Four Hopeful Approaches To Tackling The Climate Crisis
Meet The Métis Woman Using Fire To Fight Fire
Dr. Amy Cardinal Christianson grew up close to wildfires in Northern Alberta. While her family was always involved in firefighting efforts, before colonization, her ancestors “put fire on the ground” in early spring or late fall, when it was cool and damp—safe conditions for burning. Good fire, or “the kind of fire you can walk beside,” as one Elder recently described it to her, cleanses the earth of dead trees, branches and bushes and regenerates the growth of berries, medicinal plants and grass for moose and deer. It prevents large-scale wildfires by removing “fuel loads,” a.k.a. the dead trees, dry grass and other materials that contribute to out-of-control wildfires. Read more about how Christianson is working to support reclaiming the practice of cultural burning.
Inspired? Four more ways to take action on the climate crisis
Climate change is such a huge problem that it can be intimidating to confront. But there are many small-but-mighty ways to make a real difference.
1. Get informed
The Narwhal—led in Ontario by former Chatelaine editor Denise Balkissoon—is a non-profit environmental news outlet. Coverage includes stories on the (since reversed!) decision to parcel out Ontario Greenbelt land to developers, Indigenous-led conservation in B.C. and efforts to bring salmon back to the Squamish River.
2. Get involved
Think about what you love and what matters to you, and go from there. Love riding your bike? Sign up for a local group advocating for safer cycling. Birds? Trees? You get it! Here are some starting places: For Our Kids is led by parents and breaks actions into things you can do at home (how to approach local elected officials), at your kids’ school (promoting biking or walking to school), with your bank (driving awareness of how Canada’s big banks invest in fossil fuels), and online. Grand(m)others Act To Save The Planet (GASP) empowers seniors to fight climate change. Indigenous Climate Action was founded nearly a decade ago in Alberta by Indigenous women; their programs include finding and training Indigenous leaders to take climate action.
3. Donate
Even a small amount can help, and there are lots of places doing great work! Ecojustice is Canada’s largest environmental law charity. WWF works to conserve nature. IISAAK Olam is an Indigenous conservation organization. David Suzuki Foundation works on climate solutions and supporting nature and sustainable communities.
4. Write
Write to politicians, companies, your employer—and anyone who will listen, really. One thoughtful email from a passionate person really can make a difference. And it doesn’t have to be directly to the prime minister: local politics or even your school council are full of ways to make your voice heard. (Apparently electrifying school buses—which are mostly diesel right now—would make a huge difference!?)
This B.C. Professor Is Tackling Climate Change One Tree At A Time
Ask anyone who spent the summer in British Columbia in 2021 and they’ll tell you a story of an oppressive heat that weighed on them like a fiery blanket. A heat dome killed 619 people that summer, exposing the ways urban infrastructure in the generally temperate province is not prepared for such extreme heat. Now, in the aftermath of the deadliest weather event on record in Canada, researchers and urban planners alike are searching for solutions. Read more about how Caterina Valeo, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Victoria, is one of those researchers—and she’s turning to trees for an answer.
This Canadian Couple Couldn’t Stop Floods. They Learned To Live With Them Instead
That April, New Brunswick saw rapid snowmelt coupled with record rainfall and above-average temperatures. It was one of the worst spring floods in the province’s history. Some residents evacuated communities in the river valley as water levels rose and began to flood streets and basements, even lifting a few homes off their foundations in nearby Grand Lake. One afternoon, Bruce was sleeping after working all night to keep the water out when Marian saw the water in front of their house rising quickly. “I woke him up and said, ‘We have to go now,’” she says. “We grabbed our belongings, including our wills, and then the water inundated the house.” Read more about how Marian and Bruce Langhus developed the “water in, water out” method to manage increasing floods at their New Brunswick bed and breakfast.
How Alex Wilson Is Using Land-Based Knowledge To Fight Climate Change
When Alex Wilson was a child, their parents and grandparents instilled in them the importance of learning about different relationships to the land—including the plants and animals—they were growing up on. Land-based education, they explain, centres Indigenous knowledge—as opposed to just taking European-based learning and moving it outdoors. Read more about Dr. Alex Wilson, who is from Opaskwayak Cree Nation in Northern Manitoba, and their career in land-based education.