A large wildfire burns through the Grasslands National Park
A large wildfire swept through the Grasslands National Park at the end of April this year. The fire started in agricultural fields outside of the park and was carried into the park by a strong wind gusting up to 80 kilometres per hour. A large area of the park was affected – the fire travelled approximately 20 kilometres along the Frenchman River Valley and burned an area between one to four kilometres wide. About 200 people fought to contain the flames and by the next afternoon the fire was extinguished and under control. See an article about the wildfire published on CBC News. I...
Read MoreMichelle’s Prize – award for conservation work
I am honoured to announce that I have been awarded the Michelle’s Prize by the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA). This scholarship is awarded through the University of Saskatchewan to a student pursuing graduate degree at the School of Environment and Sustainability or in the Juris Doctor program at the College of Law. The Michelle’s Prize scholarship was established to mark CELA’s 40th anniversary of legal, community and social activism directed towards protecting our environment, and to honour the life work of Michelle Swenarchuk, lawyer, environmental activist and former...
Read MoreA vision for the future of PFRA community pastures
Earlier this year I wrote a post about the largest land transfer in to occur in the recent Canadian history, affecting management of 9,290 square kilometres of native prairie (see the article titled “What is the future for PFRA community pastures?”). In a nutshell, the Canadian government decided that it does not want to look after some of the largest un-fragmented tracts of grasslands found anywhere in the world, and told the three prairie provinces that they can do whatever they want with the land that used to be under the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (rather...
Read MoreWhat is the future for PFRA community pastures?
For over 75 years, the Canadian government has managed a large swath of community pastures across the Canadian Prairies, comprising of 929,000 hectares (2.3 million acres) of some of the largest unfragmented tracts of grasslands found anywhere in the world. If grasslands included in the Community Pasture Program (CPP) were a country, they would rank 168th in size – slightly larger than the Republic of Cyprus and right behind Lebanon. Or in the Canadian context, the PFRA community pastures cover the area that is 1.6 times the size of Prince Edward Island. The federal...
Read MoreCanada’s Coolest School Trip contest
Tris post does not have too much to do with photography. I am presenting it here to promote a worth-while cause. Parks Canada is running a contest to promote awareness of our national parks. If you are a parent with a grade 8 student, please read the notice below and encourage your kid(s) to think about visiting one in the near future. Are you or do you know a grade 8 / secondary 2 student or teacher? If so, did you know that all grade 8 / secondary 2 classes in Canada are eligible to win Canada’s Coolest School Trip, an all-expense paid trip to Parks Canada places and...
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