NiCHE Canada
@nichecanada.bsky.social
The Network in Canadian History & Environment.
NiCHE is a confederation of researchers & educators who work at the intersection of nature & history.
niche-canada.org
NiCHE is a confederation of researchers & educators who work at the intersection of nature & history.
niche-canada.org
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NiCHE Canada
@nichecanada.bsky.social
· Apr 16
NiCHE
Network in Canadian History & Environment | Nouvelle initiative Canadienne en histoire de l'environnement
niche-canada.org
Our website: niche-canada.org
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Subscribe to our Newsletter: niche-canada.org/subscribe/
Learn How To Publish With Us: niche-canada.org/guidelines-f...
Donate $$ to Keep Us Going: niche-canada.org/support/
Shop our Merch: nichecanada.bigcartel.com/products
"In this episode of Weathered, host Maiya May investigates what history reveals about system collapse, failed cities, and civilizations that didn’t survive climate shocks. Were they doomed? Or did they miss warning signs we’re seeing today?"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4pS...
#envhist #climhist
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4pS...
#envhist #climhist
Climate Change Won't End the World. This Could.
YouTube video by PBS Terra
www.youtube.com
February 18, 2026 at 4:53 PM
"In this episode of Weathered, host Maiya May investigates what history reveals about system collapse, failed cities, and civilizations that didn’t survive climate shocks. Were they doomed? Or did they miss warning signs we’re seeing today?"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4pS...
#envhist #climhist
www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4pS...
#envhist #climhist
Our editor-in-chief, @jessicamdewitt.bsky.social, is back with her picks for environmental history worth reading (and listening to) from January!
niche-canada.org/2026/02/12/e...
#envhist
niche-canada.org/2026/02/12/e...
#envhist
#EnvHist Worth Reading: January 2026
Every month I carefully track the most popular and significant environmental history articles, videos, audio, and other items making their way through the online environmental history (#envhist) commu...
niche-canada.org
February 18, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Our editor-in-chief, @jessicamdewitt.bsky.social, is back with her picks for environmental history worth reading (and listening to) from January!
niche-canada.org/2026/02/12/e...
#envhist
niche-canada.org/2026/02/12/e...
#envhist
Reposted by NiCHE Canada
A big TY to our friends @nichecanada.bsky.social for sharing the news about our new podcast series Mountain Stories, Mountain Futures
niche-canada.org/2026/01/17/n...
@eseh.bsky.social @carsoncenter.bsky.social @greenhouseuis.net @asle-us.bsky.social
#Envhist #EnvHums #MountainHist #MountainHums
niche-canada.org/2026/01/17/n...
@eseh.bsky.social @carsoncenter.bsky.social @greenhouseuis.net @asle-us.bsky.social
#Envhist #EnvHums #MountainHist #MountainHums
New Podcast - Mountain Stories, Mountain Futures
In the first episode, they interview interviews anthropologist Alexandra Cotofana on Romanian Carpathians, sentient xenophobic landscapes, ethnography, history, nationalism, and links between mountain...
niche-canada.org
February 18, 2026 at 1:27 PM
A big TY to our friends @nichecanada.bsky.social for sharing the news about our new podcast series Mountain Stories, Mountain Futures
niche-canada.org/2026/01/17/n...
@eseh.bsky.social @carsoncenter.bsky.social @greenhouseuis.net @asle-us.bsky.social
#Envhist #EnvHums #MountainHist #MountainHums
niche-canada.org/2026/01/17/n...
@eseh.bsky.social @carsoncenter.bsky.social @greenhouseuis.net @asle-us.bsky.social
#Envhist #EnvHums #MountainHist #MountainHums
Reposted by NiCHE Canada
It was a temporary plastic polytunnel.
"They located the hoop house in the middle of the backyard, so it was not visible from the street."
"Why, they were asked, didn’t they just go to Whole Foods like everyone else?"
@nichecanada.bsky.social
"They located the hoop house in the middle of the backyard, so it was not visible from the street."
"Why, they were asked, didn’t they just go to Whole Foods like everyone else?"
@nichecanada.bsky.social
The suburbs drive some people to ridiculous extremes. This family fought for years for the right to grown vegetables in their own backyard.
www.motherjones.com/environment/...
www.motherjones.com/environment/...
They just wanted to grow food. Their suburban neighbors declared war.
“We are a sustainable community, but we are not a rural community.”
www.motherjones.com
February 17, 2026 at 9:07 PM
It was a temporary plastic polytunnel.
"They located the hoop house in the middle of the backyard, so it was not visible from the street."
"Why, they were asked, didn’t they just go to Whole Foods like everyone else?"
@nichecanada.bsky.social
"They located the hoop house in the middle of the backyard, so it was not visible from the street."
"Why, they were asked, didn’t they just go to Whole Foods like everyone else?"
@nichecanada.bsky.social
Reposted by NiCHE Canada
#OTD (Thu, Feb 17) 1910 in #AlgonquinPark: "Left Aura Lee Lake for Cedar Lake shelter house, near west branch of Petawawa River. While camped here we enjoyed a rare treat. Fresh butter & fresh milk, bought at Hawkesbury Lumber Depot on Cedar Lake where cows are kept." @nichecanada.bsky.social
February 17, 2026 at 4:31 PM
#OTD (Thu, Feb 17) 1910 in #AlgonquinPark: "Left Aura Lee Lake for Cedar Lake shelter house, near west branch of Petawawa River. While camped here we enjoyed a rare treat. Fresh butter & fresh milk, bought at Hawkesbury Lumber Depot on Cedar Lake where cows are kept." @nichecanada.bsky.social
Reposted by NiCHE Canada
New on H-Sci-Med-Tech:
Check out @petermandler.bsky.social (@caiuscollege.bsky.social)’s review of Margaret M. Crump’s book _ James Cowles Prichard of the Red Lodge: A Life of Science during the Age of Improvement_, pub 2025 @univnebpress.bsky.social
#hstm
Review avail @hnetreviews.bsky.social
Check out @petermandler.bsky.social (@caiuscollege.bsky.social)’s review of Margaret M. Crump’s book _ James Cowles Prichard of the Red Lodge: A Life of Science during the Age of Improvement_, pub 2025 @univnebpress.bsky.social
#hstm
Review avail @hnetreviews.bsky.social
February 18, 2026 at 3:52 PM
New on H-Sci-Med-Tech:
Check out @petermandler.bsky.social (@caiuscollege.bsky.social)’s review of Margaret M. Crump’s book _ James Cowles Prichard of the Red Lodge: A Life of Science during the Age of Improvement_, pub 2025 @univnebpress.bsky.social
#hstm
Review avail @hnetreviews.bsky.social
Check out @petermandler.bsky.social (@caiuscollege.bsky.social)’s review of Margaret M. Crump’s book _ James Cowles Prichard of the Red Lodge: A Life of Science during the Age of Improvement_, pub 2025 @univnebpress.bsky.social
#hstm
Review avail @hnetreviews.bsky.social
Reposted by NiCHE Canada
The left is excited about underwater robots that livestream video feeds of octopus nurseries from the deep Gulf of Mexico.
The right is excited about summarizing a five word e-mail, incorrectly.
The right is excited about summarizing a five word e-mail, incorrectly.
"Is there technology the left is excited about?" is the kind of question you only ask if you're wildly naive about technology.
mRNA vaccines. Heat pumps. Offshore wind. Urban mining. Sodium batteries.
But god forbid we're not fawning over every new implementation of Making Computers Bad At Math.
mRNA vaccines. Heat pumps. Offshore wind. Urban mining. Sodium batteries.
But god forbid we're not fawning over every new implementation of Making Computers Bad At Math.
February 18, 2026 at 3:04 PM
The left is excited about underwater robots that livestream video feeds of octopus nurseries from the deep Gulf of Mexico.
The right is excited about summarizing a five word e-mail, incorrectly.
The right is excited about summarizing a five word e-mail, incorrectly.
Reposted by NiCHE Canada
DOG AT THE OLYMPICS
FULL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS
FULL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS
February 18, 2026 at 1:26 PM
DOG AT THE OLYMPICS
FULL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS
FULL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS
"From the late 19th century onwards, colonial administrators and private business ventures increasingly demanded resources, labor and taxes from Central Africans, while violently relegating them to the bottom rung of a racialized hierarchy..." - Henriet Benoit
niche-canada.org/2023/10/12/f...
niche-canada.org/2023/10/12/f...
Foraging, Colonialism, and More-than-Human Agency in Central Africa
Foraging, in its broadest sense, still offered ways for inhabitants of Central Africa to circumvent, alleviate and/or counter their encroachment by the forces of capitalism and imperialism.
niche-canada.org
February 17, 2026 at 2:35 PM
"From the late 19th century onwards, colonial administrators and private business ventures increasingly demanded resources, labor and taxes from Central Africans, while violently relegating them to the bottom rung of a racialized hierarchy..." - Henriet Benoit
niche-canada.org/2023/10/12/f...
niche-canada.org/2023/10/12/f...
Reposted by NiCHE Canada
Change is coming to the Ontario conservation authority system, but is it the change we need? In this @nichecanada.bsky.social post, I look at the history of the agencies that have been the "primary care providers" of our relationship with our watersheds. Thoughts? niche-canada.org/2026/02/14/o...
Ontario's Conservation Authorities: Past, Present and Future
Ontario’s conservation authorities evolved from watershed-based environmental management but now face restructuring, funding pressures, politicization, and criticism over balancing development and eco...
niche-canada.org
February 17, 2026 at 12:53 PM
Change is coming to the Ontario conservation authority system, but is it the change we need? In this @nichecanada.bsky.social post, I look at the history of the agencies that have been the "primary care providers" of our relationship with our watersheds. Thoughts? niche-canada.org/2026/02/14/o...
Reposted by NiCHE Canada
The Great Raft -- a fascinating story about natural history and colonization. A massive centuries-old logjam on the Red River was removed using new industrial technology, enabling displacement of Indigenous people and also the growth of slave plantations.
@nichecanada.bsky.social
@nichecanada.bsky.social
incredible synergy between the @shutdownfullcast.bsky.social deep dive of the shreveport river monster mascot and the milo rossi video about “The Log Jam”/The Great Raft that i watched last night youtu.be/xVUKTGRAvFY?... . it’s great when my confused youtube recommendations are accidentally psychic
America's Forgotten Natural Wonder: The Great Raft
YouTube video by Miniminuteman
youtu.be
February 14, 2026 at 11:43 PM
The Great Raft -- a fascinating story about natural history and colonization. A massive centuries-old logjam on the Red River was removed using new industrial technology, enabling displacement of Indigenous people and also the growth of slave plantations.
@nichecanada.bsky.social
@nichecanada.bsky.social
Reposted by NiCHE Canada
The latest contribution to “Winter Olympics & Their Environments”. I’m so excited for this piece! #olympichistory #winterolympics #skystorians #environment #history
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
niche-canada.org/2026/02/11/p...
#envhist #olympics #sporthistory #cdnhist
Politics and Memory of Olympic Winter Games in the Canadian Rockies
Calgary’s Olympic ski venues emerged through decades of failed bids, environmental politics, and contested site selection shaping enduring sporting landscapes.
niche-canada.org
February 13, 2026 at 12:16 PM
The latest contribution to “Winter Olympics & Their Environments”. I’m so excited for this piece! #olympichistory #winterolympics #skystorians #environment #history
Reposted by NiCHE Canada
This short video is really worth a watch.
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
"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
Scientists Discover A Volcano Caused the Black Plague
YouTube video by Today I Learned Science
www.youtube.com
February 13, 2026 at 12:01 AM
This short video is really worth a watch.
Reposted by NiCHE Canada
Excited to share a new podcast I’m launching with my @taxnotes.com colleague Robert Goulder: “History Is Taxing!”
In each episode, we'll you give you the backstory on a major tax issue—from tariffs to taxpayer privacy to IRS reform.
Follow the show at taxnotes.co/historypodcast
In each episode, we'll you give you the backstory on a major tax issue—from tariffs to taxpayer privacy to IRS reform.
Follow the show at taxnotes.co/historypodcast
February 17, 2026 at 2:25 PM
Excited to share a new podcast I’m launching with my @taxnotes.com colleague Robert Goulder: “History Is Taxing!”
In each episode, we'll you give you the backstory on a major tax issue—from tariffs to taxpayer privacy to IRS reform.
Follow the show at taxnotes.co/historypodcast
In each episode, we'll you give you the backstory on a major tax issue—from tariffs to taxpayer privacy to IRS reform.
Follow the show at taxnotes.co/historypodcast
Reposted by NiCHE Canada
February 17th, 1926:
A deadly avalanche, one of Utah's worst, demolishes 14 cottages and a three-story boarding house in Bingham Canyon. Thirty-five were killed and 13 injured.
A deadly avalanche, one of Utah's worst, demolishes 14 cottages and a three-story boarding house in Bingham Canyon. Thirty-five were killed and 13 injured.
February 17, 2026 at 2:27 PM
February 17th, 1926:
A deadly avalanche, one of Utah's worst, demolishes 14 cottages and a three-story boarding house in Bingham Canyon. Thirty-five were killed and 13 injured.
A deadly avalanche, one of Utah's worst, demolishes 14 cottages and a three-story boarding house in Bingham Canyon. Thirty-five were killed and 13 injured.
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
Why India’s Thar Desert is turning green
youtu.be/24TaCbZ_tgc?...
#envhist #climatechange #india
Why India’s Thar Desert is turning green | THE WEEK EXCLUSIVE | Climate change | Documentary Film
YouTube video by The Week
youtu.be
February 12, 2026 at 5:44 PM
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
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
"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
Scientists Discover A Volcano Caused the Black Plague
YouTube video by Today I Learned Science
www.youtube.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:34 PM
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
"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...
"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...
War on the Land | APTN Investigates
YouTube video by APTN News
www.youtube.com
February 12, 2026 at 4:14 PM
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...
"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
niche-canada.org/2026/02/11/p...
#envhist #olympics #sporthistory #cdnhist
Politics and Memory of Olympic Winter Games in the Canadian Rockies
Calgary’s Olympic ski venues emerged through decades of failed bids, environmental politics, and contested site selection shaping enduring sporting landscapes.
niche-canada.org
February 12, 2026 at 3:19 PM
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
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
niche-canada.org/2025/11/28/o...
#envhist #cdnhist #waterhistory
On Drought, Dowsing, and Deep Drilling: Thinking About Groundwater History in an Age of Climate Emergency
Canada’s 2025 drought exposed groundwater precarity; in the past, Ottawa Valley settlers adapted to this precarity through dowsing, augers, and evolving well technologies.
niche-canada.org
February 12, 2026 at 3:16 PM
"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
niche-canada.org/2025/11/28/o...
#envhist #cdnhist #waterhistory
Reposted by NiCHE Canada
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...
February 12, 2026 at 2:19 PM
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...
Reposted by NiCHE Canada
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
@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
February 12, 2026 at 11:55 AM
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
@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
Reposted by NiCHE Canada
"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
@nichecanada.bsky.social
February 11, 2026 at 8:48 PM
"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
@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...
niche-canada.org/2026/02/10/t...
The Ancient Wall
Stephenson's helicopter-accessed alpine fieldwork retraced 1927 survey photos, aligning landscapes, observing climate change, and finding enduring scree.
niche-canada.org
February 11, 2026 at 9:00 PM
"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...
niche-canada.org/2026/02/10/t...
Reposted by NiCHE Canada
"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...”
We need to "assess whether development is truly improving human wellbeing, advancing equity, and safeguarding sustainability...”
Global economy must move past GDP to avoid planetary disaster, warns UN chief
Exclusive: António Guterres says world’s accounting systems should place true value on the environment
www.theguardian.com
February 11, 2026 at 3:10 AM
"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...”
We need to "assess whether development is truly improving human wellbeing, advancing equity, and safeguarding sustainability...”