General
- Islands Trust: Forest Protection
- Islands Trust Ecosystem Inventories
- Protecting the Coastal Douglas-fir Zone & Associated Ecosystems: An Islands Trust Toolkit (download)
- UN decade on restoration
- Ecological Restoration in Canada (University of Victoria research project in collaboration with Carleton University, Université Laval, and the University of Waterloo)
- BC Species & Ecosystems at Risk
- Why we should build for wildlife as well as people (BBC Future Planet)
Invasive species
Climate change
Drought, flooding, wildfires
- Climate Atlas of Canada: Indigenous Knowledges and Climate Change
- Climate Projections for Islands Trust Area (PDF)
- The climate disaster is here. A sobering look at the 2021 data. (The Guardian)
- New Normal Cowichan: “Drought and flooding are the ‘new normal’ in the Cowichan region, and are putting our water supply under extreme stress. These conditions have serious implications for our economy and ecology, but the good news is that there are practical, effective solutions that our region as a whole and each of us individually can take to adapt to this new reality.” (Cowichan Valley Regional District)
- Transition Saltspring: Responding to Climate Change. Restoring Ecosystems. Reimagining Community.
- Climate Impacts 101 “Climate Insights 101 is a set of three courses that provide a comprehensive introduction to the foundations of climate science, climate projections and impacts, as well as adaptation opportunities and the tools and initiatives available for mitigation.” (Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, University of Victoria)
- FireSmart BC
- Just How Historic Was Western Canada’s Heat Wave? ‘Nothing Can Compare’ (The Tyee)
- The Future of Fire in Canada (The Tyee)
Inspiration
A common issue with working to protect the environment, especially in relation to climate change, is burnout—the problem is so large and there is so much to do that it can seem overwhelming. Dr. Ayana Johnson is an American marine biologist who focuses a good deal of her work on helping people to focus their efforts more effectively, productively and sustainably, and is involved with a number of projects that do the same.
Climate Action Venn Diagram: to help you “find your meaningful and bespoke way to help address the climate crisis.”
Project Drawdown focuses on helping the world reach the point at which levels of greenhouse gases stop climbing and begin to decline, as quickly, safely and equitably as possible. Resources include an educational series called “Climate Solutions 101” and a “Solutions Library” analyzing case studies of practices and technologies addressing greenhouse gases.
Dr. Johnson is a co-founder of Urban Ocean Lab, a US policy nonprofit that “cultivates rigorous, creative, equitable, and practical climate and ocean policy for the future of coastal cities” and curates a resource hub for policymakers, communities, and the general public.
The All We Can Save Project focuses on community-building around climate-change activism. There is also an All We Can Save anthology of writings on climate change by women.
How to Save a Planet is a podcast focused on inspiring people to take action: “What do we need to do to solve the climate crisis, and how do we get it done?”
Natural history
Ecosystems
- Coastal Douglas-fir Ecosystem Portal (Transition Salt Spring Society)
- Discovery Islands Ecosystem Mapping While the area covered is a bit further north of us, this community-based mapping project is an excellent site for learning about coastal ecosystems.
- The Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team (GOERT) is dedicated to the recovery of Garry oak and associated ecosystems in Canada and the species at risk that inhabit them.
Species/identification
There are a gazillion resources out there, both printed and digital, and many of them are excellent. The following are just a few:
iNaturalist One of the best ways to identify species if you’re a digitally minded person who doesn’t mind signing up to use an app. This data-sharing community crowdsources identification; post a picture or several of a species and the app will offer you likely matches; these may be confirmed and refined by other members of the community. Findings are shared with scientific data repositories.
Groups can make use of iNaturalist productively. BC Parks has set up a project so that citizen scientists can generate data about the species found in their parks.
The CornellLab of Ornithology has an excellent online resource, the Merlin bird ID app (which includes Sound ID), and eBird citizen science app.
The Outdoor Recreation Council of BC has a Guide to Birdwatching in BC.
Biodiversity of BC offers online E-Flora and E-Fauna atlases.
Biodiversity of the Central Coast A bit further north, but much still applies, and they offer an excellent list of species identification resources.
Projects
Eelgrass is Amazing: all about SeaChange Marine Conservation Society’s eelgrass restoration project in the Salish Sea.
