States of Nature is one of the first books to trace the development of Canadian wildlife conservation from its social, political, and historical roots. While noting the influence of celebrity conservationists such as Jack Miner and Grey Owl, Tina Loo emphasizes the impact of ordinary people on the evolution of wildlife management in Canada. She also explores the elements leading up to the emergence of the modern environmental movement, ranging from the reliance on and practical knowledge of wildlife demonstrated by rural people to the more aloof and scientific approach of state-sponsored environmentalism.
Intended to delight and provoke, these short, beautifully crafted essays, enlivened with photos and illustrations, explore how humans have engaged with the Canadian environment and what those interactions say about the nature of Canada. Tracing a path from the Ice Age to the Anthropocene, some of the foremost stars in the field of environmental history reflect on how we, as a nation, have idolized and found inspiration in nature even as fishers, fur traders, farmers, foresters, miners, and city planners have commodified it or tried to tame it. Their insights are just what we need as Canada attempts to reconcile the opposing goals of prosperity and preservation.
Professor Berger aims in this book to ‘explore the rise, expression, and relative decline of the idea of natural history’ in Canada, during the age of Victoria. Science, particularly natural science, was then accessible to the general public in a way scarcely imaginable today. Natural history societies were set up in a number of cities and provided a focus for the descriptive and collecting activities of amateurs and incipient professionals. These societies acted as social clubs and vehicles for self-improvement as well as providing excellent training for the amateur scientist. The Baconian assumptions that inspired the Victorian collectors and scientists were one of the major victims of the Darwinian revolution, and their demise brought about the gradual decline of the natural history societies. Professor Berger considers also the sense of wonder and reverence with which Victorian Canadians, like their British contemporaries, looked at the varieties and delights of nature. The British tradition of natural theology had a great impact on the pursuit of science in Victorian Canada, leading naturalists and poets alike to seek in the uncharted flora and fauna of their new land the handiwork of a benevolent God. The author examines the impact of the discoveries of Darwin on this tradition and on the relations between science and religion, as the creator and the act of creation became more and more distant in time and more tenuously connected to the world of nature around us. His study provides many rich insights into the practice and theory of natural history in an age when even a veteran politician could look back and recall, with understanding and in detail, the world of nature in the countryside of his youth.
At any given moment, there are hundreds of campaigns under way that seek to persuade citizens or decision makers to think, act, or vote in a certain way. But what separates campaigns that win from those that don’t? This book shows how to combine old-school people power with new digital tools and data to win campaigns today. It explores the traditions and practices of organizing and how to marry these with digital communication tools to scale up campaigns and win. Over a dozen case studies from NGOs, unions, and electoral campaigns highlight this work in practice. At a time of growing concern about what the future holds, this book is an indispensable guide not only for seasoned campaigners but also for those just getting started, who want to apply the principles and practices of engagement organizing to their own campaigns for change.
The Nature Guide to Atlantic Canada lets you discover the wonderful diversity of nature that lies right outside your front door. Whether you live in the city or in the country, hundreds of species of plants and animals share your living space. Get to know your neighbours! Covering every square inch of Atlantic's Canada's incredibly varied landscape, this book helps you identify over 400 species of mammals, birds. Amphibians, retiles, invertebrates, fish, trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses and ferns. This latest nature guide for Atlantic Canada is the perfect resource for anyone- teachers, parents, students, children's groups-interested in learning more about nature in their backyard and beyond.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada is the leading non-governmental land conservation organization, a private, not-for-profit organization that partners with corporate and individual landowners to protect natural lands. The NCC's work is supported by about 40,000 active donors and manages 2.2 million acres of ecologically important land nationwide. The NCC is by all accounts a rare good news environmental story.
Braun (geography, U. of Minnesota) provides a new viewpoint on the complex cultural, political, and intellectual forces involved in the forest policies of British Columbia. Employing poststructuralist theory and using the 1993 protests over logging in Clayoquot Sound as his starting point, Braun assesses the colonial thinking behind 19th- century forest policies, the struggles of native peoples to regain their spaces, the assertion of so-called rational forest management as a new version of colonialism, the Western Canada Wilderness Committee's use of nature photography to promote their notion of pristine wilderness, ecotourism, and the continued impact of the vision of early 20th-century painter Emily Carr. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)