54 degrees north - podcast series about issues around northwest bc by Nikki Skuce
54 Degrees North is a podcast created out of Wet'suwet'en territory in Smithers, BC. It is produced periodically as a topic series - looking at regional climate change impacts; digging deeper into food security; assessing mining impacts on salmon watersheds; and bringing in some episodes from Beneath the Surface by the BC Mining Law Reform. Through engaging interviews and conversations with experts and Indigenous knowledge holders, we bring up insights and issues related to the northwest.
In this episode, we’re joined by geographers Rosemary Collard and Jessica Dempsey to discuss their groundbreaking audit of mining projects in British Columbia. Are environmental regulations really the bottleneck the mining industry claims they are? What happens when the promised economic benefits of mining—like jobs, tax revenue, and production—fall drastically short? Rosemary and Jessica walk us through their research, revealing surprising insights about delays, care-and-maintenance loopholes, and the underperformance of mines.
This episode of Beneath the Surface features a discussion about the proposed Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) mine in northern British Columbia. If completed, the KSM mine would become one of the world’s largest gold-copper mines, threatening critical river systems and the communities that depend on them.
As part of our salmon connections and resilience series, we go further north to Taku River Tlingit territory to learn about the work and research being done to protect salmon and adapt to changing conditions from climate impacts.
As part of the salmon connections and resilience series for 54 Degrees North, we reached out to a number of people who have defended salmon in some way against the myriad of threats they face. We hear about their connectedness to this critical species that is so intertwined with cultures and communities of the Skeena region and throughout the Pacific Northwest.
The Skeena River is the second largest salmon producing watershed in Canada and a critical part of it is the unique and highly productive estuary. The area deserves protection from future threats and is essential to the survival and resilience of salmon and cultures in this region. In this episode of 54 Degrees North, we learn more about this critical habitat as part of a series exploring salmon connections and resilience.
As part of our salmon connections and resilience series, we explore the potential impacts of mining on salmon watersheds. The episode features some of the authors who collaborated on a science and policy paper published in Science Advances in July 2022 that reviewed the ecological complexities of rivers and some of the risks mines can have on salmon watersheds. We also hear from those facing impacts from mining on the Fraser River.
After a challenging year, we're exploring positive stories from the Skeena Region. In this episode of 54 degrees North, we explore the Healthy Watersheds Initiative projects taking place in this region. Learn more about the restoration economy and reconciliation in action.
This is a follow-up episode of 54 degrees North with Jacob Beaton from Tea Creek Farms about how their training program and food sovereignty initiative managed to operate through a year in a pandemic.
In this episode of 54 degrees North, we hear tips and preferences for putting food away that avoids spoilage and extends local food security through the year.
In this episode of 54 degrees North, we hear directly from food producers in the wider Bulkley Valley region about their farms and businesses, and their suggestions for overcoming barriers to be a more food secure region.
In this episode of 54 degrees North, we hear tips and tricks from gardeners and harvesters in the Bulkley Valley region.
In this episode of 54 degrees North, we hear origin stories of how food producers from the Bulkley Valley region got started - their motivations behind where and what they grow.
In this episode of 54 degrees North, we hear about training and gardening programs in the wider Bulkley Valley region that help make growing food more accessible.
It has always been predicted that climate change would bring more extreme and less predictable weather events. In this episode of 54 degrees North, we hear the science and stories behind wildfires and other extreme weather events in the Bulkley Valley. These impact not only our ecology, but our psyche as smoky days feel apocalyptic.
In this episode of 54 degrees North, we learn about bugs in the Bulkley Valley. Listen to the stories and science about insect impacts to our environment and potentially our health as a result of a warming world.
In this episode of 54 degrees North, we hear how forests around the Bulkley Valley have been impacted by pathogens and droughts (bugs and wildfires are in another episode), and stories on how these changes are affecting the people and ecology. We also hear how trees suck, in a good way.
In this episode of 54 degrees North, we hear politics and policies, and initiatives and ideas for taking action and adapting to the climate crisis in the Bulkley Valley.
In this episode of 54 degrees North, we hear about how the climate has changed in the last 120 years in the Bulkley Valley, and hear more science and stories behind the melting glaciers and disappearing groundwater.
In this episode of 54 degrees North, we hear how salmon and steelhead are being impacted by climate change. Salmon often unite people across the Skeena watershed and this time should be no different. Listen to the stories and science behind our declining wild salmon.
