Terra Informa

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 ★

This episode originally aired on February 8, 2021: The power of storytelling gives us a way to cope with the uncertainty of our climate future. This week on Terra Informa we’re exploring those stories about the future worlds that are not so different from our own. While you may be familiar with science fiction, genres like speculative fiction, climate fiction, or cli-fi, Afro-futurism, and Indigenous futurism are reimagining oppressive realities and re-envisioning our climate future. In this discussion episode, Terra Informers Hannah Cunningham and Elizabeth Dowdell are joined by special guest and Terra Informa alum, Chris Chang-Yen Phillips to share why they find themselves reaching for these books, and what these genres mean to them. A reading list of the books mentioned in this episode plus some of our other favourites can be found here. Some of our favourite voices sharing visions of Indigenous futures include Cree poet and author Billy-Ray Belcourt, Cree author Larry Loyie, and Chelsea Vowel, Metis writer and host of a Terra Informa team podcast favourite, Métis in Space. In this episode, we highlight the recent lifetime achievement of speculative fiction author Nalo Hopkinson, who is the first Black woman to be honoured with the Damon Knight Grand Master Award by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA). Hopkinson is the author of the acclaimed 1998 work Brown Girl in the Ring. You'll also hear about a climate fiction short story contest launched by Grist Magazine, Imagine 2200: Climate fiction for future ancestors. Story submission closes on April 12th. Download the program log here. ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on May 4, 2020: This week several Terra Informers reflect on the changing seasons, and what spring means to them. Listen in for some great ambient spring sounds and grateful reflections on the warmer air around us. Download the program log. ★ Support this podcast ★ ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on May 17, 2021: Terra Informers Curt Blandy and Liam Harrap explore sustainable brewing with Steve Beauchesne at Beaus Brewing. They also chat with Christine O'Grady, from UCalgary’s Advancing Canadian Water Assets, and Jeremy McLaughlin, Head Brewer, on the Village Brewery project on making beer with waste water! We also get to listen to a local Edmonton beer song called Beer Tastes Better (When The Work's All Done) by the Denim Daddies. Download the program log here. ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on July 8, 2019: This week on Terra Informa, we discuss solar energy, including topics such as the definition of solar, how it works, the pros and cons to solar, and who the solar power leaders are around the world. ★ Support this podcast ★ ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on January 14, 2019: What if we could bring extinct animal species back from the dead? This week, Terra Informer Sofia Osborne brings us a story about de-extinction: Sofia brings us a story about de-extinction: the use of selective breeding, cloning, and genetic engineering to “resurrect” extinct species. This technology poses a lot of moral and ethical questions—would these “de-extincted” animal species be authentic? Could they ever be wild? Do we owe it to the species we’ve driven to extinction to bring them back? And who should decide whether we use this technology? Extra resources suggested by Sofia: How to Clone a Mammoth "The Perils if De-extinction" by Ben MinteerThe IUCN SSC Guiding Principles on Creating Proxies of Extinct Species for Conservation BenefitDownload the program log here. ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on May 4, 2020: This week several Terra Informers reflect on the changing seasons, and what spring means to them. Listen in for some great ambient spring sounds and grateful reflections on the warmer air around us. Download program log. ★ Support this podcast ★ ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on June 2, 2020: June is Bike Month in Edmonton and lots of other cities, so we're bringing you the right content for the season! On this episode Terra Informer Curtis Blandy talks to Bike Edmonton Executive Director Chris Chan and LuGr Enterprises Founder Luke Grayston. Chan talks about his inspiration for, and experiences of, cycling in Edmonton. Grayson gives us the lowdown on Beet 55, an innovative deicer used to keep roads safe for winter cycling. Program Log ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on March 21, 2022: Have you ever come face to face with the majestic beaver? Have you ever thought about just how impactful the little dam-builders are to the ecosystems they inhabit? This week, Sara Chitsaz, Hannah Cunningham, and Dylan Hall (a Terra Informa alum!) discuss Glynnis Hood's book The Beaver Manifesto, as well as our general thoughts about the popular, and sometimes not-so-popular, rodent. At the end of the episode, Sara also gives us a run-down on what beavers have been up to in the Alaskan tundra. Link to the University of Alberta's free online Indigenous Canada course, as mentioned in the introduction of the episode. Program log. ★ Support this podcast ★ ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on August 9, 2021: Finding the language to build sustained public engagement on the climate crisis is one of the greatest challenges faced by science communicators today. In this episode, Terra Informers Sonak Patel and Elizabeth Dowdell consider the role that language plays in communicating the climate crisis and how it getting it wrong may contribute to continued climate inaction. To get further insight into the big picture of climate change communication, they spoke to Sean Holman, Professor of Journalism at Mount Royal University. Program Log ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on June 3, 2019: This week, Charlotte Thomasson talked to resident Nature Nut, John Acorn, about local bird songs and birding stories, with audio captured by Terra Informers live in Edmonton, Alberta, near Drumheller, Alberta, and on Saturna Island in British Columbia. ★ Support this podcast ★

This episode originally aired on April 29, 2019: This week on Terra Informa, we're talking about periods. Own very own Terra Informer Sydney Karbonik recently hosted an educational event about the environmental, social and economic impact of menstrual products and what other options exist for women. ★ Support this podcast ★