Replanting Ontario’s Wild Rice and Connecting New Canadians with Green Jobs
On today’s show we visit the Curve Lake First Nation in Ontario to speak to a man who is working to replant the area’s once abundant wild rice, and pass on traditional harvesting techniques to a new generation. We also talk to FutureWatch, a group that’s trying to address barriers faced by new Canadians looking for jobs in the environmental sector.
Wild rice. Photo by LexnGer.
Everyday we hear stories about people polluting rivers, chopping down sacred forests or pushing species to the brink of extinction. Such stories make it easy to lose faith in humanity. Never fear though – correspondent Chris Chang-Yen Phillips brings you a story about James Whetung, a member of southern Ontario’s Curve Lake First Nation, who is trying to give something back to the environment for a change. Wild rice is considered a sacred part of Anishinaabe culture, but was virtually wiped out in waterways in Ontario in the 20th century. James Whetung is working hard to replant beds of wild rice in lakes in his area, and teach others how to harvest it again. Tune in to find out more on why he is trying to revive this plant’s place in the watershed, and in his community.
More on this story: Visit Our Table, Trent Arthur Interview with James Whetung, Northumberland Today (p. 25)
For new immigrants to Canada, and foreign-trained professionals working with environmental expertise, it can be a challenge to find employment. How can businesses, government departments, settlement organizations and community and environmental groups work together to better connect newcomers to green jobs? Kathryn Lennon speaks with Eduardo Garay, a program director of FutureWatch Environment and Development Education Partners, about an upcoming forum held to discuss these issues.
If you are in the Guelph or Toronto area and are interested in sharing ideas on how the settlement sector and the environmental sector can work together, then you can attend FutureWatch’s Second Annual Regional Forum titled “Bridging the Gap”. It will happen in Guelph on January 31st and in Toronto on February 22nd.
News:
Keystone Pipeline: The Obama administration last Wednesday rejected the Keystone KL crude oil pipeline proposal. Whitehouse spokesperson Jay Carney blamed the Republicans for imposing a February deadline on the administration’s review of TransCanada’s plan to build the 2700 kilometre pipeline.
More on this story: Vancouver Sun
Activism in Columbia: The Regional Movement for the Defense of the Territory launched a regional strike in Huila, Colombia on January 3 to protest the destructive impacts of the Quimbo Hydroelectric Project. The multi-stakeholder coalition is also protesting the entering of UK-based petroleum company Emerald Energy into the biodiverse mountaintop ecosystem of the Páramo of Miraflores.
More on this story: Upside Down World, Paro Regional, You Tube
Promising Future for Seaweed: Researchers at Bio Architecture Labs and the University of Washington in Seattle have taken the first step to exploit the natural advantages of seaweed. They have built a microbe capable of digesting it and converting it into ethanol or other fuels or chemicals.
More on this story: Bio Architecture Labs, E. Coli, Science Report, Scientific American (1), Scientific American (2), Scientific American (3), Scientific American (3), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
