What On EARTH Can We Do?

When rain or melting snow disappears into a storm drain, its journey is only beginning.

In this episode, WOECWD host Bri speaks with Craig Bonneville, Group Vice President of Planning, Projects and Engineering at EPCOR, about how Edmonton manages stormwater, prepares for heavy rainfall and reduces flood risk. They explore the infrastructure and planning behind the system, the environmental importance of managing runoff, and practical ways residents can help protect their homes and neighbourhoods.

About our guest

Craig currently serves as the Group Vice President of Planning, Projects and Engineering at EPCOR. Currently registered as a professional engineer in Alberta, Craig earned an MSc. in environmental engineering in 2000 and a BSc in civil engineering in 1998, both from the University of Alberta.

Episode Resources

Learn about stormwater management

• Edmonton’s Storm Sewer System
• Low-Impact Development - Explore how green infrastructure can slow stormwater and help improve water quality before it reaches the North Saskatchewan River.

Protect your property from flooding

• Flood Prevention at Home - Find information and practical guidance to help reduce flood risks around your property.
• Free Flood Prevention Home Inspection - Edmonton homeowners can book a free inspection to identify drainage concerns and potential improvements.
• RainWise Rebate Program - Learn about rebates available for eligible projects such as rain barrels, rain gardens, absorbent landscaping and permeable pavement.
• Backwater Valve Subsidy - Review eligibility requirements for financial assistance toward installing a backwater valve.

About the Podcast

What On EARTH Can We Do? is a seasonal podcast from the Alberta Emerald Foundation, hosted by Programs and Communications Manager Bri Huot-Boer.

Through accessible conversations and real-world examples, each season explores an environmental topic affecting Alberta and shares the people, knowledge and solutions helping create a more sustainable and resilient future.

Learn more about the AEF

This season of What On EARTH Can We Do? is made possible with support from EPCOR. It is also supported in part by the Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Oil Sands Alliance, the City of Edmonton, and the City of Calgary.

The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation.

From river to tap—and back again—water moves through complex systems most of us rarely see.

In this episode, Bri sits down with Trina Manning, Director of EPCOR’s Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant, to follow Edmonton’s water journey from the North Saskatchewan River to our taps and eventually back to the river.

Together, they explore drinking-water treatment and testing, distribution, wastewater treatment, water reuse, and the people and infrastructure working around the clock to make it all happen. The conversation also shares simple ways households can help protect this essential system.

About our guest

Trina began her career with EPCOR in 2001 and has held a variety of roles over the years, including 13 years in project management. Prior to stepping into her current role, she served as the Senior Manager of Operations at Gold Bar, leading to a deep familiarity with the plant and its operations.

Episode Resources

• How Water Gets to Your Home—And Back to the River (a visual!)
• More about Edmonton’s water treatment process
• Take the self-guided walking tour of Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant
• Explore EPCOR’s publicly available drinking-water and wastewater quality reports.
• Find out what belongs in the garbage instead of the toilet—and how proper disposal helps protect home plumbing and the wastewater system.

About the Podcast

What On EARTH Can We Do? is a seasonal podcast from the Alberta Emerald Foundation, hosted by Programs and Communications Manager Bri Huot-Boer.

Through accessible conversations and real-world examples, each season explores an environmental topic affecting Alberta and shares the people, knowledge and solutions helping create a more sustainable and resilient future.

Learn more about the AEF

This season of What On EARTH Can We Do? is made possible with support from EPCOR. It is also supported in part by the Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, the City of Edmonton, and the City of Calgary.

The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation.

Before water reaches a treatment plant or household tap, it has already travelled through a much larger natural system.

In the premiere of What On EARTH Can We Do? Season 8, Dr. Evan Davies helps us trace Alberta’s water back to its source. Explore how precipitation, snowpack, rivers, lakes and groundwater contribute to the province’s water supply, why where we live affects where our water comes from, and how the health of our watersheds connects us to communities far beyond our own.

About our guest

Dr. Evan Davies is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada. His research focuses on water resources planning and management, and in particular on numerical simulation of the impacts of alternative management policies on water resources at scales from local to global.

Episode Resources

• Discover which watershed you live in
• Explore current river conditions near you

About the Podcast

What On EARTH Can We Do? is a seasonal podcast from the Alberta Emerald Foundation, hosted by Programs and Communications Manager Bri Huot-Boer.

Through accessible conversations and real-world examples, each season explores an environmental topic affecting Alberta and shares the people, knowledge and solutions helping create a more sustainable and resilient future.

Learn more about the AEF

This season of What On EARTH Can We Do? is made possible with support from EPCOR. It is also supported in part by the Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, the City of Edmonton, and the City of Calgary.

The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation.

This season, we’ve talked about rescuing surplus food, redistributing it to communities, and even turning it into clean energy. But what about the scraps, spoiled produce, bones, peels, and leftovers that can’t be saved?

In this episode, Bri sits down with Brian Wonnacott, superintendent at AltRoot, a composting facility in Westlock that transforms organic waste into a valuable resource for local farms. Brian breaks down how industrial composting works, why microbes are the real stars of the show, and how composting helps reduce methane emissions, support regenerative agriculture, and build a truly circular local economy.

Resources

• AltRoot’s End-to-End Tracability tool
• How to compost at home

About the Podcast

The What On EARTH Can We Do? podcast is a program of the Alberta Emerald Foundation (AEF), a registered charity dedicated to accelerating environmental excellence across Alberta.

Learn more about the AEF

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Capital Power, Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Pathways Alliance, City of Edmonton, TD Friends of the Environment, and City of Calgary

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation. As a non-partisan organization, we are committed to presenting diverse perspectives on environmental issues.

What if every community could rescue its food waste — and feed its neighbours at the same time?

In Lacombe, Alberta, Echo Food Rescue is proving it’s possible. Since 2020, this volunteer-driven program has saved nearly one million pounds of food from the landfill, redirecting it to farms and families across their community.

In this episode, we sit down with Christina Sturgeon, program coordinator at Echo Food Rescue, to talk about how the initiative began, what it takes to keep it running, and the powerful role community collaboration plays in fighting food waste. 

Learn more about Echo Food Rescue: https://www.echofoodrescue.com/

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The What On EARTH Can We Do? podcast is a program of the Alberta Emerald Foundation (AEF), a registered charity dedicated to accelerating environmental excellence across Alberta.

Learn more about the AEF

Thank You to Our Sponsors:

Capital Power, Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Pathways Alliance, City of Edmonton, TD Friends of the Environment, and City of Calgary

Disclaimer: 

The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation. As a non-partisan organization, we are committed to presenting diverse perspectives on environmental issues.

Food waste isn’t just an environmental issue; it’s an economic one. In this episode, we sit down with Esther Cohn from Flash Food, a Canadian-founded tech company that rescues groceries destined for landfill and offers them to shoppers at a discount.

Discover how Flash Food is making sustainable shopping simple, saving families money, helping grocers cut waste, and preventing over 150 million pounds of food from ending up in landfills. We’ll talk about how the idea came to life, how the app works, and why making sustainability affordable might be the key to lasting change.

Listen to learn:

• How Flash Food connects shoppers with discounted groceries nearing their best-before date
• The environmental and economic impact of rescuing food waste
• Why accessibility and affordability are essential to sustainability
• How changing our mindset about “waste” can help us all make a difference

Download the Flash Food app and start saving money and food today

https://flashfood.com/?showgettheapp=true

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The What On EARTH Can We Do? podcast is a program of the Alberta Emerald Foundation (AEF), a registered charity dedicated to accelerating environmental excellence across Alberta.

Learn more about the AEF

Thank You to Our Sponsors:

Capital Power, Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Pathways Alliance, City of Edmonton, TD Friends of the Environment, and City of Calgary

Disclaimer: 

The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation. As a non-partisan organization, we are committed to presenting diverse perspectives on environmental issues.

By transforming leftover food into low-emission energy, Eco Growth Environmental is helping businesses heat water, power equipment, and cut food waste in landfills — all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In this episode, we explore how their made-in-Alberta technology works, the impact it’s having, and where it could take us next.

What’s in this episode:

• 03:36 - How Eco Growth Environmental’s system transforms food waste into a usable energy source
• 07:57 - Why methane reduction is critical to achieving net-zero goals
• 10:27 - The environmental and economic benefits of waste-to-energy technology
• 15:56 - How this innovation is reaching remote communities in the Arctic and beyond

Resources:

• Learn more about Eco-Growth Environmental
• Get a firsthand look at how their technology works

The What On EARTH Can We Do? podcast is a program of the Alberta Emerald Foundation (AEF), a registered charity dedicated to accelerating environmental excellence across Alberta.

Learn more about the AEF

Thank You to Our Sponsors:

Capital Power, Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Pathways Alliance, City of Edmonton, TD Friends of the Environment, and City of Calgary

Disclaimer: 

The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation. As a non-partisan organization, we are committed to presenting diverse perspectives on environmental issues.

When we talk about food waste, most of us picture what ends up in our own kitchen bins — but there’s a whole other side to the story. Across Alberta, small businesses like cafés, restaurants, and grocery stores face big challenges when it comes to keeping food out of the landfill.

In this episode, Bri speaks with Maggie Bain, Project Manager of the ICI Food Waste Diversion Initiative at the Circular Innovation Council, about a pilot program in Strathcona County and Westlock that’s helping small businesses keep food out of landfills.

Together, they unpack how the project worked, what made it successful, and the impact it’s already having — from reducing methane emissions to inspiring long-term change in local communities.

Listen to learn:

• Why it’s so hard (and costly) for small businesses to divert food waste
• How collaboration between local governments, haulers, and processors made it possible
• The impressive results — including nearly 90,000 kg of organics diverted
• What this means for Alberta’s circular economy and the future of food waste solutions

Learn more about The Circular Innovation Council’s Commercial Waste Diversion Pilot

The What On EARTH Can We Do? podcast is a program of the Alberta Emerald Foundation (AEF), a registered charity dedicated to accelerating environmental excellence across Alberta.

Learn more about the AEF

Thank You to Our Sponsors:

Capital Power, Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Pathways Alliance, City of Edmonton, TD Friends of the Environment, and City of Calgary

Disclaimer: 

The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation. As a non-partisan organization, we are committed to presenting diverse perspectives on environmental issues.

The impact of food waste goes far beyond what ends up in our green bins or landfills. It affects our climate, our wallets, and our communities from wasted water and emissions to economic loss.

In part two of our conversation with Dr. Kate Parizeau, we are talking about why food waste matters and what can actually be done about it - from policy and infrastructure changes to simple actions we can all take at home.

Resources:

• Second Harvest and Value Chain Management International report - The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste
• Food insecurity among Canadian families (StatsCan)
• The Seed (Guelph, ON)
• Echo Food Rescue (Lacombe, AB)
• Circular Innovation Council

The What On EARTH Can We Do? podcast is a program of the Alberta Emerald Foundation (AEF), a registered charity dedicated to accelerating environmental excellence across Alberta.

Learn more about the AEF

Thank You to Our Sponsors:

Capital Power, Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Pathways Alliance, City of Edmonton, TD Friends of the Environment, and City of Calgary

Disclaimer: 

The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation. As a non-partisan organization, we are committed to presenting diverse perspectives on environmental issues.

Food waste is everywhere, from farms to our own kitchens, but what does it actually mean, and why is it so hard to track?

In the first episode of Season 7, host Bri Huot-Boer speaks with Dr. Kate Parizeau from the University of Guelph to unpack the basics: what food waste is, where it happens, and why Canada is still struggling to measure it. This conversation sets the stage for our season-long focus on food waste and the solutions that can make a difference!

Resources:

• Second Harvest
• The Avoidable Crisis of Food Waste (2024)
• National Zero Waste Council
• Circular Innovation Council

The What On EARTH Can We Do? podcast is a program of the Alberta Emerald Foundation (AEF), a registered charity dedicated to accelerating environmental excellence across Alberta.

Learn more about the AEF

Thank You to Our Sponsors:

Capital Power, Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Pathways Alliance, City of Edmonton, TD Friends of the Environment, and City of Calgary

Disclaimer: 

The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation. As a non-partisan organization, we are committed to presenting diverse perspectives on environmental issues.