Nature

A fascinating history of the carbon footprint of our concrete world—from ancient Roman architecture to urban cityscapes—and the trouble it spells for sustainability amidst rapid climate change

For readers of The Sixth Extinction and The Uninhabitable Earth, Concrete explores the history of a material that has been central to architecture and design for thousands of years—and what its future looks like in a world experiencing rapid climate change.

Imagine what the world would be like without concrete: there’d be no high-rises, no grand irrigation projects, no lettuce from southern climes in the winter, no multi-lane highways crisscrossing continents, a shortage of electricity, more mud in some places, more solitude in others. But because of the fossil fuels and other resources required to make concrete, there also would be less CO2 in the atmosphere and less dramatic climate change. In Concrete: From Ancient Origins to a Problematic Future, Soderstrom tells the story of concrete’s glorious past, extravagant present, and uncertain future with careful research, lively anecdotes, and thoughtful reflection. The framework for this exploration is one the Romans—famous for concrete structures that are still strong—would understand: the four elements of Earth, Fire, Water, and Air.

Indigenous Peoples of the North American Plains were ecologists of the highest order— then the horse came and changed everything

Beaver, Bison, Horse is an interdisciplinary account of the ecological relationships the Indigenous nations of the Plains had to the beaver, bison, horse, and their habitat prior to contact. Morgan’s research shows an ecological understanding that sustained Indigenous peoples for thousands of years, with critical information on how the beaver manage water systems and protect communities from drought in the Northern Great Plains.

Morgan’s work is a game-changer.

For the first time in print, her important research now appears with a foreword by James Daschuk, bestselling and award-winning author of Clearing the Plains, and an afterword by Cristina Eisenberg, author of The Carnivore Way and The Wolf’s Tooth.

Examines how cultural narratives of time are intimately connected to the challenges and disruptions of ecological time

The environmental crisis is, in many ways, a crisis of time. From the distress cries of birds that no longer know when to migrate, to the rapid dying of coral reefs, to the quickening pace of extreme weather events, the patterns and timekeeping of the natural world are falling apart. We have broken nature’s clocks.

Lying hidden at the root of this problem are the cultural narratives that shape our actions and horizons of thought, but as Paul Huebener shows, we can bring about change by developing a critical literacy of time. Moving from circadian rhythms and the revival of ancient frozen bacteria to camping advertisements and the politics of oil pipelines, Nature’s Broken Clocks turns to works of fiction and poetry, examining how cultural narratives of time are connected to the problems of ecological collapse and what we might do to fix them.

"Urgent and profound, Nature's Broken Clocks is essential reading for anyone interested in time and the environment." —Nicholas Bradley, author of Rain Shadow

“Nature's Broken Clocks will inspire readers to reflect deeply on our manipulations of time, and on the impact of our shifting temporal imaginations and practices on the ecosphere.” —Sarah Wylie Krotz, Assistant Professor, Department of English and Film Studies, University of Alberta

An expert on the buffalo tells the history of this keystone species through extensive research and beautiful photographs.

The mere mention of the buffalo instantly brings to mind the vast herds that once roamed the North American continent, and few wild animals captivate our imaginations as much as the buffalo do. Once numbering in the tens of millions, these magnificent creatures played a significant role in structuring the varied ecosystems they occupied. For at least 24,000 years, North American Indigenous Peoples depended upon them, and it was the abundance of buffalo that initially facilitated the dispersal of humankind across the continent.

With the arrival of Europeans and their rapacious capacity for wildlife destruction, the buffalo was all but exterminated. In a span of just thirty years during the mid-1800s, buffalo populations plummeted from more than 30 million to just twenty-three. And with them went all of the intricate food webs, the trophic cascades, and the inter-species relationships that had evolved over thousands of years.

Despite this brush with extinction, the buffalo survived, and isolated populations are slowly recovering. As this recovery proceeds, the relationships the animals once had with thousands of species are being re-established in a remarkable process of ecological healing. The intricacy of those restored relationships is the subject of this book.

Based on author Wes Olson’s thirty-five years of working intimately with bison—and featuring Johane Janelle’s stunning photography—The Ecological Buffalo is a story that takes the reader on a journey to understand the myriad connections this keystone species has with the Great Plains.

Argues for the cause of protecting native grasslands and reconciliation on the Great Plains

Towards a Prairie Atonement addresses the question of our relationship with the land by enlisting the help of a Metis Elder and revisiting the history of one corner of the Great Plains.

This book's lyrical blend of personal narrative, prairie history, imagery, and argument begins with the cause of protecting native grasslands on community pastures. As the narrative unfolds, however, Trevor Herriot, the award-winning author of Grass, Sky, Song and River in a Dry Land, finds himself recruited into the work of reconciliation.

Facing his own responsibility as a descendent of settlers, he connects today's ecological disarray to the legacy of Metis dispossession and the loss of their community lands. With Indigenous and settler people alienated from one another and from the grassland itself, hope and courage are in short supply. This book offers both by proposing an atonement that could again bring people and prairie together.

Turning a blind eye to the dangers of the wild can have deadly consequences.

Growing up on a northern trap line, Harold Johnson was taught to keep his distance from wolves. For decades, wolves did the same for humans. But now this seems to be changing.

In 2005, twenty-two-year-old Kenton Carnegie was killed in a wolf attack near his work camp. Part story, part forensic analysis, Cry Wolf examines this and other attacks, showing how we fail to take this apex predator seriously at our own peril.

Modelled on the Resource Reader, published in the late 1960s and widely used in schools, Natural Neighbours: Selected Mammals of Saskatchewan focuses on various mammals found in Saskatchewan and describes their appearance, habits, food, habitat, survival strategies, ecological relationships, status, and range. the mammals are beautifully illustrated by Saskatchewan artist Paul Geraghty. Colour photos are also included.

This handy field guide is designed for use by both amateur and professional botanists, biologists, gardeners, and naturalists. The full colour field guide includes over 400 species of water and wetland plants found across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the northern United States.
Since many of the northern wetland plants are circumpolar in distribution, Water and Wetland Plants of the Prairie Provinces will also be useful in other parts of Canada, the United States, and Eurasia.

Richard St. Barbe Baker was an inspirational visionary and pioneering environmentalist who is credited with saving and planting billions of trees. He saved lives, too, through his ceaseless global campaign to raise the alarm about deforestation and desertification and by finding effective, culturally sensitive ways for people to contribute to a more peaceful and greener world. He was also an Edwardian eccentric whose obsession with trees caused him to neglect his family; the devout son of an evangelical preacher who became a New Age hero; an unapologetic colonial officer fired for defending indigenous Africans; a forester who rarely had a steady income; a failed entrepreneur and inventor; a proud soldier and peace activist; a brilliant writer, speaker, and raconteur who made wild claims about the effectiveness of his conservation efforts. His encounters with historical figures like FDR, Nehru, and George Bernard Shaw are eye-popping, as were his accomplishments.

“Fascinating and impressive.” —Thomas Gunton, Director of Resource and Environmental Planning, Simon Fraser University and former Deputy Minister of Environment, Lands and Parks, Government of British Columbia



The Magnificent Nahanni extols the natural wonders of the South Nahanni Valley—its untamed waters, high, glaciated mountains, colourful tufa mounds, great falls, deep canyons, caves and karst, extensive forests, alpine tundra, and diverse wildlife, including Dall’s sheep, caribou, wolf, and grizzly bear. It is also the story of cooperative efforts to conserve the area while enabling Indigenous people to continue to hunt and fish there.



“Just as the Nahanni is an exceptional place, this is no ordinary book. It contains reflections on this remarkable national park landscape by one of the keenest students of parks and protected areas this country has ever produced.” —Harvey Locke



“[A]n exemplary multi-disciplinary approach to land use studies and cooperative approaches to research, planning and land management, especially involving Indigenous and non-governmental groups – in short, this book makes a major contribution to research.”—John S. Marsh, co-editor, Changing Parks

A collection of essays that explores the possibility that ecological stewardship could also include the pursuit of 'the good life'

Despite our brief tenure on planet Earth, Homo sapiens have reached an epoch—the Anthropocene—that is characterised by our species’ uncanny ability to spoil our own nest. In the face of this somber reality of ecological degradation and massive species extinction, the editors ask the critical question, “What does living well look like in the Anthropocene?” It is vitally important that we turn towards the cultivation of eco-virtues, a new set of values by which to live, if there is to be hope for us and other species to continue. These essays inspire readers not just to ponder, but to embody and live the ideals of these timeless ecological virtues.

Ensuring a healthy environment, while at the same time ensuring prosperity for people, is an ongoing challenge. Decisions regarding the environment must be made on a broaded and more inclusive basis than has been done in the past, recognizing that, in one way or another, everything is linked. Without healthy ecosystems, a high quality of human life and prosperity cannot be sustained. An ecological perspective recognizes the importance of viewing ourselves as part of, rather than separate from, the world's ecosystems.

In 1998, biologists and endangered species experts from fifteen states, three provinces, and seven countries met at an international symposium on swift foxes held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to exchange information and identify the state-of-the-science of swift fox ecology and status in North America. Papers presented at the symposium, together with other written afterwards, are brought together in this peer-reviewed volume. Broad-ranging and comprehensive, The Swift Fox: Ecology and Conservation of Swift Foxes in a Changing World will provide invaluable information for scientists, resource managers, and students.