It’s a well-known fact that humans have made an irreversible impact on the planet. While it’s easy to feel defeated and overwhelmed by news of climate disasters all over the world and close to home, it’s important to keep listening to the voices of Indigenous leaders, researchers, and artists talking about what has been done, and what can still be done.
Reignite your energy with these locally-focused books that range from educational nonfiction, community tales of resilience, poignant poetry, and stories to inspire the next generation.
Nonfiction to learn from
Protecting the Coast and Ocean: A Guide to Marine Conservation Law in British Columbia by Stephanie M. Hewson, Linda Nowlan, Georgia Lloyd-Smith, Deborah Carlson, and Michael Bissonnette (UBC Press)
Protecting the Coast and Ocean, the first comprehensive guide to marine protection law in British Columbia, analyzes and compares the legal tools available to reverse ocean decline.
Out now!
Lha yudit’ih We Always Find a Way: Bringing the Tŝilhqot’in Title Case Home by Lorraine Weir with Chief Roger William (Talonbooks)
Eight years in the making, Lha yudit’ih We Always Find a Way is a community oral history of Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia, the first case in Canada to result in a declaration of Aboriginal Rights and Title to a specific piece of land. Told from the perspective of the Plaintiff, Chief Roger William, joined by fifty Xeni Gwet’ins, Tŝilhqot’ins, and allies, this book encompasses ancient stories of creation, modern stories of genocide through smallpox and residential school, and stories of resistance including the Tŝilhqot’in War, direct actions against logging and mining, and the twenty-five-year battle in Canadian courts to win recognition of what Tŝilhqot’ins never gave up and have always known.
Out now!
Fleece and Fibre: Textile Producers of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands by Francine McCabe (Heritage House Publishing)
Strong focus on sustainable, artisanal textile production and the slow fashion movement. Climate impact of global fast fashion. For anyone who’ ever wondered where their clothes come from or what they’re made of. Explores the region’s vibrant fleece and fibre community and introduces the public to this growing land-based textile economy.
Out now!
Drawing Botany Home: A Rooted Life by Lyn Baldwin ( RMB | Rocky Mountain Books)
Tutored by the plants of forest and garden, wilderness and wetland, Lyn realizes that her botany never has been, and never will be, a placeless science. Instead, Drawing Botany Home gives Lyn the metaphors to reconcile the dark horror of settler/Indigenous relations and the hard edges of her own childhood: poverty, a traumatic fire, unwanted stepfathers, a hippie mother.
Out now!
Medicinal Perennials to Know and Grow by Dan Jason and Rupert Adams, illustrated by Lyn Alice (Harbour Publishing)
This book discusses the therapeutic benefits of common perennials, and how to forage for them with as minimal impact on natural environments as possible. It describes the environmental benefits of perennials, including as attractants to native pollinators, and how cultivation can improve local ecosystems.
Out now!
The Sky and the Patio: An Ecology of Home by Don Gayton (New Star Books)
In 25 engaging essays, Summerland writer Don Gayton fuses the personal with the ecological to portray the geography and the natural and human history of his adopted Okanagan Valley homeland.
Out now!
Sustainable Energy Transitions in Canada edited by Mark Winfield, Stephen Hill, and James Gaede (UBC Press)
Sustainable Energy Transitions in Canada brings together experts from across the country to share their perspectives on how energy systems can respond to climate change, enhance social justice, respect local cultures and traditions – and still make financial sense. Framed through the relationship between decarbonization and energy sustainability and justice, Sustainable Energy Transitions in Canada brings together experts from across the country to share their perspectives.
Out now!
Mr. Mindbomb: Eco-hero and Greenpeace Co-founder Bob Hunter — A Life in Stories edited by Bobbi Hunter (RMB | Rocky Mountain Books)
“You are about to take a ride through the life and times, adventures and accomplishments of a fascinating and remarkable man. Contributions by activists, cohorts, colleagues, offspring and family give you their perspective on some of the wildest and most profound actions in the ongoing work of defending this extraordinary jewel of a planet.” —Captain Paul Watson, co-founder of Greenpeace and the founder of Sea Shepherd
Out now!
For eco-conscious kids
Blue Camas, Blue Camas by Danielle S. Marcotte, illustrated by Alyssa Koski (Heritage House Publishing)
Blue Camas, Blue Camas tells the story of a flower that is native to the Northwest Coast of North America. For thousands of years, it has been considered a sacred and valuable plant by the Indigenous Peoples of this region, who harvested and traded Blue Camas bulbs all along the west coast. At the height of this period, meadows would come alive with the bright wildflowers, which would attract dozens of species of butterflies and birds, and entire villages would work together to harvest the plant and ensure its continued growth.
Out now!
The Eco Diary of Kiran Singer by Sue Ann Alderson, illustrated by Millie Ballance (Tradewind Books)
Kiran Singer is worried. What can a kid do to help preserve the earth? In her diary, Kiran explores the environmental problems threatening her local wetland. Richly illustrated by Millie Ballance, Sue Ann Alderson’s poems are a celebration of life and our ability to make a difference.
Less is More: Join the Low-Waste Movement by Leah Payne (Orca Book Publishers)
Less Is More gives young readers small, practical steps they can take every day to reduce their trash. Kids will discover how to avoid waste in the first place, reduce how much they use and reuse what they can, before they recycle and rot (compost) the rest. Find out how you can join the low-waste movement—and get your friends and family on board too!
Out now!
Badass(ish) by Jaymie Heilman (Ronsdale Press)
This YA novel is set in Edmonton after the main character’s home was destroyed by the Fort Mac fire. The novel is told from the points of view of the three main characters: Davis’ parents work for the oil company she is fighting against; Renzi knows what it’s like when climate change strikes back when her grandparents’ home in Puerto Rico is destroyed by hurricanes and Jae hasn’t found the right moment to share the truth about her growing feelings for another girl.
Out now!
Minnow: The Girl Who Became Part Fish by Willie Polle and bailey macabre (Medicine Wheel Publishing)
This story, through the young Indigenous water protector Minnow, addresses Indigenous environmental activism and the value of traditional ecological knowledge. “And onward they went with a message chant, ‘Respect Mother Earth, her waters and land!’
Out now!
Poetry and a play
Remnants: Reveries of a Mountain Dweller by Natalie Virginia Lang (Caitlin Press)
In Remnants: Reveries of a Mountain Dweller, writer and educator Natalie Virginia Lang offers a vision of Sumas Mountain throughout the seasons to expose the impact of toxic progress on Place. Through poetic prose, Lang meditates on the social, historical, cultural, and environmental losses suffered at the hands of infringement upon natural areas. Remnants ventures into the natural spaces on Sumas Mountain, illuminating the errors of the modern colonial approach to progress and posing philosophical queries for alternate pathways into the future.
Out now!
No More Harveys by Chantal Bilodeau (Talonbooks)
Harveys suck. Whether hurricanes or Hollywood producers, they prey on vulnerable people and ecosystems. Harveys especially prey on women, including the one in No More Harveys, who flees her abusive husband and heads for Alaska to reunite with friends – and instead encounters the wonder of whales. In turns funny, insightful, and moving, No More Harveys presents a world dominated by colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy where the problems that plague our communities, be we women or whales, share the same gnarled roots. No More Harveys is the third instalment in the Arctic Cycle, a series of plays that looks at the social and environmental impacts of the climate crisis on the eight Arctic states.
Out now!
Burning Sage: Poems from the Lytton Fire by Meghan Fandrich (Caitlin Press)
“Listen to the tinkling wind chimes when a door opens and the inviting smell of espresso pools out. Here, tucked beside the cheerful café, a courtyard garden is alive with lush ivy, fragrant lavender, a flourishing maple. Order your favourite coffee and sit with it for a while as the sun lifts into the sky, its rays warming your skin. Nod at the friendly locals as they pass. Fall into the rhythm of the silvery birdsong. Slow to the pace of this town. Remember this moment. Breathe in deeply. Feel the beauty of this little place—because tomorrow, it will all be gone.” – Meghan Fandrich, Burning Sage
Out now!