Ducks Unlimited Canada Podcast

Competing needs are emerging in our boreal forest. Warming temperatures from climate change are making it easier to farm in the boreal – some calling it “the new agricultural frontier.” At the same time, massive increases in food production will be needed to meet our global food supply needs. But the Canadian Boreal Region contains the largest area of wetlands of any ecosystem in the world, serving as a breeding ground for more than 12 million water birds and millions of land birds. It is the largest intact forest on earth. Three million square kilometers are undisturbed, giving Canada the opportunity to do large-scale conservation work that just wouldn’t be possible in any other areas of the world. The first researchers to study this issue, Lee Hannah and Patrick Roehrdanz of Conservation International, join Jennifer to explain how this is an issue of sustainable agriculture and climate mitigation above all else. Also, Jennifer thinks this episode is best enjoyed with a glass of merlot.

In her new book, The Bird Way, Jennifer is joined by NYT bestselling author Jennifer Ackerman to discuss the remarkable intelligence underlying how birds conduct their lives: how they communicate, forage, court, breed, and survive. Once considered only traits of humans, Jennifer dissects how birds show deception, manipulation, cheating, kidnapping, cooperation, collaboration, altruism –and ingenious communication between species –showing us there so much more to our feathered friends. Get to know Jennifer (link to): https://www.cbsnews.com/video/conserving-north-americas-bird-populations/#x 

There have been three sightings of the Asian giant hornet in the Pacific Northwest - a place they should not be. Lab findings determined that two of the hornets were from different colonies. This means there were at least two simultaneous arrivals of the Asian giant hornet. Yikes. They are an invasive species that bully the native species to the point where they can't survive. And that's a problem for conservation efforts. It's pollinator week - and Andrew MacDougall joins the pod.

How will the efforts to address climate change look in a post-coronavirus world? Will it bring out the best in us? Or will our exhaustion and economic fears set the conservation movement back? Jennifer makes the case that important things can come from difficult events—including the existence of Ducks Unlimited. Seasoned crisis management expert Ben Morgan joins the pod to unpack this idea.

Word Nerd meets Bird Nerd in this episode about how the three North American organizations of Ducks Unlimited are adjusting course with the unveiling of a new international conservation plan. The conversation also touches on mysteries of corn, ducks in horror films, Bernie Sanders, and Harley Davidson. Sounds random, but it was recorded in a simpler time.

The theme of this year’s World Wetlands Day is biodiversity. As Australia’s bushfires rage on, the state of their biodiversity remains front-page news. Dr. Chris Dickman, a professor of ecology at the University of Sydney, assess the devastation and shares why he believes Australia is the canary in the coalmine for the rest of the world. Then, Canada’s own biodiversity expert, Dr. Kai Chan, helps us to understand what lessons Australia’s biodiversity challenges can teach us here at home.

Join host Jennifer Sanford for a conversation with Dr. John Clague, the grandfather of Canada’s natural hazard research. Learn about what happens to wetlands after major earthquakes and what role wetlands play in mitigating floods, tornados, and wildfire.

Ducks Unlimited Canada CEO, Dr. Karla Guyn, talks wins and challenges in conservation, how conservation partnerships lead the way, and the vision to strengthen Canada’s conservation community.

In The Reeds host Jennifer Sanford is joined by the pod’s former host, Wayne MacPhail, as they celebrate the best and brightest moments of the year. Together, they open the vault to 20 previously aired episodes. Don’t miss the end, as Jennifer shares what inspires the spirit of the pod.

What to do about carbon is a major issue. But what do we actually know about carbon? And how can the wetlands, grasslands, and coastal area we conserve help? We’re talking Carbon 101 on this special edition of our In the Reeds podcast.

In this episode, we’re continuing our conversation on sea-level rise. In Nova Scotia, the Acadian dykelands can no longer be maintained to the 2050 climate projections. The community must make critical decisions about dykeland maintenance and salt marsh restoration. But achieving a way forward will take community consensus – and concessions. Our guest, Dr. Kate Sherren, is a researcher and professor at Dalhousie University. She studies the relationship between climate adaptation and public resistance in Atlantic Canada, especially in the face of climate-related changes, sea-level rise, and storm surge.

Everything in conservation is about risk. That’s why, when you hear us talk about conservation, we always start with what’s at stake. A big risk to our landscape is the rising of sea levels – and thus here is part one of our two-part series on sea-level rise.  In this episode, Jennifer is joined by Globe and Mail journalist Matthew McClearn, author of Sea Change.

When the United Nations first ever biodiversity report was released in May, the results seemed pretty dire.  But there is no better guest to help us make sense of a way forward than Dr. Kai Chan. He was one of the report's authors and he joins our pod to help answer this question: In the great debate of climate change, what will it take to change?  

Abigail Derby Lewis marvels at monarchs and the perilous journey they make each year from Canada and the U.S. to Mexico and back. She's the Senior Conservation Ecologist and Senior Program Manager, Chicago Region at the Field Museum's Keller Science Action Center. Abigail's also a science translator, she turns research knowledge into practical actions citizens can take to conserve nature. And, Ms. Derby Lewis is also the first of a series of folks we'll be introducing you to who turned their passion for conservation in careers, creativity, and action in the community. Conservation of wetlands, of course, is near and dear to all of us at Ducks Unlimited Canada. But, we know we can’t tackle conservation alone and we’re happy to celebrate our fellow travellers. Abigail became passionate about conservation when, as a nine-year-old girl she looked into the face of a zoo-keep silverback gorilla. She went on to study primates all over the world. But, these days she's making certain that Chicago provides migrating mo

This episode begins with a remarkable story about vision, persistence and, sewage. It’s the tale of the little town of Niverville, Manitoba and its groundbreaking solution to dealing with night soil. Next, as winter approaches we ask the question everybody thinks of when they stroll past frozen ponds. It’s about ducks and feet. 

Why do maritime fish fight currents, waterfalls and man-made barriers to get to inland ponds and lakes to spawn? What barriers do they face? How does that odd behaviour help the ecology of wetlands? And, how can we make their job easier? We talk with Nic McLellan, the Atlantic Science Coordinator for Ducks Unlimited Canada to find out. Plus, we discover what tracking road race runners has to do with counting fish. Did you know ducklings have their own social network? No spoilers, but you'll be amazed by how those little ducks make sure they all share the same birthday, thanks to a quick chat we had with Dave Howerter. He's the Director of National Conservation Operations at Ducks Unlimited Canada. Dave's up on the equivalent of bird Twitter. Listen up. Making ContactLike to learn more about these topics and other aspects of wetlands conservation? You can at ducks.ca. And, you can email your questions and feedback to communications@ducks.ca. Guest Bios Nic McLellanConservation Programs Specialist, Atlantic Can

This episode begins with an engraving that was tucked into the corner of a 18th-century map of North America, a beaver map. The engraving depicts an almost Hieronymus Bosch-like scene. One that’s a psychedelic, fever dream of beavers in Canada. In the background, a bifurcated Niagara Falls tumbled into a broad river. In the mid- and foregrounds are rodentesque creatures, dozens of them. These are part beaver, part bear, part human animals that have the orderliness and industry of a work crew of navvies. Some carry logs on their shoulders like the seven dwarfs hefting shovels, some carry cowpats of mortar on their tails. Others seem to be barking orders from neatly constructed ramps. The beavers, an inscription on the engraving tells us, are building a Great Lake through their organized labour. To understand that map, and beavers' relationship with the landscape I spoke with Glynnis Hood, a professor of environmental science at the University of Alberta, Augustana Campus. Glynnis is a beaver expert. She’s stud

Dave Phillips, the chief climatologist for Environment Canada this country's homespun, homegrown weather guru. The Don Cherry of weather in terms of fame on the CBC anyway. For decades now he’s been the avuncluar go-to guy for journalists from coast-to-coast who want a folksy, informed dose of weather history, retrospective or prognostication. Why was it so hot in Calgary last August? Ask Dave. What’s with all the rain in Halifax. Ask Dave. But these days Dave Phillips, now 72, is answering a different, deeper question. Why has the weather been so aggressive, so persistent and, well, just plain weird lately? I caught up with Dave as he was about halfway through a Canada wide tour answering those questions in a talk he calls: Weather and Climate: Not What Our Grandparents Knew” The exhausting tour is Environment Canada’s way of celebrating Dave’s 50 years as this country's most famous civil servant. And, as you’ll hear, its also a chance for an older, wiser Dave Phillips to share his concerns and hopes for a c

This episode is all about scum. Stinky, toxic, and beach fouling scum, better known as blue-green algae. You’ve probably seen it in a pond or lake near you. It looks like someone changed their mind about painting their living room French Canadian pea soup green and dumped gallons of the ill-considered pigment into a nearby body of water.  But, it’s not paint, it an early form of life on earth called a cyanobacteria. If the conditions are right, sunlight, high temperatures and lots of nutrients, especially phosphorous, those bacteria can multiply like samollena on luke warm chicken. The billions of bacteria cause what’s called a bloom, but not one that smells very sweet. And, when the bacteria die they can release a toxin that can cause kidney failure.  In fact, in 2014 a blue green algae bloom in the west end of Lake Erie was so huge it caused the city of Toledo, Ohio to completely shut down its water system for fear of poisoning Toldeoans.  But, ironically, if it weren’t for cyanobacteria billions of years a

Bet you didn’t know goats and flea beetles went to a vegetarian restaurant together they’d probably order the same thing - Leafy spurge. But, that menu choice would be about the only thing that would go well on that date. What’s that got to do ducks? Leafy spurge is the bane of grasslands, like the one that surrounds a Duck Unlimited Canada managed wetland called Frank Lake in Alberta. We’ll find out how the dynamic dining duo of goats and bottles beat that noxious supervillian spurge. Next, our first serving of a scrumptious sampler of information sushi we’re calling Duckoids. Homewrecking ducks and sidewalk chalk coming up. Frank Lake is a restored wetland near High River Alberta. Waterfowl and shorebirds aplenty flock to its shores or nest in its surrounding prairie grasses, wild rose and scrub. It’s a delicate ecosystem sustained by water diverted from the Highwood River and a DUC, government and industry partnership. But that ecosystem is threatened by an invasive species, leafy spruge that may have arri