Category: Video Review

Heather has been feeding the birds all Winter. The main customers are chickadees, mourning doves, blue jays and red polls, and an assortment of woodpeckers — plus the squirrel family. Tuesday, looking out the living room window, I saw a bird flash by. It was a sharp-shinned hawk, in the process of preying on a mourning dove. Clearly, we are feeding others in the food chain.

On Edward’s recommendation, we started to watch the series: Canada: the story of us on CBC Gem. There are ten episodes, each of forty five minutes, covering the main events in the history of the country. Initially, we were stunned by the combination of beautiful landscapes, with commentaries by well-known Canadian personalities. It was a great way to fill snowy evenings. We are on episode six; it covers the First World War. The format is beginning to seem repetitious, however, I am sure we will finish the series.

In return, I would suggest Mango Dreams on Netflix. This is the story of an Indian doctor, reliving his childhood memories. Again, it offers insight into the political reality of the Indian sub-continent.

Acknowledgements.

Edward for his movie recommendation. Checking Google, it seems there are similar series for both the United States and Australia. Of course, I imagine that not everyone in Atlantic Canada will have the same list of historical events. Heather shared the movie watching.

References

Canada: the story of us on Gem (2017).
Mango Dreams on Netflix (2016)

This week, we had to drive from New Glasgow to Antigonish. It was surprising to see the twinning of Highway #104. As part of the construction, this leads to significant removal of forest cover.

From England, I received the PLANTED newsletter, including an interview by Sam Peters with Nick Hayes on his book, The Book of Trespass. Hayes describes the lack of access to the English landscape, and makes comparisons to Scotland and Scandinavian countries. This also contrasts with the situation in Canada, and Nova Scotia in particular. Here, we have protesters in the courts for challenging the clearcutting of crown land in Digby County.

It seems such a long time ago. In 1964, after a summer working in Labrador, I returned to Montreal where I bought a Greyhound bus pass, $99 for 99 days of unlimited travel. This allowed me to travel down to Mexico, across to the west coast, California, before heading North to Victoria, BC. I caught the airplane home to England from Montreal. Later, I recall discussing the trip with a school friend, Roy Peters. He made a similar trip the following year. His son, Sam Peters is the Principal at PLANTED.

I also recall the days of hitch-hiking in the United Kingdom. We would take off on long weekends to go caving (spelunking). From the University of Birmingham, this included the Peak district, Derbyshire, the Mendips in the Southwest, and also Lisdoonvarna, on the west coast of Ireland. It’s hard to imagine this freedom, especially now in these COVID-19 days.

While in New Glasgow this week, I finished reading Harold Horwood’s Dancing on the Shore. It represents excellence in Canadian nature writing.

”The tides sweep over the clam flats in a great flood twice daily. The migrants sweep through the sky in great flocks twice a year. These vast rhythms, so visible in such a small space, seem very like the heartbeat and the breathing of a living planet.”

Postscript

Bloom where you are planted

— Raymond Hunter, an early organic farmer in the Annapolis Valley, cited on the Ironworks Hunter Brandy bottle.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Roy Peters and Andrew Ronay for the connection to the Planted newsletter. Heather shared the drive to Antigonish. Edward for his graphics.

References

PLANTED unearthed. Series 2, Episode I interview by Sam Peters with Nick Hayes. YouTube video.

Nick Hayes, 2020, The Book of Trespass: crossing the lines that divide us, Bloomsbury Publishing.

Harold Horwood, 2010, Dancing on the Shore: A Celebration of Life at Annapolis Basin, Pottersfield Press

Last Sunday, we saw two very different views of the Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve.

Around noon, we joined the protest by Extinction Rebellion (XR) at their encampment near the Silver River Wilderness Area.

Along with fifty or so other citizens, we formed a human chain along the forest boundary. We were protesting the impact of forest harvesting on the mainland moose habitat. The area is designated crown land and forms part of the buffer zone between the core protected area, Kejimkujik National Park and the Tobeatic Wilderness Area, and the working landscape. The Biosphere Reserve covers five counties in Southwest Nova Scotia. The mainland moose is designated as a species at risk.

In the evening on TVO, they aired the documentary Striking Balance.

Season 2, Episode 9 presented the Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve. This one hour program showed numerous examples of invasive species (e.g. green crab, pickerel, woolly hemlock adelgid) in the region and the efforts, particularly by Parks Canada to control their spread. Other segments looked at sea level rise and coastal communities, lichens and acid rain, plus the development of an interactive digital atlas.

What was missing, was any reference to the forestry practices and their impact on wildlife habitat. In particular, the impact of clearcutting and spraying in the buffer zone. The buffer is made up of both crown land and private land ownership.

As we drove home from Digby County to Paradise (Annapolis County) we listened to the radio. There were interviews with the three candidates for leadership of the provincial Liberal party. They all made reference to the Lahey report and its implementation in 2021. As well, there was talk about revisiting the definition of ‘crown lands’. We must wait to see whether our government can find a better balance between ecological, cultural and economic sustainability.

Meanwhile, XR will continue to occupy their encampment. We are hoping for reform within the Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry — a renewed respect for the forested landscape and the habitat of species at risk — by implementing the Lahey report recommendations, redefining of crown lands, and thus reducing the need for clearcutting and spraying.

Acknowledgements

Heather Stewart, Doug Hickman, Nina Newington and many others who support this worthy cause. Edward Wedler for his graphics contribution.

Reference

Striking Balance, tvo.org Season 2 Episode 8 Southwest Nova Biosphere Reserve.

Footnote

Forest protectors from 30Nov2020 Encampment Update Note. Credit: Laura Bright.