Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

carbon emissions

Inside Innovation: Interior cooling meets the Ice Age

Inside Innovation: Interior cooling meets the Ice Age

Air flowing over cold surfaces is an age-old concept that’s making a big comeback due to the increased attention being paid to carbon emissions and electrical grid demands. The ancient Persians used specially designed wind catcher towers, many of which can still be seen today in parts of the Middle East and North Africa. Air funnels down to interior spaces through precisely designed openings and canals and sometimes across pools of cold subterranean water and then back up. Some water pools can even produce sheets of ice on their surface. The warm air rises and exits through another tower or opening, aided by the pressure within the building. Although there are variations to the commercial processes available today, the principals behind ice cooling remain relatively straightforward.

Algae in Greater Victoria can clean water, produce biodiesel, says Grade 11 student

Algae in Greater Victoria can clean water, produce biodiesel, says Grade 11 student

Research showed her that plants have impressive water purifying properties, so Lee began searching fresh water bodies around Greater Victoria for an algae that would meet her requirements. At Swan Lake, she found what she was looking for – Azolla filiculoides is an invasive macroalgae known to exist in fresh water bodies around the world and to have absorbing and purifying properties. A study conducted in Iran in 2014 showed the algae could yield up to 58,700 litres of oil per hectare, or about 23,765 litres per acre. The oil can then be used in a biodiesel blend.

Water Act contentious at environment debate

Water Act contentious at environment debate

The Water Act, passed in the P.E.I. Legislature but not yet proclaimed, was one of the more divisive issues of the first leaders debate of the provincial election campaign.
More than 250 people packed into an auditorium at UPEI to listen to the leaders discuss environmental issues, at a forum organized by Island environmental groups. 
Topics ranged from protecting soil quality, to watershed group funding, to increasing the number of protected areas on P.E.I., to promoting the Island's natural history. 

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