#57-Wilderness Food Foraging with Kelly Harlton

#57-Wilderness Food Foraging with Kelly Harlton

We buy so much of our food. As a result, we have next to no connection to what we put into our bodies. Where did it come from, how was it growing, what was next to it, what was the weather like, what did we have to go through to get it. The forest is a natural grocery store. We can forage leafy greens, berries, mushrooms, root vegetables, eat meat that we harvested ourselves and we know exactly where it all came from. There is now a story that goes with that food that makes you more connected to the landscape and more appreciative of the calories that will become your own body. Kelly came on to discuss all sorts of things we can forage from our forests.

Best two books for foraging food in western Canada according to Kelly:

  • Plants of the Western Boreal Forest & Aspen parkland by Johnson, Kershaw, MacKinnon and Pojar

  • Mushrooms of Western Canada by Helen M.E. Schwalkijk-Barendsen

#56-Ecological Engineers with Bill Abercrombie

#56-Ecological Engineers with Bill Abercrombie

Only a select few species have the ability to manipulate their environment to make a suitable home. Humans are one such species, beavers are another. They are ecological engineers, meaning they build and create habitat for many species. They are a keystone species that creates unique opportunities for biodiversity on the landscape. They also tend to consume all the resources in an area until they are forced to move on, again, kinda like people. Not only are they ecologically important, but they are responsible for North America’s original economic prosperity. Beaver fur was one of the reasons for the expansion westward across North America. We owe this little creature a great deal, from habitat creation to our original economy. Bill Abercrombie came on to discuss the full range of their importance.

#55-Birds with Patti Campsall and Richard Krikun

#55-Birds with Patti Campsall and Richard Krikun

Imagine traveling from Canada to Argentina every year, and back again. Sounds kinda nice actually, only you need to travel using only the tools nature gave you. Even with wings this is a tremendous task. Wildlife biologist, Richard Krikun and the Executive Director of the Boreal Center for Bird Conservation (BCBC), Patti Campsall joined me to discuss the creatures that make that journey. We discussed the tool kit used to capture population numbers and the science behind it. How far do they travel, how long do they live, where do they live, how do we measure them, how do we catch them, how can we better manage the forest to maximize bird habitat, and much more.

http://www.lslbo.org/

#54-Dedicated To The Fireline with Michelle Wigmore

#54-Dedicated To The Fireline with Michelle Wigmore

When it comes to a career path, a lot of people, including myself, spend their lives following societal norms. We want more money, more prestige, more whatever. Michelle is in love with wildfire fighting, and she knows it. After a full career in wildfire management, she recognized that she was happier and more fulfilled when she was back on the front lines, where she had started her career. Now, she leads a 20 person unit crew stomping out flames all season long. The grit and adrenaline of the line just kept on calling her home. We discussed her career path, resistance, leadership techniques, building a cohesive team you can trust, and much more. This episode is not strictly based on environmental sciences, but it is relevant nonetheless.

#53-Bowhunting with Brent Watson

#53-Bowhunting with Brent Watson

There is no better way to connect with nature than to immerse oneself completely into the wilderness and unplug from the hustle of modern society. Arguably, one of the best ways to accomplish complete immersion is to take up bowhunting. Some of you may scoff at the notion of needing to kill something to connect, however, what other activity forces you to endure all that nature has to offer for days or even weeks on end while hiding one's existence from all other living creatures. Remaining completely still and quite for entire days, through the cold and wet with nothing but your thoughts and the wild to keep you company. Hunting allows you the opportunity to notice things about nature that go unnoticed by most everyone else. Brent Watson is a lifelong hunter and the President of the Alberta Bowhunters Association. He came on to discuss the importance of hunting in his life and to society, as well as the emotions that come with the experience.

#52-Fish At Risk with Mike Rodtka

#52-Fish At Risk with Mike Rodtka

Arctic Grayling and Bull Trout are two species of fish that are of special concern in Alberta. Both have had tough times recently due to human impacts on their environment. Poor water crossings, over fishing, climate change, and sedimentation has all had a degrading cumulative impact on population numbers. Both fish are native to the waters and can be conserved if proper steps are taken. Luckily, groups like the Alberta Conservation Association have people like Mike Rodtka, the fish loving angler and researcher, to take up the cause and help ensure this resource is on the landscape for future generations to enjoy. We had a great conversation around these beautiful fish. We discussed habitat, life cycle, how fun they are to catch, factors affecting population decline, societal values and a great deal more.

#51-Learning From The Landscape with Robert Bott

#51-Learning From The Landscape with Robert Bott

In the past, forest management was done with mainly wood fiber in mind. Today we practice a much richer and dynamic approach to forest management. By taking into consideration all forest values we can achieve a more harmonious and truly sustainable system. Values such as soil and water quality, wildlife habitat and conservation, wood fiber and socio-economic impacts all play a role in the decision matrix that is sustainable forest management. In the book “Learning From The Landscape” Robert Bott and Robert Udell have described the making of such a system of management. The book describes the establishment of “model” forests in which we today design our forest management plans. These forests where meant to be a place where research could take place in order to inform best practices. Robert Bott and myself discussed the book and its many topics.

#50-Fire In The Eucalypts with Harold Larson and Jordan Sykes

#50-Fire In The Eucalypts with Harold Larson and Jordan Sykes

February 7, 2009 is known in Australia as Black Saturday. Close to 400 wildfires started that day, 173 people died and many homes and communities were lost. Preceding these fires was an unprecedented 8 year drought that created one of the most volatile and dangerous wildfire situations on record. Harold Larson is a Canadian wildland firefighter that was working his first summer in Australia when the fires happened. In his book “Fire In The Eucalypts” he describes everything from his arrival, training, fire fighting techniques and tactics, the climatic situation, the relationships he built, and his narrow escape from death on Black Saturday. We discussed his book and how we might learn from those fires.

#49-Permaculture with Kurtis Ewanchuck

#49-Permaculture with Kurtis Ewanchuck

We all live in a world with finite resources. With a growing population, we need to start being more resourceful and efficient. There is strain on both the agricultural and energy systems to keep up with demand in a sustainable way. We, as individuals, can help relieve that strain by being responsible for our own consumption, or at least a small part of it. Whether you have a garden, collect your own water, or create your own energy, every little bit of pressure we take off helps to improve our lives and our planet. Permaculture is a means by which to live sustainably and to be responsible for your own piece of the pie. Kurtis has made it his goal to help people by teaching or helping others make their own property more sustainable.

#48-Environmental History with Liza Piper

#48-Environmental History with Liza Piper

The importance of understanding where we have been so we do not make the same mistakes twice can not be understated. Understanding the role resources like coal and fossil fuels played in our societies development and prosperity help us to comprehend where we would be without them, likely burning whale fat in our lamps and heating ourselves with wood stoves riding horses and spending most of our time trying to feed ourselves. At the same time we see the consequences of our decisions through changing climates, decreases in biodiversity and historical photos that depict where a mountain once stood but now there is only a mine. History forces us to recognize the impacts of our decisions. Liza is a professor at the University of Alberta where she teaches environmental history. Topics discussed: history of coal in Canada, the year without a summer, reclamation, the Mountain Legacy Project, missing mountains, national parks, environmental consciousness, pipelines, multiple use values, never cry wolf.

#47-Wood Waste Recycling with Jim Donaldson

#47-Wood Waste Recycling with Jim Donaldson

What happens to wood after it has served its purpose. Construction and demolition material, sawdust, wood chips, pallets, old furniture, harvest residues, all gets either thrown into a landfill or burned. Wood waste is a resource just like anything else and we can utilize that resource to create a number of products that can assist in climate change mitigation and increase sustainability. Wood waste can be used to create ethanol, biochar, wood pellets, it can be re-purposed like barn wood and put back into our homes, or even broken down into its component parts and re-engineered into a new wood product to be sold on the market. The potential exists to make a greener economy when it comes to wood waste, we just have to take the first steps. Jim Donaldson is one person trying to promote wood waste recycling in Canada. He is trying to build a community of like minded people and companies to build a sustainable wood-waste recycling industry that will be good for the environment and the economy, win-win.

https://cdnwoodwasterecycling.ca/

#46-Wilderness Survival with Kelly Harlton

#46-Wilderness Survival with Kelly Harlton

Stuck! Stranded in the bush with no radio or cell coverage. What do you do? Where to begin? Shelter? Fire? Food? Water? Kelly Harlton is an expert in bushcraft and primitive skills. He has been teaching himself, and others, all he can about the boreal forest and how to "survive" in it for decades. From fire and shelter building, water and food acquisition to how to make tools and clothes from your surroundings, he knows so much. On this episode we focused on the most important and basic survival skills. How to survive up to 72 hours in the bush, statistics say that is probably the longest you will have to wait. We focused on Fire, Water and Shelter. I cant wait to have him on again to talk in detail about finding food and an infinite number of other subjects. The knowledge is deep with this one.

#45-Hiking with David Wasserman

Millions of people every year take to the mountains and surrounding forest to take in our planets beautiful scenery, flora and fauna. These experiences often give people pause and allow us to rethink our place in this world. David is a longtime member and past Chair of the Alberta Hiking Association and was kind enough to come on and discuss hiking and what it has done for his life and how it could improve others. Topics discussed include: Nature appreciation, Yellowstone wolf introduction, Bear Jams, Alberta Hiking Association, ATVs in parks, Irresponsible users, Confluence visiting, Clearcuts, Wildfire, Trans Canada Trail, and much more.

#44-Second Life with Eric Jensen

#44-Second Life with Eric Jensen

What happens to the trees in your backyard after they are taken down? Do you know? Often the arborist will buck it up, turn into fire wood, chip it for other uses, but what about turning it into art? A lot of the wood in our cities is not looked at as a valued resource after it is removed. Eric from Relic Woodworks is one person trying to give those trees a "second life". He has a system in place to receive trees from private property and turn them into opportunity for artists, craftsmen and carpenters. He mills them into live edge wood for peoples appreciation. Using a solar kiln and small sawmill to fulfill his dream of allowing people to appreciate the beauty of wood. We talked about his beginnings and operation, appreciation of trees, beauty of live edge wood, fulfilling your dreams and following your passion, clearcuting, sustainable forest practices and much more.

#43-The Mountain Podcast with Rick Arthur and Sonia Voicescu

#43-The Mountain Podcast with Rick Arthur and Sonia Voicescu

Recorded on the top of Mt.Solomon near Hinton, Alberta, Canada. We talked about the Mountain Legacy Project, a project that replicates photos taken nearly 100 years ago in order to do comparative analysis and learn from our past. Rick has a wealth of knowledge regarding historical resources and I just loved being able to talk to him and Sonia while looking over the rocky mountains. We discussed the importance indigenous burning, the need for fire, forest management, people as part of the landscape rather than a pest, the cyclical nature of the forest, forest succession, conservation, and a great deal more. This was my favorite podcast to record and the conversation was more than intriguing.  Link to their awesome and work below.

http://mountainlegacy.ca/

#42-Urban Forests with Crispin Wood

#42-Urban Forests with Crispin Wood

Forests provide all kinds of value to our lives, from picturesque views, habitat for animals to the oxygen we breath and much more. Everyone can see the benefits of wild places and natural forests but we often negate the habitat in our back yards. Urban forests play a huge role in our day to day lives that we often don't appreciate. Cleaning the pollution from our air, reducing energy costs through insulating our neighborhoods, reducing the effects of wind and rain, and much more while simultaneously providing that warm and comfortable feeling we all associate with the presence of trees. Crispin is the Parks Manager and Urban Forester for the city of Edmonton. He came on to discuss the role of urban forests in our lives and provide some insight into their value. Cool link below to see the exact value of each tree in Edmonton, from energy savings, oxygen produced, carbon sequestered and much more.

https://www.opentreemap.org/edmonton/map/

#41-Biofuels with Marty Luckert

#41-Biofuels with Marty Luckert

My favorite lecturer, Marty Luckert a resource economics professor from the University of Alberta, came on to discuss the feasibility of biofuels in today's market. Ethanol is a fuel created from organic matter, we mix it into our gasoline and many other uses. If the organic matter being used is sustainable then the ethanol product can be considered carbon neutral as opposed to fossil fuels that releases excess carbon into the atmosphere. We may be able to harness the power of trees and other organic matter to create a more sustainable fuel, although there are still many questions around the economics and science of such a fuel. We discussed how ethanol is made, what it can be made from, how efficient it is, where it may play a role in the future, forest harvest residue vs dedicated ethanol plantations, true market value of fossil fuels, carbon tax, societal values, economic literacy, educating the public, differing values, and much more. 

#40-Pelican Mountain Fire Research with Dave Schroeder and Dan Thompson

#40-Pelican Mountain Fire Research with Dave Schroeder and Dan Thompson

Wildfires seem to have become more of a problem for communities in recent years. With so many rural towns and municipalities surrounded by forest land destined to burn it has become apparent that Firesmart activities are needed to keep them safe. Firesmart is a management system that helps reduce wildfire risk. The pelican mountain project is a research site dedicated to testing wildfire activity through different types of vegetation management. Basically they are doing a bunch of different things to the landscape and setting it on fire to see what happens. From different mulching techniques, pruning and other methods they are building a baseline for us to understand the fuel types that are created after Firesmart vegetation management has taken place. We discussed Firesmart principals, Slave Lake and Fort McMurry fires, specifics around vegetation management for reducing fire behavior and risk, planting larch to reduce fire risk, fire risk in Jasper after pine beetle attack, First Nations involvement, and much more.  

#39-Building Sustainably with Shafraaz Kaba

#39-Building Sustainably with Shafraaz Kaba

Imagine using building materials that require 10 times more energy and other resources to create in order to build your home. That's what we are doing when we use concrete, brick, steel and other metals. Wood is the simple answer to this problem. Wood is vastly more sustainable in every way than these other traditionally used products, and with new technology we are able to utilize wood in ways we couldn't in the past. This makes it easier and more reliable to build with wood then ever before. Shafraaz is an architect with experience building sustainable and net zero buildings. He came on to discuss the sustainability of wood and other products. We also got really into the specifics behind building a self sufficient home with solar, geo-thermal and other such sustainable energies in the last half of the podcast.

#38-A New Way Forward (Ecosystem Based Management) Part 2 with David Andison

#38-A New Way Forward (Ecosystem Based Management) Part 2 with David Andison

People tend to find a cause they care about and stick to it to make sure it is represented. Often times at the detriment to adjacent and equally important causes, not out of hate but out of ignorance. Arguably the best approach for finding answers to big questions, like ecosystem management, is to see the WHOLE picture. Focus is good, it drives us, makes us better, but it can also make us blind. EBM is an idea where we come together as stakeholders and land users to manage the ecosystem as a whole and understand the impacts each action has on every value from water quality, habitat, carbon storage and economics. David is an Adjunct Professor with the UBC Forestry program as well as a consultant and head of the Healthy Landscapes Program for FRi Research. He came on to add to what Ed had to say last week. Everyone has an idea of what EBM is, so the more opinions you here the better you can understand it.

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