Some farmers in B.C. able to extend harvesting while others struggle with drought
Some farmers in B.C. able to extend harvesting while others struggle with drought October 17, 2022 Dr. Sean Smukler, Land and Food Systems and new CSFS Director, explained how the drought in B.C. is affecting farmers differently. “The crops that are well established and just need a little bit of water in this late season […]
Watch out for the quiet ones – The smartest raccoons are the most docile
Watch out for the quiet ones – The smartest raccoons are the most docile October 3, 2022 A study investigating animal personalities and how they help critters adapt to human environments has come to a curious conclusion. Dr. Sarah Benson-Amram, Departments of Zoology and Forest and Conservation Sciences, was part of the team that studied raccoons’ […]
‘It was obviously shocking in the best way possible’: Patagonia pledges profits to the Earth
‘It was obviously shocking in the best way possible’: Patagonia pledges profits to the Earth October 3, 2022 Dr. Kai Chan, CSFS Associate and professor in the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability and the Institute for Oceans and Fisheries, commented on the donation of Patagonia to an environmental non-profit, including similar actions in the company’s history. […]
The fate of your food rests with Canada’s native bees
The fate of your food rests with Canada’s native bees October 3, 2022 Jennifer Lipka, an MSc student in CSFS Associate Juli Carrillo’s lab and the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, discussed her research into how native bees are impacted by changes in land use, climate change and pollution. Read the full article at the National […]
This farmer-turned-biologist wants to put Quebec’s truffles on the culinary map
This farmer-turned-biologist wants to put Quebec’s truffles on the culinary map October 3, 2022 Shannon Berch, associate member in the Department of Botany, discussed growing truffles at the UBC Farm. Berch leads the Truffle Establishment in British Columbia, a project at the Farm which focuses on farming Mediterranean black winter truffles in a symbiotic relationship […]
The flower industry has a thorny environmental problem — and plastic is just part of it
The flower industry has a thorny environmental problem — and plastic is just part of it October 3, 2022 Dr. Kai Chan, CSFS Associate and professor at the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability and the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, discussed the environmental impacts of the industrial farming of flowers. “Depending on where the […]
How a Garbage-Bin War Schools Humans and Birds
How a Garbage-Bin War Schools Humans and Birds September 21, 2022 Sulfur-crested cockatoos are trash-can bandits in the suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Humans use tools to protect their bins, and the birds then go the extra mile to break in. The human-bird innovation arms race is “a really exciting idea,” says Dr. Sarah Benson-Amram, Departments […]
Food Insecurity Affects Nearly 1 in 6 Canadian Households
Food Insecurity Affects Nearly 1 in 6 Canadian Households September 16, 2022 “We know that food insecurity takes a major toll on people’s physical and mental well-being and adds significant costs to our healthcare system,” says Dr. Jennifer Black, CSFS Associate and Associate Professor of Food, Nutrition, and Health. In her recent research, Dr. Black […]
B.C. researchers tout promising progress on oral insulin tablets
B.C. researchers tout promising progress on oral insulin tablets September 8, 2022 Researchers led by CSFS Associate Dr. Anubhav Pratap-Singh have developed oral insulin tablets as a replacement for daily insulin injections. “These exciting results show that we are on the right track in developing an insulin formulation that will no longer need to be injected before every […]
Lawns gone wild: How being lawnmower lazy boosts biodiversity
Lawns gone wild: How being lawnmower lazy boosts biodiversity September 1, 2022 “We need to think more about resource use and the stuff we put on the ground, and think more about biodiversity. We’ve lost many, many of our pollinators because of that obsession with the bowling green type lawn.” Forestry professor and CSFS Associate […]