IN THIS EMAIL:
 

- Learn about what the collapse of the Milne ice shelf and the loss of a rare Arctic ecosystem might teach us about a changing planet

- Discover how Canadian Geographic’s eight Live Net Zero families are finding ways to modify their holiday traditions to reduce household emissions
- Read about the student-led Ravine Stewardship Team at Toronto French School that is providing local acorns to neighbours and nurseries to increase the city’s native tree canopy

- Ready for your next adventure? Take a look at Eagle-Eye Tours' adventure in Costa Rica
- Canadian Geographic's Canadian Photos of the Year Competition is back!

Last bastion of ice

What the collapse of the Milne ice shelf and the loss of a rare Arctic ecosystem might teach us about a changing planet

Story and photography by Dustin Patar

On a late July morning in 2020, as the world cycled through a revolving state of lockdowns and pandemic waves , Adrienne White, an ice analyst at the Canadian Ice Service, sat down at her desk and pulled up the most recent satellite imagery of Milne Fiord, Umingmak Nuna (Ellesmere Island), Nunavut. Despite some cloud cover over the ice shelf, she could see something wasn’t right — an unusual dark shape. As better imagery came in, White realized the dark shape was open water. The nearly 200-square-kilometre Milne Ice Shelf had collapsed, losing 40 per cent of its area almost overnight.
 

Floating in the open Arctic water was a 79-square-kilometre ice island roughly 50 per cent larger than Manhattan and 70 to 80 metres high. Despite White’s initial shock, the conditions were right. That July turned out to be tied for the hottest on record (only to be surpassed by 2021, and, more recently, 2023) , and even from satellite imagery in the weeks before, she could see dark spots on the ice surface that indicated melt.
 

Weeks earlier, White had noticed a patch of open water along the northwest coast of Ellesmere, which, in the past, would have been ice. “Over the past decade,” she says, “we’re starting to see open water appear during the summer, and with that, we’ve had these large calving events.”

'Tis the season to Live Net Zero

In their final challenge, Canadian Geographic’s eight Live Net Zero families find ways to modify their holiday traditions to reduce household emissions

By Samantha Pope
 

The holidays are a time for giving, from gifting thoughtful presents to prioritizing quality time with loved ones. Though it’s a joyous season filled with warmth, joy and cheer enveloped by sparkling lights, hearty meals and cozy evenings by the fireplace, it can often translate to increased carbon emissions.

This year, Canadian Geographic asked the eight competing Live Net Zero families to consider giving back to the planet by modifying their holiday habits to reduce their household carbon footprint. As the aviation industry has a significant impact on global emissions, accounting for two per cent of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion, the families considered ways to adjust their travel or gift-giving plans. 

From Alberta to Nova Scotia, the households explored effective ways to celebrate consciously. Here’s how they tackled their final challenge.

Toronto high school students are shoring up urban biodiversity, one acorn at a time
 

The student-led Ravine Stewardship Team at Toronto French School is providing local acorns to neighbours and nurseries to increase the city’s native tree canopy

By Peter Kuitenbrouwer
 

Janaya*, a Grade 12 student at Toronto French School, unlocks a gate in the tall chain link fence behind the sports field, and steps into another world. Dead leaves rustle underfoot as Janaya and a dozen of her fellow students thread their way carefully down a path into a steep ravine that borders the school campus. Stately trees rise around them — red oak, black cherry, sugar maple, hemlock, white pine. The school owns about 12 hectares of Toronto’s famed ravine network; its pupils grow up in this forest. Janaya and her classmates played tag here in grade school, and now, in high school biology class, they’re researching forest health.

This forest on the bank of the Don River looks solid and serene – a verdant contrast to the city that hums on all sides. But after mapping the ravine and analyzing its trees and plants, the students posit that these woods, like many forested areas in Toronto, are in trouble. Invasive species threaten to take over. With the help of their biology teacher, Dr. Tamara Smith, the students, who call themselves the Ravine Stewardship Team, believe they can do something to help.

Canadian Geographic Adventures
 

Featured trip: Costa Rica Birding
 

From the cloud forests of Tapanti Reserve to the sandy shores of Cahuita, up through the canals of Tortuguero, we take in some of the most exciting birdwatching sites this country has to offer. At this time of year, raptor and passerine migration is in full swing and is an underestimated natural phenomenon that can provide hours of entertainment with the restless birds doing all the work!

Get inspired!

Only two weeks left to enter our CPY23 competition!

Canadian Geographic’s Canadian Photos of the Year Competition is back! From now until the end of the year,  Canadian photographers are invited to submit their best images to any of the four categories listed below for a chance to win amazing cash prizes. This year we will award one grand prize, four category prizes, four runner-up prizes and four honourable mentions. With $10,000 cash to award, plus a chance to be published in Canadian Geographic, this is an opportunity not to be missed!
 

The competition is open to all Canadian residents, and images must have been taken in the 2023 calendar year. Winners will be selected based on skill by a panel of judges. There is no limit to the number of images you can submit, and in fact, we encourage you to submit multiple entries as the grand prize winner is selected on the basis of an outstanding body of work!
 

The competition closes December 31, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. ET, so get those entries in!