Really interesting account of a changing landscape and its impacts on human uses of the land, including the utility of camels. Why India’s Thar Desert is turning green youtu.be/24TaCbZ_tgc?... #envhist #climatechange #india

Scientists Discover A Volcano Caused the Black Plague "The volcano triggered crop failures, forcing Italian merchants to import grain from the Black Sea. But that grain was infested with plague-carrying fleas..." www.youtube.com/shorts/p5NrA... #envhist #histmed #climhist

War on the Land | @aptninvestigates.bsky.social "Reporter Kenneth Jackson investigates a toxic legacy left by wartime government and industry in a small Ontario town, and meets a First Nation chief demanding the land back, but only after the damage is undone." www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Mhw...

The latest article in our Winter Olympics & Their Environments series is "Politics and Memory of Olympic Winter Games in the Canadian Rockies" by PearlAnn Reichwein niche-canada.org/2026/02/11/p... #envhist #olympics #sporthistory #cdnhist

"Auger-bored wells typically yielded more water and were less prone to surface contamination than dug wells; regional hydrogeology also made them preferable to deeper, drilled wells." - @forrestpass.bsky.social niche-canada.org/2025/11/28/o... #envhist #cdnhist #waterhistory

FYI - Researching in Greenland/Kalaallit Nunaat - Online event March 5th - Learn more here: @nichecanada.bsky.social @naadsn-rdsnaa.bsky.social @ukarcticoffice.bsky.social @warcticantarctic.bsky.social @arctic-circle-org.bsky.social @apecs-denmark.bsky.social arctichub.gl/activities/a...

New podcast! We talk to historian of science @lachlanfleetwood.bsky.social about early 19th C. imperial science in the #Himalaya & the emergence of a 'vertically oriented view of the world' where altitude comes to define mountains #HistSci #EnvHist shorturl.at/51fJe @nichecanada.bsky.social

"counterprogramming a Spanish-language show with a song about mowing your lawn is an irony so dense that light can’t escape from it." Thanks to Mike for finding this article. My own Japanese immigrant grandpa worked as a landscaper in Ontario (family forced to leave BC) @nichecanada.bsky.social

"The Ancient Wall" by Eleanor Stephenson is our latest featured excerpt from Mountain Voices: The Mountain Legacy Project and a Century of Change in Western Canada, part of our book series with @ucalgarypress.bsky.social niche-canada.org/2026/02/10/t...

"Economic growth can coexist with poverty, exclusion, violence, and serious violations of human rights..." We need to "assess whether development is truly improving human wellbeing, advancing equity, and safeguarding sustainability...”

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Look, it's nice that you're expecting a kid, although no one really cares what gender your baby is. But if you leave your garbage all over a beautiful national park? Yeah, that we care about.

"Light pollution is yet another form of environmental injustice." - @sarabpritchard.bsky.social niche-canada.org/2026/01/26/u... #envhist #urbanhistory #night #light

A Vanishing Fishing Village in Richmond, BC "In this video, I explore Finn Slough in Richmond, British Columbia, walking through the village while explaining its history, origins, and significance in Canadian coastal life." www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RTr... #envhist #coastalhistory #bchistory

Call for Contributions: A Sourcebook for Histories of Weather and Weathering Editors: @rhiggitt.bsky.social @tamaracaulkins.bsky.social & @lottaleiwo.bsky.social Proposal Deadline - 4 September 2026 niche-canada.org/2026/02/10/c... #envhist #climhist #histsci #weather

"As scholars Zoe Todd and Heather Davis argue, the Anthropocene’s origins lie not in the 20th century but in 1610, when colonial genocide measurably altered atmospheric carbon levels." - @aadita.bsky.social niche-canada.org/2026/01/14/c... #envhist #anthropocene #colonialism

"Originally inspired by the Western genre, in which landscapes take on deep symbolic meaning ... Project Grizzly actually belongs to what he calls the "Northern" genre. Rather than echoing the mythology of the American West the film reflects a distinctly Canadian narrative" @nichecanada.bsky.social

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REMINDER - Get your proposals in to @ramya.bsky.social by February 15th for our Canadian Heritage Rivers series. What does it mean to be a heritage river in 2026? What does a designation mean/bring with it? niche-canada.org/2026/01/16/c... #envhist #rivers #cdnhist #cdnheritage

Our Winter Olympics & Their Environments series, edited by @theliftline.bsky.social and M. Blake Butler, begins today with "The High-Energy Afterlives of Lillehammer’s Olympic Cabins" by @finnarne.me niche-canada.org/2026/02/09/t... #envhist #olympics #energyhistory #sporthistory

I might not care one bit about watching the winter olympics, but I have a new #envhist #energyhistory piece out in @nichecanada.bsky.social on how the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic media village built on Norwegian cabin traditions - and transformed them after the games. niche-canada.org/2026/02/09/t...

@nichecanada.bsky.social is calling for contributors for their Canada’s Great Acceleration Series. Proposals should be a short 200-word expression of interest and are due February 18, 2026. Find more info here: activehistory.ca/blog/2026/02...

ICYMI: Get your proposals in to Andrew Watson by February 18th for our series on Canada's Great Acceleration If the Earth has shifted from the Holocene into a new epoch of planetary history, then Canada has served as an incubator for its defining concepts... niche-canada.org/2026/02/06/c...

"Households developed a number of strategies to the evictions including, migrating to nearby urban areas or reserves, crossing the border to Mozambique, or settling as 'squatters' on the edge of the plantation." - Mathew Ruguwa niche-canada.org/2022/08/10/t... #envhist #foresthistory #aghist

Throwbackkkk

Bad Bunny’s performance began in the plantation, featured broken electric poles, and ended by centering a hemispheric understanding of “América”—among many other things—and some Anglo journalists are like “his performance wasn’t political.” This is why we need to be telling our stories.

It was transforming the biggest NFL stage in the world into a sugar cane plantation that did it for me. Like, the multiple layers of turning an American icon into a plantation and highlighting the history of exploitation of Black and Brown bodies by the NFL and American colonialism simultaneously?

Our NiCHE Conversation with Patricia Roussel is now on YouTube! Roussel joined @jessicamdewitt.bsky.social to discuss the centrality and evolution of Dawson City, Yukon’s heritage industry and how collaborative heritage is being employed there. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kr0b... #envhist #cdnhist

Our "Tracking the Effects: Environmental History and the Current United States Federal Administration" series is accepting submissions on an ongoing basis. niche-canada.org/2025/04/11/c...

Fundamentally, there will never be a mining and mineral processing method that isnt like the most toxic thing of all time. The question is always what are the economics of abatement or which country needs the mining and will accept the pollution

Learning that Saskatchewan is hyping an alumina deposit as a green alternative to bauxite, and maybe leaving out that way you process it is still acid leeching

Fascinating way to examine perceptions of Canadian landscapes (and artwork) www.peterharris.ca/past-and-pre... @nichecanada.bsky.social

"We have many major and painful challenges ahead of us ... but if we could just get started rethinking our systems and working together on all fronts, I think we would be...” - @pamelabanting.bsky.social Read the full Canada's Anthropocene roundtable here: niche-canada.org/2018/01/24/c...

Fur Country (1946) "The historic post of Moose Factory on James Bay is still a centre of Canada's fur trade." www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwUg... #envhist #cdnhist

"The Laurier Archives has three main research collections, the most important of which for Canadian environmental historians is the Environmental Conservation Movement in Canada collection." - @jessicamdewitt.bsky.social niche-canada.org/2014/06/18/l... #envhist #cdnhist #archives

"Classifications such as male-white-cisgender-heterosexual versus anything else, like a person of colour-transgender-queer-female, does more harm than one can imagine, especially when it comes to climate action." - @dr-ourkiya.bsky.social niche-canada.org/2020/06/23/q... #queerecology #feminism

Trawler Fishermen (1966) On the Grand Banks of Newfoundland this film shows the new machinery and electronic gear employed on modern fishing boats. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qKm... #envhist #cdnhist #coastalhistory #foodhistory

Call for Contributors: Canada’s Great Acceleration A NiCHE Series Proposal Deadline: 18 February 2026 Edited by Andrew Watson niche-canada.org/2026/02/06/c... #envhist #cdnhist #cdnstudies #energyhistory

Kenzie Kosowan shares practical tips for transcribing historical records, emphasizing practice, note-taking, research, organization, and self-care to improve accuracy in "Transcribing Toronto: Tips from a Research Assistant." niche-canada.org/2026/02/05/t... #envhist #cdnhist #history #research

Middle Atlantic and New England Council for Canadian Studies Call for Papers Building Bridges / Construire des ponts 22-24 October 2026 Lake Placid, New York Submission Deadline: 31 March 2026 niche-canada.org/2026/02/04/m... #envhist #cdnhist #cdnstudies

"The early 20th-century history of the Blueberry Express continues to shape the experience of walking, cycling or skiing the trail today." - @saraspike.bsky.social niche-canada.org/2025/09/09/s... #cdnhist #trails #transcanada #novascotia #envhist

#OTD (Sat, Feb. 5) 1910 at #BurntLake, #AlgonquinPark: "Party left this morning for Little Nipissing River crossing Little Rock, Robinson, & Brownie Lakes. On the hill leaving Brownie Lake, we assisted the dogs with ropes. Had dinner at the summit." @nichecanada.bsky.social @csnrec.bsky.social

No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition. Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

This is so disappointing 🙁 Archives make up a huge part of so much of my research as an archaeologist. They're invaluable resources and there should be far *more* funding put towards their preservation, not less.

A video from CBC Arts that is critical of the prominence of landscapes in Canadian art history. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrNm... #envhist #cdnhist #arthistory

The latest from the Mining Danger Project: "Down Below Ground: Research, Memory, and Place at Springhill Mine" by Kaley MacMullin and @drheathergreen.bsky.social niche-canada.org/2026/02/03/d... #envhist #histmed #mininghistory #cdnhist #labourhistory

Im sure I went to a talk 15 years ago with this very title. We’ve been working “towards” critical Canadian Studies for decades. Will we ever get there?

As former editorial director at @electricautonomy.com (2019-24), I’ve been awaiting Carney’s revamp of Canada’s EV policies with some trepidation. At first glance, I’m relieved. He’s reinstated sales incentives and only moderately relaxed adoption targets. www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/1760cd5...

The world factbook was an invaluable resource in asylum petitions—a place where the federal government acknowledged in writing that, for example, Tibetans face systematic repression in China. I don’t like to have it vanish.

Call for Papers – Towards a Critical Canadian Studies Journal of Canadian Studies Guest Editors: Kristine Alexander, Phil Henderson, Will Kujala, Miranda Leibel Abstracts due: March 1st 2026 niche-canada.org/2026/02/03/c... #cdnhist #cdnstudies #canada