Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 21h

Explore the natural history of Alberta’s bats – who they are, why they matter, and what’s being done to protect them – in an online webinar hosted by Nature Alberta at 7 pm, Oct. 30 naturealberta.ca/uncovering-t...

Nature Network Speaker Series – Nature Alberta – October 30, 2025, 7 pm – Uncovering the Natural History of Alberta’s Bats – Cory Olson, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada – full details at naturealberta.ca/events

Reposted by EcoFriendly West

CPAWS-BC @cpawsbc.bsky.social · 2d

J64’s arrival marks the fifth calf born into J pod in just over a year, following the births of J62 in late 2024 and J63 earlier in 2025. With the Southern Resident population hovering around 74 whales, every successful birth is a crucial step toward recovery, researchers say.
🔗: @cheknews.ca
🌎

New orca calf brings hope to endangered J pod near Vancouver Island

Researchers are celebrating the birth of a new orca calf in the endangered Southern Resident killer whale population — a rare bright spot for the struggling J pod.

cheknews.ca

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EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 1d

EcoWest News highlights: 1) Selling off SK public land; 2) Slashing emissions with plant-based dog food; 3) Net-zero & fish-friendly housing; and 4) A repurposed wildlife crossing

EcoWest News, October 7, 2025

EcoWest News highlights: 1) Selling off SK public land; 2) Slashing emissions with plant-based dog food; 3) Net-zero & fish-friendly housing; and 4) A repurposed wildlife crossing

ecofriendlywest.ca

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EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 2d

Onion Lake Cree Nation wants every home in their community to be powered by solar energy. Homes were chosen based on need, starting with elders and social assistance recipients.

Onion Lake Cree Nation aims to be solar power 'pioneer' | CBC News

The First Nation, which straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, is installing rooftop solar panels on 123 homes in the community of about 7,000 people.

www.cbc.ca

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EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 2d

The Canadian Space Agency is funding 20 Canadian companies to use satellite data to address issues such as declining species populations, habitat degradation, deteriorating water quality and forest disturbance.

smartEarth: Using satellite data to preserve Canada's natural heritage - Canada.ca

Twenty Canadian companies, eight of which collaborate with Indigenous organizations, will develop projects to address issues such as declining species populations, habitat degradation, deteriorating w...

www.canada.ca

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Reposted by EcoFriendly West

UBC Science @science.ubc.ca · 2d

UBC is one of 5 member universities of the Pacific Marine Science Alliance Society which announced a 3-year agreement with the Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response Network to strengthen ocean research collaboration in Canada.

science.ubc.ca/news/2025-10...

New ocean research alliance to boost national collaboration

A three-year agreement between UBC-affiliated research networks is designed to strengthen collaboration across Canada’s three coasts.

science.ubc.ca

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EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 3d

Global pet food emissions rival those of a small country. Switching dogs to plant-based foods could slash emissions tenfold—without sacrificing nutrition.

Researchers compare the footprint of meat vs. plant-based dog foods. The differences were staggering.

Global pet food emissions rival those of a small country. A new UK study reveals that switching dogs to plant-based foods could slash emissions tenfold—without sacrificing nutrition.

www.anthropocenemagazine.org

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EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 3d

Rhizanthella gardneri is the world’s rarest and most mysterious orchid. It grows, flowers, germinates, and sets seed totally underground. It’s believed to be pollinated by termites.

'It lives underground and is fabulous': The race to save the world's rarest orchid

The world's most mysterious and elusive orchid lives underground in Australia. Scientists are trying to rescue this botanic marvel from going completely extinct.

www.bbc.com

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EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 3d

Canadian Toads hibernate underground below the frost line in burrows they've dug using the bony lumps on their rear legs www.naturecompanion.ca/herps/cantoad/ #NatureCompanion

photo and description of the Canadian Toad from the Nature Companion website and app

EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 5d

Shade, Sam Bloch: “Shade’s fall from favor has paralleled and fueled the destruction of the global climate. If we reintegrate shade into our daily lives in small and big ways, the impacts could be thorough and profound” sambloch.com #BooksonFriday

book cover for Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource by Sam Bloch

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EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 6d

Community Leaders & Books: September 2025: Groups and events from across Western Canada plus a varied set of books to stimulate your imagination

Community Leaders & Books: September 2025

Community Leaders & Books: September 2025: Groups and events from across Western Canada plus a varied set of books to stimulate your imagination

ecofriendlywest.ca

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EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 7d

Broken toaster? Wobbly chair? Jacket with a stubborn zipper? Bring it to a Repair Café near you! Skilled volunteers will be on hand to help you fix, mend, and tinker www.saskwastereduction.ca/events/swrc/...

Sask Repair Cafes Fix it. Mend it. Love it again. Lloydminster October 4. Regina October 4. Weyburn October 25. Yorkton October 25. Prince Albert monthly on first Saturday. Saskatoon every Saturday.

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EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 8d

EcoWest News highlights: 1) BC’s forests: balancing recreation, conservation, and public safety; 2) Edmonton apartment building retrofit achieves a 32% energy reduction; and 3) Clothes - buy less, wear longer

EcoWest News, September 30, 2025

EcoWest News highlights: 1) BC’s forests: balancing recreation, conservation, and public safety; 2) Edmonton apartment building retrofit achieves a 32% energy reduction; and 3) Clothes - buy less, wea...

ecofriendlywest.ca

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EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 9d

Trying to protect urban natural areas? A free Biodiversity Primer for Landscape Architects “introduces the real, concrete steps we can take on every project to protect, conserve, enhance, or restore healthy, enduring habitats for more species.” dirt.asla.org/2025/09/29/l...

Landscape Architects Release New Primer on How to Design for Biodiversity

Free 25-page overview introduces how to address the biodiversity crisis ASLA and the ASLA Fund have released a free resource on how to design for biodiversity – Biodiversity Primer for Landscape Ar…

dirt.asla.org

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EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 10d

Dawson Creek, BC, could run out of water in the next few months, highlighting a pressing need to fully understand how the fracking industry’s extensive water usage is affecting the region.

A Drought Emergency Looms in Dawson Creek | The Tyee

Parched, the city has proposed piping water in. And selling it to the very industry some say caused the problem.

thetyee.ca

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EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 10d

A deep retrofit of Tennyson Apartments, Edmonton, achieved a 32% reduction in energy consumption, 44% savings on annual utility costs, and a 33% cut in GHG emissions. They share some tips on how they overcame the systemic hurdles.

Champions bring success | Pembina Institute

Tennyson Apartments in Edmonton is showing what’s possible when leadership, financing and persistence comes together. The Alberta building sector faces systemic hurdles to deep retrofits. Overcoming t...

www.pembina.org

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Reposted by EcoFriendly West

Moms Clean Air Force @momscleanairforce.org · 10d

The health of our children is tied to the health of the planet. 🌱 New analysis shows a crucial climate driver—the food we eat—is missing from most media coverage. 😡 #climatechange #momsky

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Meat is a leading emissions source – but few outlets report on it, analysis finds

Sentient Media reveals less than 4% of climate news stories mention animal agriculture as source of carbon emissions

www.theguardian.com

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EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 10d

Ladybugs defend themselves from predators by playing dead and secreting a fluid with a nasty taste and smell from their leg joints www.naturecompanion.ca/insects/lady... #NatureCompanion

photo and description of ladybug from Nature Companion website and app

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Reposted by EcoFriendly West

Dezene Huber 🍁 🌻 @dezene.me · 12d

The final UNBC 2025 BioBlitz count:

🪲 660 observations
🌲 238 species
🐻 50 identifiers
🍄 13 observers

What an amazing campus! 🌎

Keep adding identifications on @inaturalist.bsky.social!

Project 🔗: inaturalist.ca/projects/fal...

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Reposted by EcoFriendly West

Nicola Pitchford @npitchford.bsky.social · 12d

Just mesmerising. Murmurising!

Kyle Horton @kyle-horton.bsky.social · 14d

Truly impressive number of birds migrating tonight. More than 800 MILLION birds up in the air right now❗ #BirdMigration

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EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 12d

Here Comes the Sun, Bill McKibben: “Right now, really for the first time, I can see a path forward. A path lit by the sun … And it’s a path not just out of the climate crisis – it’s a path that opens into a very new world.” billmckibben.com/books/here-c...

book cover for Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization by Bill McKibben

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Reposted by EcoFriendly West

Jen the Feisty Librarian @feistywaters.com · 13d

Darren Markland touched the lives of so many in Edmonton and across Canada and I know he will be greatly missed by family, friends, colleagues, patients and others. edmontonjournal.remembering.ca/obituary/dar...

Darren Markland Obituary | Edmonton Journal Remembering

View Darren Markland's complete obituary, share memories, and explore 6 tribute posts from the community.

edmontonjournal.remembering.ca

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EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 13d

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment is hosting a National Day of Action on Planetary Health on Oct 6 with sustainable family health conversations, plant forward social media takeover, lobbying training for medical students, and more
planetaryhealthday.ca @cape-acme.bsky.social

National Day of Action on Planetary Health

planetaryhealthday.ca

EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 13d

Introducing the BC chapter of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE): “Our strength is that we can bring ‘the health voice’. Everyone cares about their health, so they listen.”

Building a Healthier Ecosystem – West Coast Climate Action Network

westcoastclimateaction.ca

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EcoFriendly West @ecofriendlywest.bsky.social · 13d

Products labelled as compostable – plates, bags, cutlery – aren’t always compostable. It very much depends on where you live. The best solution: focus on reusables.

Here's what happens when 'compostable' products become litter | CBC News

Single-use plastic items are a substantial contributor to litter across Canada, but compostable alternatives can follow a similar path. Marketplace set out to determine how items would break down if t...

www.cbc.ca

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