Confused about where trash goes? This workshop feels you
Also: Monarch butterflies have a good year
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This week:
- Confused about where trash goes? This workshop feels you
- The Big Picture: Eastern monarchs launch a comeback
- 12 million more trees to be planted on Tłı̨chǫ lands
Confused about where trash goes? This workshop feels you
Puzzling over pieces of garbage, fashion designer Kendra Francis questions herself.
"Did I do this right?"
She's one of a few participants at this Ecoblitz event, put on at the University of Guelph-Humber in northeast Toronto. Faced with four categories — paper, recycling, waste (landfill) or organics — Francis had to sort the following:
- A lined coffee cup with plastic lid and paper sleeve.
- A crinkly chip bag.
- Some clear plastic food wrappers.
- A plastic spoon.
- A single tea bag wrapper.
- A soiled paper bag that once held a muffin.
Quickly, the doubts go beyond the game in front of her.
"Do I do this right on a daily basis? And I think I do not," acknowledges Francis, "Because that means what I do at home, where I think I'm doing the right thing, is not always the right thing."
(The correct answers depend on the recycling system where you live. In Toronto, the coffee cup lid can be recycled, the sleeve can go into paper, the soiled paper bag can go into organics — and the rest are headed to landfill.)
But the point, according to the event's host, Zamani Ra, isn't to get it right.
"We actually like it when people make mistakes," said Ra, environmental educator and founder of education non-profit CEED Canada. She usually puts these events on for people in low-income housing communities, and says residents there often feel the same nervousness about getting it right. Which is why keeping the mood light is important.
"Once you make the mistake, everybody has a laugh," Ra explained. "And then on the wings of that humour, we course-correct. We let people know where things should go, why they should go there."
Ra, who lives in a low-income community, says this non-judgemental approach — centering joy, as she puts it — can inspire authentic and culturally relevant environmental solutions from within the community. But given the history of being ignored or overlooked when it comes to environmental issues, breaking through is tough.
"A lot of folks, you know, trying to get them to come out to do the workshops, it gets really challenging because of the fact that they're not interested in doing what you're asking because they don't see change," Ra explained recently on an episode of CBC Radio's What on Earth with Laura Lynch.
Leann Sealy-Hinds found the exercise challenged her assumptions about how trash is supposed to be sorted — and acknowledges that for those in low-income communities, the choice for less waste isn't always there.
"Some people do not have that option to buy eco-friendly products," Sealy-Hinds, a third- year kinesiology student, said. "It does always come down to their budget, what they can afford."
But she feels putting in the work — knowing precisely where your waste should go — adds up to personal progress. Ra agrees.
"It's something you could do, It's something you can move," Ra explained at the event. "I think when we start to talk about greenhouse gas emissions or we start to talk about net zero and retrofitting, that is outside the scope of my every day."
— Anand Ram
Old issues of What on Earth? are here. The CBC News climate page is here.
Check out our podcast and radio show. In our newest episode: There's a push to see those responsible for intentional destruction of the environment tried in the International Criminal Court, just like war criminals. Three small island nations have proposed making ecocide a crime like genocide and crimes against humanity. But what would that take — and is there a better way to hold people to account for harming the planet and our climate?With a looming trade war, local fruits and vegetables are attractive. But at what price? Some consumers are suddenly seeing prices skyrocket. Fruit and vegetable farmers are struggling with climate linked extreme weather events. That's wrecking harvests and driving up production costs all over the world. But customers can help.
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Reader Feedback
David Cadogan wrote to us in response to our article about UBC students who are designing tiny, cheap, off-grid homes. He wanted to draw attention to the efforts of Marcel LeBrun, who dreamed up the 12 Neighbours community in Fredericton. As of April 2024, LeBrun and his team has built 96 tiny and affordable homes.
Several readers also responded to Jaela Bernstien's update on U.S. federal scientists who'd been fired following budget cuts and restrictions imposed by President Donald Trump's administration. Sue Evans suggested we invite American scientists to come to Canada.
Write us at [email protected]. (And feel free to send photos, too!)
The Big Picture: Eastern monarchs launch a comeback
Every year, eastern monarch butterflies leave Canada and the United States and head south for the winter — with some travelling almost 5,000 kilometres. Mexican forests provide protection from the wind, rain and cold temperatures, and this past year saw almost twice as many monarchs overwinter as the year before.
According to an annual survey, conducted by WWF-Mexico and Mexico's National Commission of Protected Natural Areas, eastern monarchs occupied 1.8 hectares in central Mexico's forests last year, compared to 0.9 hectares acres during the 2023-24 season. The area they occupy is used as an indicator of overall population health.
Scientists say part of this rise is because 2024 saw less severe drought along the migration routes than previous years. However, the number remains far below the 18.2 hectares44.95 acres recorded in the late 90s. And scientists in the U.S. have been saddened to see a 22 per cent decline in butterfly populations between 2000 and 2020.
— Bridget Stringer-Holden
Hot and bothered: Provocative ideas from around the web
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British Army veteran Merlin Hanbury-Tenison is healing his PTSD by reviving a small fragment of Britain's ancient temperate rainforest in Cornwall, England.
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When Hurricane Helen ripped through Georgia in late September last year, it shut down the power grid just as temperatures climbed to 32 C. Yale Climate Connections has the story of one person who used his EV to run his window air conditioner for three days — and still had enough battery to drive to a charging station.
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In Alaska, fishers, hunters and researchers are noticing that several species of fish and marine animals are changing their migration patterns due to warming water temperatures.
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Scotiabank will start reporting how much financing it directs towards low-carbon energy in comparison to high-emitting sources, in response to pressure from a shareholder advocacy group. It joins the Royal Bank of Canada in reporting this metric, called the energy-supply ratio.
12 million more trees to be planted on Tłı̨chǫ lands
A total of 13 million trees are now expected to be planted on Tłı̨chǫ lands in the Northwest Territories in the coming years following a joint investment of $53 million from the federal and Tłı̨chǫ governments.
The Tłı̨chǫ government signed an agreement with Tree Canada and Let's Plant Trees in 2023 to plant one million trees over the course of three years around Behchokǫ̀, with half the money flowing from the federal government and the other half being raised through sponsorships.
Work has already been underway since last year to harvest seeds from local tree species and to grow them in nurseries in the South.
On March 7, the Tłı̨chǫ and federal governments announced a new deal to plant another 12 million on Tłı̨chǫ lands over the next seven years from locally harvested seeds. This time, Canada's 2 Billion Trees program is putting nearly $45 million into the project while the Tłı̨chǫ government is pitching in more than $8 million.
The money will also be used to build greenhouses for a tree nursery, incorporate cultural values into the project, and to provide training for long-term restoration activities, according to a news release from Natural Resources Canada.
The goal of the project is to restore ecosystems, create jobs and bring back boreal caribou habitat. The release said it's also expected to have other long-term benefits like reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing resilience to climate change and providing protection from future wildfires.
"The Tłı̨chǫ government is pleased to take a leadership role to foster the healing of the land after devastating wildfires," said Tłı̨chǫ Grand Chief Jackson Lafferty in the release. "Together, we will work to counter climate change through the reforestation of vital wildlife habitat and support training and employment opportunities for those in our communities."
Jonathan Wilkinson, Canada's minister of energy and natural resources, said in a statement that the funding will play an important role bringing benefits to the Tłı̨chǫ territory, and help the federal government's goal of planting two billion trees over the next decade.
"Through this project, we are showing how collaborative work with First Nations can ensure that the right tree is planted at the right place at the right time for the benefit of all Canadians," he said.
— Liny Lamberink
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Editors: Emily Chung and Hannah Hoag | Logo design: Sködt McNalty
