Terra Informa

This episode originally aired on November 15, 2021: This week, we’re speaking with an outreach and science communication professional to learn about a variety of strategies and mediums for effectively communicating energy research beyond the academy, to a wider audience of policymakers, energy practitioners, communities and members of the public, and other academics. Dr. Valerie Miller is the Outreach and Engagement Coordinator for the University of Alberta research group, Future Energy Systems. Valerie shares how energy communication is creating common ground between researchers and building connections between people and the energy systems we are a part of. This episode features an excerpt of the first book in Future Energy Systems children’s book series, The Energy Adventures of Tommy and Remi, The Mystery of the Glowing Light, available at the Edmonton Public Library. The book was written by Valerie Miller with illustrations by Kaitlyn Pylypa. Dr. Zhongyi Quan was the Technical Advisor and the book was edited by Catherine Tays and Kenneth Tam. Check out the Future Energy Systems website for upcoming events and featured research, and keep up with the outreach initiatives on the Future Energy Systems Youtube Channel. Program Log. ★ Support this podcast ★

Just like the gendered impacts of the covid19 crisis are getting little media attention, environmental issues that predominantly affect women are not talked about enough. This week on Terra Informa we revisit an episode that features headline news, research, and audio from an event organized last April (2019) by then-Terra Informer Sydney Karbonik. The event was called Menstruation Innovation, and tackles environmental impacts and alternatives for a greener period. ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on August 23, 2024: What's more comfortable than leggings? Sustainability! This week we’re speaking with Dr. Anne Bissonnette, a professor and fashion historian currently based at the University of Alberta, about sustainability in the fashion industry especially with regards to fast fashion and athleisure. Listen in for a very engaging conversation about what we wear and its impact! Dr. Anne Bissonnette: https://apps.ualberta.ca/directory/person/ambisson Anne Lambert Clothing and Textiles Collection: https://www.ualberta.ca/museums/museum-collections/clothing-and-textiles.html United Nations Alliance for Sustainable Fashion: https://unfashionalliance.org/ Further listening: The Less-Than-Fabulous Footprint of Fashion - https://terrainforma.ca/120 Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/grapes/16626 Ft: J Lang, Morusque Program Log ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on August 10, 2020: This week on Terra Informa, Sonak Patel and Skylar Lipman, joined by Morrigan Simpson-Marran from the Pembina Institute and Daniel Schiffner from the University of Alberta, discuss orphan wells in Alberta. The evidence of oil and gas development on Alberta's landscape appears in various forms across the province. Much of oil and gas extraction requires drilling a well into the ground to reach subterranean fossil fuels. Under provincial regulations, these wells are supposed to be reclaimed once they reach the end of their productive lifespan. But in some cases, reclamation doesn't happen, leaving a substantial number of wells dotted across the Albertan landscape. How many orphaned wells are there in Alberta? How does a well become 'orphaned', and why are they a problem? We find out the answers to these questions in this week's episode. Download program log here. ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on May 3, 2021: This episode, Terra Informers Sonak Patel and Liam Harrap guide you through some of the impacts that a warming world will have on our blue planet. Drawing from estimates and predictions made in the IPCC Special Report, in this episode we prepare ourselves for what global warming and the climate crisis will mean to Alberta, Canada, and the rest of the world. It's not a heartwarming episode, but we are in this together. Written by Sonak Patel, hosted by Liam Harrap and Sonak Patel, edited and produced by Elizabeth Dowdell. Program log. ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on September 23, 2019: This week on Terra Informa, we discuss the second part of a 2 part mini-series on youth education in the climate crisis. On September 20, 2019, Youth For Climate and other climate organizers staged a “die-in” in downtown Edmonton as a start to the International Week of climate action. Listen in for some audio from the protest, as well as interviews with organizers of Youth for Climate ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on September 16, 2019: This week on Terra Informa, we're bringing you part one of a two-part series on youth and the climate crisis. ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on October 18, 2021: In this episode, some of the Terra Informers reflect on the film In the Land of Dreamers, which is an episode of the CBC Gem show, Absolutely Canadian. The film uses amazing photography and video footage to talk about the cultural and ecological importance of the Muskwa-Kechika, a large area of undeveloped land in northern British Columbia that is located in Kaska Dena territory. You can watch the film here after making a free CBC Gem account Find out more about the Kaska Dena's proposed plan for an Indigenous Protected Conservation Area Program log ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on June 15, 2020: This week the Terra Informa crew discuss the 2019 film, The Whale and the Raven, directed by German filmmaker Mirjam Leuze. In the heart of British Columbia's coastal Great Bear Rainforest, whale researchers and Gitga’at Nation community members share the screen with their non-human kin, orcas and humpback whales, whose homewaters are also a proposed liquefied natural gas tanker route. Terra Informers Elizabeth Dowdell, Curtis Blandy, Skylar Lipman, and Andrea Miller discuss resistance, the integration of Indigenous knowledge with scientific knowledge and technology, respect in our relationships with the natural world, and the cinematic beauty of kelp forests. Watch the film’s trailer here, and stream the full movie on Amazon Prime Video. Download the program log here. ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on October 26, 2020: This week on Terra Informa, Elizabeth Dowdell, Charlotte Thomasson, and Hannah Cunningham discuss the 1984 Hayao Miyazaki film Nausicä of the Valley of the Wind. ★ Support this podcast ★

The devastating bushfires in Australia have been front and center in the news this month, with a total area of around 8.4 million hectares burned as of the 6th of January. The images of smoke plumes visible from space and eerie orange skies reminded us here at Terra Informa of the wildfires in the Amazonian rainforest this past summer. So, this week we are revisiting an archive episode from August 2019, where we discussed the state of the wildfires and Terra Informer Elizabeth Dowdell interviewed interdisciplinary scholar Cristiana Seixas about her work on socio-ecological systems and protecting the environment in Brazil. ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on June 7, 2021: This week we’re bringing you a documentary where CSL students Brook Kelela and Ashley Krehut explore the significance of outdoor gardens in our communities. Listen in for discussions of food security, food sovereignty, and more! Original broadcast: 5 May 2021 Prairie Urban Farm: http://www.prairieurbanfarm.ca/ Veg in YEG: https://veginyeg.ca/ Further listening: Seeds! https://terrainforma.ca/220 Urban Beekeeping https://terrainforma.ca/209 Indigenous Food Sovereignty: Wild Meat, Wild Stories https://terrainforma.ca/102 Program Log ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on July 12, 2021: Have you ever considered feeding insects to your dogs? Maybe that's too easy, how about purchasing a cricket muffin for yourself at a local cafe? Producers Nhu Ho and Bethany Godreau take a dive into the world of insect protein close to home. Bringing perspectives from Brad Ewankiw of Enterra Corp on the impacts of insect protein production and Serge Boutet, a Montreal-based agronomist with a passion for critters both four-legged and centi-legged. Listen up for information on the environmental implications of insect protein and how it might affect you. Program Log ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on September 18, 2023: This week on Terra Informa, we explore the industry of cellular agriculture (cell-ag), and its impacts on farming, the environment, and people. Megan Posyluzny and Jenny Kim interview Dr. Yadira Tejeda Saldana, director of Responsible Research and Innovation at New Harvest to learn more about how biotechnology is shaping the future of food systems – beginning with the new institute of Cell-Ag that is currently in development at the U of A. Program Log | Episode References Recommended CSL Documentaries: Looking Fly - The Inside Scoop on Insect ProteinOutdoor Gardens - What They Bring to EdmontoniansIndigenous Food Sovereignty - Wild Meat, Wild Stories ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on July 19, 2021: This episode we visit Aspen Ridge Greenhouses to talk with former Terra Informer Dylan Hall. Dylan is a beginner beekeeper and welcomed Hannah and Elizabeth for a hive inspection. We also talk about the impact of heatwaves on different important pollinator insects. Program log here. Production, script, interview - Elizabeth Dowdell Script, interview, research - Hannah Cunningham ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on February 27, 2017: In this week's episode, the Terra Informers travel to a grain terminal in the City of Edmonton to see some rare birds of prey and meet the folks who watch and photograph them there. ★ Support this podcast ★

In this week's archive episode, we revisit a Terra Informa review of the film Metamorphosis, a climate change documentary, along with an interview with the creators of the film. Program log. ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on February 21, 2022: This week, we are airing an audio documentary created by Madelyn Lux and Mario Rodriguez for an agricultural economics class that had a community-service learning component at the University of Alberta. Through interviews with beekeepers and business owners, this documentary explores how urban beekeeping has changed the city of Edmonton. After that, we introduce an interesting product that was developed with bee conservation in mind, that may have ended up being a bit of a flop. Previous episodes on beekeeping: Heat Wave Hive Inspection Urban Beekeeping with David Whitaker Program log. ★ Support this podcast ★ ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on November 18, 2019: This week on Terra Informa, Matthew Danyluik and Daniel Alexander from Renewable Energy Design (RED), a student engineering group aiming to make university a greener place through developing net-zero products, talk about the inspiration for starting the group and current sustainability design projects such as a solar phone charging station scheduled for installation in SUB. Find out more about RED here: https://alberta.campuslabs.ca/engage/organization/red ★ Support this podcast ★ ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on June 24, 2019: Terra Informer Charlotte Thomasson speaks with Mackenzy Albright, one of the founders of SNAQCS, a Slow Nice And Queer Cycloventure Squad based out of Victoria, British Columbia that creates a welcoming space for members of the LGBTQIA2S community who want to have fun and ride bikes! Tune in to hear Charlotte and Mackenzy share cycling stories, talk about businesses and queerbaiting, the binary of the outdoors community, and how SNAQCS is pushing the boundaries. Program Log. ★ Support this podcast ★ ★ Support this podcast ★