Dear Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour,
Thanks so much Hilbert for the great Inner Harbour beaver picture. Love the sublety of colour.
Sadly I have been contacted by a couple of Inner Harbour residents about my support of the new Art Gallery at 27 Rideau St. who were very concerned about Nathan Stroud, the artist/proponent, and who were firm that I should warn residents about the potential illegality of his enterprise. Nathan is a very talented artist. Information is available online with a simple Google search should you chose to investigate further.
Thanks too to Paul Charbonneau of the Kingston Historical Society for this March quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson.: “Our life is March weather, savage and serene in one hour.” And that of Emily Dickenson – “March is the month of expectation.”
Local Issues and Events
1. Tannery Hearings
2. Utilities Kingston Water Quality Reports
3. Avian Flu Update
4. Basic Income Issue to Council, Tues, March 5
5. For the Love of Songs: Community Soulful Singing
6. Seedy Saturday, March 9
7. International Art and Found Day
8. Drinking Water Source Protection – CRCA Public Consultation
9. Give 30 Kingston Campaign for Partners in Mission Food Bank
10. Just Recovery Kingston Update
11. Eric Gagnon, Kingston Railway Historian, Presents – March 20
FROM FARTHER AFIELD
12. New Smaller and more Economical Battery Designs.
13. Tiny Particles of Plastic Now Pollute our Food, Water and Even the Clouds.
14. Total Eclipse – April 8, 2024
15. New Promising Research on Alzheimer’s
16. Napanee Writers’ Forum Meet and Greet Book Fair, Apr 6
17. Wellington Water Watchers Update – Water Book Club
18. How Advanced Genetic Testing Can be Used to Combat the Illegal Timber Trade.
19. Kingston’s Murder of Crows – Wonderful Photos and Videos
20. World Wildlife Day, Today, Sun, March 3, 2024
Local Issues and Events
1. Tannery Hearings
Received from No Clearcuts Kingston, March 2, 2024
Hello! We have now completed four weeks of the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) hearing which will determine the future of the Tannery site. Some of us have been glued to this important daily event.
Complex Hearing:
It is clear that a lot of witnesses have worked hard preparing to testify before the OLT. The lawyers, too, have spent hours getting ready to present their cases.
This incredible effort and the hearing itself are because many Kingstonians want to protect an ecologically diverse and thriving Provincially Significant Wetland and a Significant Woodland in our city.
One of the City’s witnesses called the wetland “a little gem within the city”!Remember, the City is on our side because City Council opposed the proposed clearcut, capping, and high-density development.
We recommend that you tune in next week to hear our witnesses presenting the No Clearcuts case. The anticipated order/timing of the four NCK expert witnesses are as follows:
- Grant Kauffman (ecology) – Tuesday, March 5th
- Chris Rancourt (hydrogeology) – Wednesday, March 6th
- Mark Dorfman (land use planning) – Thursday, March 7th
- Dr. Douglas Hallett (environmental chemistry/toxicology) – Friday, March 8th
Here is the link to the Ontario Land Tribunal YouTube Channel:
https://olt.gov.on.ca/blog/news/olt-to-livestream-merit-hearing-for-olt-22-004597/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Or, you can read Vicki Schmolka’s amazing daily summary of the hearing at Vicki Schmolka’s Substack –
https://vickischmolka.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
More Funds Needed:
We have raised a significant amount of money, thanks to all the Kingstonians who see the benefits of the forest and wetland to our climate and well being. However, the less positive news is that this lengthy hearing is costing us more money than we expected. Therefore we have to increase our fundraising goal to $60,000 to cover the costs of our witnesses’ participation at the hearing. Once again, we are asking our loyal supporters for donations.
So many of you have already been heroically generous, but we hope more of you will help!
You can access our program at the Small Change Fund through the link SCF Stop the Chop! or scan the QR code here:
Thank you once again! Our fingers are crossed in the hope that Kingston’s “little gem” and more are saved!!
Editors Note: Vicki Schmolka’s daily reports on the hearings of the Ontario Land Tribunal are truly amazing – very detailed and unbiased.
DEFINITELY WORTH YOUR TIME!
https://vickischmolka.substack.com/archive
2. Utilities Kingston Water Quality Reports
Received from Utilities Kingston, Feb 22, 2024
https://utilitieskingston.com/Water/Quality/Reports
3. Avian Flu Update
Received March 2, 2024 from Chris Hargreaves of the Kingston Field Naturalists.
“I’m glad to say that I’ve had no more reports of major die-offs like there were at the beginning of the month. However, there continue to be more reports of dead birds than usual.
Public Works had 8 geese (in total) last weekend and on Monday in Elevator Bay, and one additional goose Wednesday 28th. They also had calls from residents about a hawk Monday, which they are sending for testing, and a crow called in on Wednesday.
Sandy Pines received no birds over the past week with suspected AI.
In the Kingston region:
• a deceased goose found on the shore of Long Point Bay in the fishing village on Amherst Island. The goose was found Saturday 24th, and judging by the condition of the carcass, it appeared to have likely been in the water for a while before washing up.
• No carcasses seen in Collins Bay on the ice or around the shore
• A dead goose was seen at Point Crescent in Reddendale)
• The Bald Eagle that was nesting on the south side of Collins Bay Pen and feeding on ducks and geese in Elevator Bay has died. Seems likely that it caught the Avian Flu.
• SATURDAY FEB 24th: I walked the map I sent you of Cataraqui /Elevator Bay. There are two new dead geese on the path of the Invista warming pond path which is off limits and one in the water. As I was watching approximately number 120 geese took off with 60 mallards and 20 greater Scaup. Unfortunately a Canada goose attempted to take flight but was too weak and landed back on the water after about five minutes it started to turn in circles and died shortly after bringing the dead geese total to four at the Invista warming pond. Without proof in my opinion this area seems to be a hotspot for avian flu infections.
• SUNDAY FEB 25th: I walked the Kingston waterfront from Gord Downie Pier to Richardson Beach today between 2-3 pm. There were no geese, dead or alive. I did come across a couple of decayed gull carcasses. It has been just over two weeks since I last walked so perhaps I missed them last time, as the carcasses look quite old. That said I have no idea how long it takes for something to rot or perhaps get picked clean. Live birds seen were just two mallards and a pair of rock doves, all healthy looking. There was a bitter cold wind coming off the lake.
• A dead crow was found this week in Cartwright Point.
• Hundreds of geese still on Wolfe Island. They all looked healthy.
• a dead crow today (Feb 22nd) on Hughes Road, off Hwy # 15. Could have been a road kill as there was a large number of crows in the vicinity.
Many thanks to Anne Robertson, Erwin Batalla, Hugh Pross, Jean Jeffrey, Karen Santucci, Kevin Bleeks, Laura Marshall, Melanie Duggan, Phillida Hargreaves, Richard Cooper, Ruth Bailey, Steve Manders and Sue Meech for these observations.
It seems that birds have started moving north because of the warmer weather. They will be taking the Avian Influenza infection with them, but hopefully there will be less infection from bird to bird as they disperse.
Please continue sending observations, news, and other thoughts or information, toconservation@kingstonfieldnaturalists.org
Chris Hargreaves (he/him)
Chair: Kingston Field Naturalists’ Conservation Committee
hargreavescp@sympatico.ca”
4. Basic Income Issue to Council, Tues, March 5
Received from Jamie Swift, Sat, March 2, 2024
A motion in support of Basic Income will be moved by Councillor Osanic at this Tuesday’s Council meeting.
Here is an excellent article published Sat, Mary 3, 2024 in the Hamilton Spectator by Kingston writer Jamie Swift and Elaine Power, professor of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen’s University.
Basic income could provide the breathing space so many need:
It could offer a hopeful, stabilizing force in an era of destabilization
By Jamie Swift and Elaine Power Saturday, March 2, 2024
“Twenty years ago, the prominent English historian Tony Judt concluded his magnum opus by looking back at the long boom that unfolded after 1945.
The so-called golden years (roughly 1945-late to 1970s) had faded into the mists of history. In the postwar years, Judt pointed to ‘glaring contrasts between wealth and poverty, prosperity and insecurity, private affluence and public squalor.’ Working-class people, particularly a growing precariat, were now exposed to “levels of economic insecurity unprecedented in living memory.’
Two decades later, two Canadian writers from different ends of the political spectrum were tightly focused on insecurity. Former Bank of Canada head Stephen Poloz came out with a book called “The Next Age of Uncertainty.” At the same time Astra Taylor published “The Age of Insecurity,” the title of her 2023 Massey Lectures. Each recommends basic income as one way to address the insecurity gnawing away at so many Canadians.
Scientists say we have entered an age of global “polycrisis”: food and housing insecurity; climate breakdown; stagflation; environmental degradation; war; ideological extremism; authoritarian politics and a crisis of democracy; massive economic inequality; and a general mistrust of institutions.
Each would be bad enough on its own. The polycrisis, however, signals the deep interconnections of systems — political and economic, environmental and cultural — under stress. A crisis in one system produces crises in the others.
The global COVID-19 pandemic did not produce this polycrisis. But it sharpened existing tensions. Pandemics are deeply unsettling, producing destabilizing effects that can last for years or even decades. Hardly a wonder that a sense of insecurity stalks the land.
The affordability crisis. Record numbers visiting food banks. Encampments of poor people mushrooming in big cities and smaller centres, with one newspaper chain publishing a massive series called ‘Tent City Nation.’ Young people, having given up on owning a home, move back to live with parents. Rents are stratospheric. Signs of climate breakdown abound, with record levels of snow and rain, soaring temperatures and unprecedented firestorms.
Unsurprisingly, a populist Official Opposition has gained political traction by repeating ad hominem attacks, insisting that Canada is ‘broken.’ The Liberal government is reeling, its polling numbers in free fall. Canada’s system of public provision has been shredded by decades of market fundamentalism. There’s a desperate need for fresh ideas.
‘Will we leave each other to sink or swim, or will we buoy strangers through life’s rough waters?’ asks Astra Taylor. As 2024 began, Canada’s stubborn basic income (BI) movement was taking heart, telling itself that the idea of an income floor, universally available to all who need it, would provide a sense of stability in these uncertain times. While no silver bullet, BI could begin to help to address affordability. It could help restore a common sense purpose, mending frayed social bonds. The income security that comes with basic income could provide some breathing space for people to imagine and implement new, less destructive ways of living together on the planet.
Last November 20, senior economists, policy specialists and politicians published a groundbreaking study providing evidence that it is now time to put BI to the test using our smallest province as a laboratory.
Prince Edward Island’s Marie Burge is the dean of BI promotors in Canada. The octogenarian’s optimism is based in part on the need to address the stain of poverty. Under her tireless leadership, P.E.I.’s four political parties have come to a consensus in their support for basic income. She knows Canada ‘has the resources to make it happen.’ Her tiny province would be an ideal launching pad for an eventual national program. It just needs federal co-operation and funding.
Coalition Canada, a national BI advocacy group, is busily gathering petitions for members of Parliament to present in the House of Commons, calling on Ottawa to begin immediate negotiations with P.E.I.’s government. The aim? Implementation of a five-year BI demonstration program in the province.
P.E.I. clinical psychologist Susan Hartley points to the province’s crumbling health-care system, its rising population of unhoused people and the grinding life-long health effects of growing up poor. With one of the highest poverty rates in the country, one in four children on the Island lives in poverty. ’If poverty disappears, the health effects of living in poverty will also disappear.’
A 2023 University of British Columbia study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that unconditional cash transfers reduce homelessness — and save money in social services. According to co-author Dr. Jiaying Zhao, ‘When people received the cash transfer, they actually spent it on things that you or I would spend it on — housing, clothing, food, transit — and not on drugs and alcohol.’
Burge insists Ottawa must negotiate with the government of P.E.I. to fund a demonstration project. Why is nothing happening? The easy answer is political will. Away from P.E.I.’s political consensus, there’s skepticism in the political class.
BI clearly has its opponents, right and left. Ontario’s Ford government took just a few weeks after its 2018 election to break its campaign commitment to keep funding Ontario’s high-profile basic income pilot. If completed, the pilot would have been Canada’s – and the world’s – most comprehensive test of BI.
The B.C. New Democrats formed a minority government with Green Party support in 2017. The two-party deal committed the NDP to conduct a study of how to inaugurate a BI pilot. But the NDP proceeded to assign BI critics to examine whether BI was even a good idea. The predictable thumbs down amounted to a betrayal.
The polycrisis will not disappear if politicians cling to old policies no longer suited to urgent contemporary realities. Basic income offers a hopeful stabilizing force in an era of destabilization. A practical means of reducing insecurity.
In November, the Newfoundland and Labrador government launched a basic income program for people aged 60 to 64. As things fall apart, it’s an idea that won’t go away.”
5. For the Love of Songs: Community Soulful Singing
Received from Wendy Luella Perkins, Feb 16, 2024
Editors’s Note: For those of you who have not yet heard of these uplifting community events, both in-person and online, Wendy Luella Perkins organizes soulful singing together several times a week as well as other get-togethers.
Here is a recent posting:
For the Love of Song fundraising update — https://fortheloveofsongs.mailchimpsites.com/
Weekly Soulful Crafting
Cookin’ up Something Soulful — deadline for submissions Feb. 20th
Collage class with Jen starting Feb. 22 — register now
Poetry Playshop series with Catherine in March — Sign-up by Feb. 23
Celebrating a Breath of Song with Patricia — Feb. 24
Volunteer for Seedy Saturday — sign-up now
Lenten journey resources
Sing with me on TikTok
Among the Branches
More Info? info@wendyluellaperkins.com
6. Seedy Saturday, March 9, 10 – 2
Received from 1000 Master Gardeners, Feb 22, 2024
What: Seed Save and Swap: To celebrate and develop closer connections with the magic and wonder of seeds.
Who: KASSI (Kingston Area Seed System Initiative) –https://seedsgrowfood.org/). KASSI is building a community of enthusiastic, confident and skilled seed savers. There will be an advice table for those newly interested.
Where: Cooke’s Portsmouth United Church, 200 Norman Rogers Drive
When: Sat, March 9, 10-2
NOTE: All ages welcome! Feel free to drop by the advice table and introduce yourself.
7. International Art and Found Day, Tues, March 12
Received Feb 27, 2024 from the Kingstonist – Jessica Foley
Editor’s Note:This is a scavenger hunt where local artists hide pieces of art in their communities, then share hints on their Instagram pages or other social media platforms with the hashtag #ArtAndFoundDay.
More info?https://www.kingstonist.com/news/international-art-and-found-day-gains-traction-in-kingston-area/, and/or
https://artandfoundday.com/about/
8. Drinking Water Source Protection – CRCA Public Consultation
https://cataraquiconservation.ca/blogs/news/drinking-water-source-protection-public-consultation
9, Give 30 Kingston
Kingston joined the international Give 30 campaign in 2014 and in a record-breaking yar, last year they raised $25,000 through the
Give 30 Kingston campaign for the Partners in Mission Food Bank.
The Give 30 campaign started in 2012 when the founder, Ziyaad Mia, created the campaign to draw attention to hunger in local communities during Ramadan where “regardless of faith of background to unite in common humanity for a common purpose. Campaign begins March 4, 2024
More info?http://www.give30/ca
10. Just Recovery Kingston Update
Received from Just Recovery Kingston, Feb 27, 2024
JRK AGM Wed, March 6 and Victory Studies
“Please join us for the Just Recovery Kingston AGM on Wednesday, March 6, 2024 at 6:30 pm online.
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86881783591?pwd=JEHrKuvJVc9NchcL63C0zWjuki4SaL.1&from=addon
It has been a while since we have met all together.
Our agenda includes:
Ø Reports from working groups and projects in progress (including Community-Supported Youth Organizing)
Ø Decision on a proposed name change; from Just Recovery Kingston to Just Futures Kingston
Ø Discussion of proposed projects for the year
Do you have a project or activity you’d like to lead or coordinate through Just Recovery Kingston? Please come and pitch your idea! We love to see things happen through JRK; we invite you to propose an idea if you want to take on the lead role and /or a personally dedicate time.
Please contact us ahead of the meeting if we can be of assistance. justrecoverykingston@gmail.com
Victory Series – Register now.
Please join Aric McBay to discuss some exciting movements and what we can learn from them.
The dates and topics will be as follows:
· Weds Feb 28 @ 7pm (Virtual) – The Green Bans
· Weds Mar 13 @ 7pm (Virtual) – Parcel C, Boston Chinatown
· Weds Mar 20 @ 7pm – Richmond Dump (Kingston, in person)
We’ll start with a brief recap of each movement’s history and impact. Then Aric will facilitate a group discussion about why they won and how we can apply those lessons and inspirations to our own work.
If you register, Aric will send you short passages about the featured movement to read before the discussion — this is a unique opportunity for you to engage with and help shape a book in progress.
Please sign up in advance so that you can get the reading and so that we know how many people to expect: https://forms.gle/tAmXtymsPpMuLtq6A
Space will be limited at some events. This series is presented in conjunction with Just Recovery Kingston.
The Green Bans (1971-1974) – In the 1970s, Australian unions and neighbourhood groups work together to fight gentrification and the destruction of urban green space. And they use a powerful new tactic—the green ban—to stop billions of dollars of construction.
Parcel C, Boston Chinatown (1993-1994) – In the 1990s, Boston’s Chinatown had the highest density of any neighbourhood in the city, and the smallest amount of green space per person. When an institution tried to seize the last undeveloped lot of a new parking garage, organizers fought back against environmental racism with a powerful coalition and an alternate vision of a new community center.
Richmond Dump (1988-present) – A small group of anti-dump organizers in Ontario defeat the largest garbage company in the world, thanks to persistence, diverse skills, and an alliance between settlers and Indigenous peoples.
11. Eric Gagnon Kingston Railway Historian Presents – March 20
Who: Eric Gagnon, local historian with special interest in Kingston’s Inner Harbour. Eric’s two most recent books _ “Smoke on the Waterfront” an ‘Stories on the Waterfront” have focused on the railway’s impact on Kingston’s economy, especially the Hanley Spur which connected the waterfront to the Grand Trunk/CN main line. Eric also has created an amazing model of the Inner Harbour in his basement. You can find him on Facebook. He also posts regularly on the Vintage Kingston Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1651265095017276/posts/3135488863261551/?comment_id=3135895523220885¬if_id=1708536852858861¬if_t=feedback_reaction_generic&ref=notif
Eric’s talk is sponsored by the Kingston Historical Society
What: “Two Miles, Two Tracks, Two Railways to Obscurity” – Talk both in person and online
Where: Kingsbridge Retirement Community, 950 Centennial Drive
For link to Zoom meeting contact Paul Vannest at pvannest@cogeco.ca
When: Wed, March 20, 2024, 7 pm.
FROM FARTHER AFIELD
12. New Smaller and more Economical Battery Designs.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/04/this-dime-sized-battery-is-a-step-toward-an-ev-with-a-1000-mile-range/ , and
https://polarnightenergy.fi/sand-battery
13. Tiny Particles of Plastic Now Pollute our Food, Water and Even the Clouds
https://truthout.org/articles/tiny-particles-of-plastic-now-pollute-our-food-water-and-even-the-clouds/?utm_source=Truthout&utm_campaign=deb11f87eb-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_11_16_08_07_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-046450dcb0-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D
14. Total Eclipse – April 8, 2024
Received from Visit Kingston via Facebook
Stand in the path of totality on April 8: experience the total Solar Eclipse in Kingston
Kingston is a prime location to view the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Kingston sits in the path of totality, which means we experience the total solar eclipse for about 3 minutes, turning the town completely dark. Not only is this an extremely rare event that won’t happen again in Ontario for another 400+ years, but you’ll also experience seeing stars, planets, and comets more clearly during the totality of the eclipse than you’ve probably ever seen before.
Event details:
Dates + times: event programing running from April 3-8 | total solar eclipse happens April 8 from approximately 2:09 pm – 4:34 pm | totality happens at approximately 3:22 pm (for about 3 minutes)
Location: various locations around Kingston
Learn how to witness this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity safely, where to park in Kingston, events happening from April 3–8, packages available, and places to book your stay: https://www.visitkingston.ca/eclipse2024/
15. Promising Research on Alzheimer’s
Received from New Scientist Feb 22, 2024
IT SEEMED like a classic case of Alzheimer’s disease. For three years, a man in his 70s had experienced serious cognitive decline: he frequently forgot the names of family members and was no longer able to drive or leave home by himself. Further deterioration seemed inevitable. But then his doctors checked a sample of his cerebrospinal fluid and noticed a fungus called Cryptococcus neoformans. When they put him on a course of antifungal medication, the results were startling. Within two years, he had regained his driving licence and returned to work as a gardener.
Neuroscientists have long suspected that certain infections can increase the risk of dementia. For instance, both Porphyromonas gingivalis, the bacteria behind gum disease, and the herpes simplex virus, which causes cold sores, have been linked with Alzheimer’s. But cases of “reversible dementia” are starting to inspire enormous interest in the idea that our brains are teeming with microorganisms – and that an imbalance in this “brain microbiome” may predispose people to neurodegenerative disease.
More info? https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26134791-400-why-the-brains-microbiome-could-hold-the-key-to-curing-alzheimers/?utm_source=nsnew&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nsnew_220224&utm_term=Newsletter%20NSNEW_Week
16. Napanee Writers’ Forum Meet and Greet Book Fair
Received from Meg Freer
When: Sat, Apr 6, 2024, 12 – 4
Where: Wilton Community Hall, Books available for signing
Who: Jean Rae Baxter, D.A. Bown, Jason Heroux, Sharon Hogan, Leanne Lieberman, Lindy Mechefske, Judii Merle, Dave More with Marie Edwards, Sherry Pringle, Rick Revelle, Grace Vanderzande, Bill Welychka
More info?Barbara.burger66@gmail.com
17. Wellington Water Watchers Update – Water Book Club
Received Feb 21, 2024
| We are so excited to announce the incredible line-up of featured guests for the Unbottled Book Club! https://www.wellingtonwaterwatchers.ca/unbottled_book_club?utm_campaign=book_club_3&utm_medium=email&utm_source=wellingtonwaterwatchers Over 5 monthly sessions, beginning March 7th, we will dive into the book “Unbottled: The Fight Against Plastic Water and for Water Justice” – https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520306622/unbottled with featured guests from the front lines of the fights against corporate water bottling and for water justice. In each session, we will hear from different featured guests who will guide and enhance our conversation with experiential insights from their movements. |
| A cast of incredible and inspiring speakers: Daniel Jaffee – Associate Professor of Sociology and author of Unbottled: The Fight against Plastic Water and for Water Justice (the Book Club book!) Maude Barlow – Canadian author and water justice activistGina Luster – Grassroots organizer and co-founder of Flint RisingWhitney Kalama – Co-founder of Columbia River Treaty Natives Against Nestlé in Cascade LocksKlarice Westley – Co-founder of Wanapum Fishing People Against NestléDawn Martin-Hill – Dr. Dawn Martin-Hill holds a PhD in Cultural Anthropology and a co-founder of the Indigenous Studies Program at McMaster University. She is the inaugural Paul R. McPherson Indigenous Studies ChairMike Balkwill – Expert Campaigner in the Say No To Nestlé Campaign & Troubled Waters Coalition Organizer Join the Unbottled Book Club (https://www.wellingtonwaterwatchers.ca/unbottled_book_club??utm_campaign=book_club_3&utm_medium=email&utm_source=wellingtonwaterwatchers) in support of Water Watchers and deepen your commitment to water justice! Together, let’s strengthen the important fight against corporate water-taking and for water justice! https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520306622/unbottled |
18. How Advanced Genetic Testing Can be Used to Combat the Illegal Timber Trade.
Received from The Conversation, Feb 22, 2024 – Melanie Zacharias
“According to Interpol, the organization dedicated to facilitating international police co-operation, between 15 per cent and 30 per cent of the world’s traded timber comes from illegal sources. This is an estimated annual value of US$51-152 billion dollars.
Illegal logging has serious consequences for the environment, the climate and the local livelihoods of the people who depend upon the affected forests. In turn, local governments are faced with losses in revenue, rising corruption and decreasing timber prices. These make it even more difficult for the legal forestry sector to remain competitive.
Even in Canada, customers are unwittingly supporting this theft by buying timber with false declarations. In the face of such issues, Canadian researchers are currently developing a traceability system (https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.891853/publication.html) employing genomic identification technologies to help tackle the trade in illegal timber.
Stemming the flow
To help address poaching, the United States expanded the pre-existing Lacey Act in 2008. Originally designed to control the illegal trade of wildlife, it was adapted to help tackle the trade in illegally harvested wood. The 2008 amendments to the Lacey Act decreased the importation of illegally harvested wood into the U.S. by approximately 32 to 44 per cent.
In Canada, similar regulations have been put in place to avoid the exploitation of species at risk including the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Interprovincial Trade Act. But how do we know if the declarations of a wood product are accurate or correctly reported?
In general, identification methods can be categorized into three groups: anatomical, analytical or molecular biological techniques — each with its own set of advantages and limitations.
Identification methods which use the aid of microscope technology look for distinct characteristics of the wood anatomy including tissues and cells. It is also the group of methods most commonly used.
However, this method requires trained specialists, the appropriate equipment and can typically only provide meaningful conclusions at the genus level. In addition, wood anatomy cannot tell us where a piece of wood comes from.
Looking to genetics
This is where genomics come into play. To determine the species identity and the geographic origin of a logged tree, researchers take advantage of evolution.
A few key factors make genetic identification possible.
Firstly, there are clear genetic differences between distinct species. Secondly, the closer the relationship between individuals — in this case trees — the more genetically similar they are, while the more removed the individuals are the less genetic information is shared.
Therefore, it is possible to assign an individual to a “local population” based on its genetic fingerprint, sharing parts of its genetic makeup with that population and, consequently, also the specific region where it originates from. This method is called population genetics.
The power of population genetics lies in its ability to identify groups of individuals that share a certain amount of genetic information that can be used to assign individuals to a species or a geographic region. The same methods can be used for humans to find unknown relatives or trace back the ethnic origin of your ancestors.
To reliably assign individuals, a variety of genetic markers is needed, varying between species and local populations.
In Canada, the first successful use of genetic material to conduct forensic testing on trees was pioneered by geneticist Eleanor White who succeeded in tracing a wood log directly to the specific stump of an 800-year-old cedar tree in Western Canada left behind after its illegal felling.
White’s success demonstrates the power of genomic identification in regulating the timber trade.
Developing new systems
Genomic sequencing in combination with genetic data analyses gained public traction during the COVID-19 pandemic, as these were used to identify an outbreak of a new virus variant and trace its origin.
Current research in wood forensics is using similar tools to assign an individual to a source population with high accuracy. Since genetic analyses can be costly, genetic databases of previously studied species are compiled and used as test data to determine the best and most reliable analytical method.
The aim is to create a simple traceability system for timber products that border officials can implement quickly and easily. This should help stop the sale of illegally harvested timber and hold those responsible to account.
The long-term goal is to make it more difficult to sell illegally harvested timber in Canada and thus contribute to the protection of valuable forests. In addition, traceability can certify areas in Canada which are sustainably managed, making it easier for consumers to support sustainable forest management practices.
19. Kingston’s Murder of Crows – Photos and Videos
Editor’s Note: Some really wonderful photos and videos here.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1070761247429905/?multi_permalinks=1134821931023836¬if_id=1709479480711974¬if_t=group_activity&ref=notif
20. World Wildlife Day, Today, Sun, March 3, 2024
https://www.wildlifeday.org/en
Leaving you with a quote from Robin Kimmerer received from the 1000 Islands Master Gardeners, Feb 22, 2024.
So humbling.
Invertebrates are 97% of animal diversity
“Language can be a tool for cultural transformation. Make no mistake: “Ki” and “kin” are revolutionary pronouns. Words have power to shape our thoughts and our actions. On behalf of the living world, let us learn the grammar of animacy. We can keep “it” to speak of bulldozers and paperclips, but every time we say “ki,” let our words reaffirm our respect and kinship with the more-than-human world. Let us speak of the beings of Earth as the “kin” they are.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Wishing you all a wonderful month ahead,
Mary Farrar, President,
Friends of Kingston Inner Harbour