Restoring maple forests for species, climate and, yum, maple syrup!
WWF
by WWF
11h ago
The weather is warming, and sugar shack season is in full swing in Quebec as well as Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. But this storied and sweet tradition — and the maple forests that make it possible — are under threat. Sugar shack in a maple forest, in Southern Quebec. © Steve Hamel Decades of transforming diverse maple forests into monocultures — where 95 per cent of the forest is the same tree species, the sugar (or red) maple — to maximize short-term maple-syrup production has degraded these ecosystems. And the effects of climate change have only made matters worse. Maple forests ..read more
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Grow with the flow: How planting helps mitigate floods in the Wolastoq watershed
WWF
by Lorayne Roque
6d ago
As one of the first colonial settlements in Canada, New Brunswick has had a long history of environmental degradation with ever-worsening floods caused by deforestation, resource extraction and other human activities. This has pushed the region’s ecosystems into disrepair and nearly 50 wildlife species to the brink of extinction.   Home to the Wolastoqiyik people since time immemorial, the Wolastoq (Saint John River) watershed is heavily burdened by these human-caused stressors even as people and wildlife alike still depend heavily on its 700-kilometre stretch of riverbends and bank ..read more
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How restoring rivers helps fight climate change
WWF
by WWF
1w ago
If you want to see the restorative power of nature, look no further than the banks of the Kennebecasis River. The waterway and its tributaries — which wind through southeast New Brunswick’s agricultural heartland — once ran clear and cool enough to suit schools of sturgeon, salmon, and trout. Then things changed. Aerial view of the Kennebecasis River © Tyler Burr A mix of human activity, global warming and climate-fuelled extreme weather thinned out the native trees and shrubs on river’s edges, pushed more sediment into the streams, and raised overall water temperatures. Not good for at-risk ..read more
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How you can be part of the Biggest Hour for Earth
WWF
by WWF Canada
1w ago
Something special is about to happen at 8:30 p.m. local time this Saturday, March 23, as people in over 190 countries and territories unite to create the Biggest Hour for Earth — and you can be part of it! Earth Hour, organized by WWF since 2007, is an annual moment that brings the world together, shines a spotlight on nature loss and the climate crisis, and inspires millions to act and advocate for urgent change. Last year, participants around the world gave more than 410,000 hours (!) for our shared home. Earth Hour 2023 event in Bulgaria ©WWF-Bulgaria This year, we’re once again calling on ..read more
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How businesses can lead in the battle against biodiversity loss
WWF
by WWF
3w ago
What role does the business community play in addressing the growing biodiversity crisis? It’s a question being asked more and more in boardrooms across Canada, as companies come to grips with how much they affect — as well as rely on — nature. Now there’s help. Earlier this month, WWF-Canada and Aviva Canada launched Business and Biodiversity: Your Company’s Path Towards Nature Positivity, a new action plan for corporate Canada. We sat down with Kathrin Majic, WWF-Canada’s Senior VP of Development, to discuss how businesses can use it, and why it matters. Kathrin Majic, WWF-Canada’s SVP Deve ..read more
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Creatures of the cold: How do Canadian wildlife thrive during winter?
WWF
by Erin Saunders
3w ago
All through the Canadian winter, wildlife survive — and even thrive — in cold temperatures, burrowing under cover of snow, traversing frozen tundra or foraging in the frigid forest. While we humans have to huddle indoors, bundle up or light a fire, these species have adapted to navigate harsh winter conditions.   So how do they pull that off?   Black-capped chickadee in snow at Pinery Provincial Park, Ont. © Brenda Fee Adaptation is a trait, often passed down through generations, that helps an animal or plant live in its environment. Unlike acclimatization, which also helps species ..read more
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Too fast, too filthy: Ship speeds and waste making Great Bear Sea a hostile habitat for at-risk whales
WWF
by Erin Saunders
3w ago
Between an almost-complete liquid natural gas (LNG) terminal in Kitimat, B.C., expansion projects underway in the already-busy Port of Prince Rupert, massive commercial vessels moving global goods, and popular passenger cruise routes running the length of the scenic Inside Passage, whales in the increasingly crowded and polluted Great Bear Sea are facing a growing number of risks.  © Andrew S. Wright / WWF-Canada This is why a new WWF-Canada analysis is mapping just how high risk some whale and other cetacean habitat in this area, also known as the Northern Shelf Bioregion, is becoming ..read more
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Field Notes: Following polar bear footprints
WWF
by WWF
1M ago
Last year, Melanie Lancaster, WWF Global Arctic Programme species expert, and Micaela Hellström, founder of MIX Research, embarked on an expedition near Svalbard high in the Arctic. They joined researchers from Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) in search of polar bears. Lancaster and Hellström’s expedition’s goal was to collect environmental DNA (eDNA) from polar bears to help us understand polar bear populations. Read on to see what they did and what they learned. © Melanie Lancaster / WWF Global Arctic Programme   Melanie Lancaster Here we are in the Arctic! Not long ago, Micaela an ..read more
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How I became an ecologist
WWF
by Aranya Iyer
1M ago
In many ways, it was inevitable that I would become an ecologist. With a father who spouts off scientific names of birds at the dinner table and a mother who is a statistics wizard, what else could a tree-hugging data nerd be? A career for the daughter of a grassland specialist and a data scientist had to include equal parts nature and numbers. Aranya banding a cedar waxwing in Oregon, U.S. during the 2017 field season © Aranya Iyer Growing up in this household, I was taught to revere and respect nature for all the gifts that she ceaselessly and thanklessly gives us. From simple habits such a ..read more
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Increasing ship traffic means a noisier Arctic Ocean
WWF
by WWF
1M ago
By Jennifer Brandon Close your eyes and picture yourself in the middle of a quiet, calm meadow full of flowers. Then imagine you have suddenly been transported to the centre of a thumping, deafening, crowded rock concert. Which one seems like an easier place to have an important conversation with friends, to call out to someone far away, or even to hear yourself think? It’s a rhetorical question, of course. But a similarly upsetting change is going on right now in Arctic waters. Female narwhal in the Canadian Arctic. © naturepl.com / Doug Allan / WWF Thanks to its landscapes of sound-absorbin ..read more
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