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June 2011 issue

Table of Contents The Don River Snake River wild Environmental Scientist of the Year Watershed protection guide Lake Winnipeg algae Draining Devils Lake Freeing the alewife Purest drinking water? Salish Sea change Canada’s Boreal Forest Building a better storm drain Water iPhone apps The Inside Story Editor’s Notebook In habitat Book Reviews Reverberations Mosaic ----------------------------------------------- Past issues archive Subject index Contributors index

WEB
Surf your watershed

The “Protect Your Watershed” map outlines 595 watersheds in Canada, including our five main ocean basins: Arctic, Atlantic, Hudson Bay, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico. It enables users to find their local watershed and to navigate it via Google maps. It also provides links to community conservation groups working to preserve rivers, streams, wetlands and lakes. Users can share photographs and stories about the waterways in their area by posting them on the website.

“We’re trying to make this the resource for watersheds in Canada,” says Gilles Gagnier, Canadian Geographic’s new-media director. “Watershed organizations are contacting us to participate and add to the site.”

In addition to explaining the geography of basins, the interactive map examines issues ranging from urbanization and its effects on water resources to the industrial use of water. Among some of the eye-opening statistics: 99 percent of the water in the Great Lakes Basin, where one in four Canadians lives, is a remnant of ancient glacier melt and is not renewable. Alberta’s oil sands operators withdraw more water from the Athabasca River annually than the City of Toronto uses in a year.

The map is the cornerstone of the Society’s bilingual multimedia initiative on watersheds, which also includes a thematic module on The Canadian Atlas Online, a poster map inserted in this special issue of Canadian Geographic and its French-language sister publication Géographica and lesson plans for teachers.

— Monique Roy-Sole

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AWARDS
Sustainable solutions

There are widely different ways to lead Canada down a greener path, as previous winners of the Canadian Award for Environmental Innovation have shown. Presented by The Royal Canadian Geographical Society and 3M Canada, the award, now in its third year, recognizes outstanding individuals who are contributing to the protection or restoration of the environment.

Frank van Biesen, the 2010 recipient and vice-president of technology at Kruger Products, initiated the installation of a biomass gasification system at the company’s tissue mill in New Westminster, B.C., reducing its greenhousegas emissions by 50 percent. It was equivalent to removing 4,000 cars from the road for a year.

“From a corporate perspective,” says van Biesen, “it’s important that we demonstrate that we’re taking as many steps as possible to minimize our environmental footprint.” He adds that the award has brought credibility to his company.

Sidney Ribaux, the first winner of the award, in 2009, co-founded Équiterre, a Montréal-based environmental organization that promotes ecologically and socially sound consumer choices.

While van Biesen and Ribaux have disparate approaches to sustainability, both have the same advice for other environmental innovators: “Don’t give up.”

To nominate a candidate, visit www.rcgs.org/environment by Aug. 31. The award will be presented at the Society’s College of Fellows Dinner in Ottawa on Nov. 3.

— Michelle Hampson

CHALLENGE
Geography hat trick

An avid traveller who has visited more than 30 countries, has lived in Berlin and has explored Canada, Alexander Cohen (above) won the national final of the Geography Challenge in April. The 15-year-old student at Ashbury College in Ottawa competed against 50 other finalists from across the country in the online competition organized by the Canadian Council for Geographic Education.

“Eventually, I would like to go to every country in the world,” says Cohen, whose extensive travels ignited his interest in geography and the Challenge. “Geography is great, because it relates to everything. It will be useful for whatever I choose to do in life.”

This was Cohen’s third consecutive year in the top three, having placed third in the past two years.

In the close competition, Spencer Zhao, 13, of Toronto, took second place and Aoife O’Leary, 15, of Surrey, B.C., claimed third.

Cohen and O’Leary, along with Alejandro Torres-Lopez of North Vancouver (last year’s national winner) will represent Canada at the National Geographic World Championship to be held in San Francisco in July.

— Stephanie Foden (Photo and text)

FELLOWS
Living life to the fullest

Grete Hale
(Photo: Stephanie Foden)

Hale’s new autobiography, Baker’s Daughter: The story of a long, rich and very Canadian life, shows how that philosophy has guided her throughout her 81 years. With her go-getter attitude, Hale rose from her humble beginnings in Depression-era Ottawa to become a successful businesswoman and a tireless volunteer who has travelled in Africa, Asia and Europe.

Hale contributed to The Royal Canadian Geographical Society for 17 years, including seven years on the Merchandise Committee. She is still involved with many organizations, such as the CANHAVE Children’s Centre in Uganda, which provides care and schooling to orphans affected by HIV/AIDS. Hale is donating the proceeds from the sale of her book to CANHAVE.

— Marc Ellison

FELLOWS
In the name of exploration

Author Milbry Polk, an Honorary Fellow of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, has received the prestigious Anne Morrow Lindbergh Award, named after the aviation pioneer. Polk is the third recipient of the award, which is given periodically to an outstanding individual who has made “positive contributions to our world.” She is the co-founder and director emeritus of Wings WorldQuest, an organization that supports women explorers around the world. “Anne Morrow Lindbergh is an iconic explorer,” says Polk, “and it is thrilling to be identified with her.”

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