Dowdell, Sonak Patel, Hannah Cunningham, and Curtis Blandy are covering some recent positive news stories that will leave you feeling optimistic during this challenging time. Tune in to hear about the WindCharger energy storage project; the growth of renewable energy in remote communities; the public outcry and campaigns for Alberta parks protection; and pekiwewin camp, a solidarity relief and prayer camp against police violence here in amiskwaciy.

Donate to pekiwewin camp at [email protected] with note "pekiwewin", and support the camp on Instagram @pekiwewin and Twitter @pekiwewinyeg

Add your name to the Alberta NDP's "Don't Go Breaking My Parks" campaign, and learn more about parks protection from the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

Download the program log here. 

Download the program log here. Here are links to Ashley's article on lichen cover and the article discussed in the piece on being a person of colour in ecology. Production of CJSR 88.5FM in Amiskwaciy. 

This week on Terra Informa, Sonak Patel and Skylar Lipman, joined by Morrigan Simpson-Marran from the Pembina Institute and Daniel Schiffner from the University of Alberta, discuss orphan wells in Alberta.

The evidence of oil and gas development on Alberta's landscape appears in various forms across the province. Much of oil and gas extraction requires drilling a well into the ground to reach subterranean fossil fuels. Under provincial regulations, these wells are supposed to be reclaimed once they reach the end of their productive lifespan. But in some cases, reclamation doesn't happen, leaving a substantial number of wells dotted across the Albertan landscape.
How many orphaned wells are there in Alberta? How does a well become 'orphaned', and why are they a problem? We find out the answers to these questions in this week's episode.

Download program log here.

As we continue to stay home to protect ourselves and others, the natural world carries on without us. Human intervention in our environment often comes with damaging consequences, and today we're taking some time to learn about the history of the regions that are special to us and turning a critical eye on efforts to "protect" these spaces, efforts with a colonial history and present. Listen to our very own Terra Informers Elizabeth Dowdell, Curt Blandy, Andy Silva, and Daniel Pietraszewski as they share some personal stories about natural places and species that are significant to them. You'll hear about the history of the Sturgeon River region and how the ecosystem has been transformed by industry and development, the Milk River and a visit to Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, and one journey from connoisseur of online otter content, to advocate for Alberta's own River Otter.

Sara Cannon - Decolonizing Conservation: A Reading List
Indigenous Circle of Experts Resources
The Indigenous Guardians Toolkit

Download program log here 

It's time for the Terra Informa monthly news roundup. This week, Terra Informers Hannah Cunningham, Curtis Blandy, Sonak Patel, and Andrea Miller are bringing you in-depth coverage of four energy-themed headlines.

Two stories that we're watching closely are headlines we first introduced during our June news roundup. The Government of Alberta's Critical Infrastructure Defence Act, or Bill 1, was dealt a constitutional challenge by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, and the Alberta Energy Regulator resumes environmental monitoring in Alberta's oilpatch.

We are also bringing you coverage of the Grassy Mountain coal project public hearing announcement, and some pipeline news, including the ordered shutdown of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) and updates on Keystone XL and the Trans Mountain Pipeline.

Download the program log here

★ Support this podcast by donating ★

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.

Download program log here.