I’m not a big Valentine’s Day person, so I thought I’d look for a different take on the day of love and what I found was some amazing graphics and almost 180,000 people sharing a love of birds and science. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a program called eBird that has been operating for … Continue reading
In light of today being the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, I went searching for research done by a women to profile today. I decided to start close to home and look through the biology department at the University of Alberta (U of A) where I did my undergrad and did not … Continue reading
I’ve taught evolution repeatedly. I talk about natural selection and how it doesn’t select for the best, it selects the best of what’s available. This isn’t a foreign concept to people. We do this consciously all the time. And yet, most of us still have trouble commiting to this piece of information. When we are … Continue reading
I have been using the SuperBetter app for the last few weeks. In it, you earn points (which you can do nothing with) by activating power ups (things like getting tasks done early or reaching out to a friend or family member). There are also quests to o and enemies to face. I won’t go … Continue reading
A story is a pretty powerful thing. I’ve had day campers come back to me a year later and repeat some of the stories I’ve told and I’ve watched adults debate the truth of a particular legend told on a canoe trip. The stories we tell ourselves can greatly influence how we respond to trauma … Continue reading
As a figure skater I was pretty aware of how unreasonable societal and sport pressures can have pretty significant negative effects on the health of female athletes. Amenorrhoea, low bone mineral density, and low energy availability are all concerns due to high energy expenditure and low energy intake due to pressures to be thin and … Continue reading
Okay, so confessions first: I do not enjoy gardening. There is no part of crawling around on the ground with my hands in the dirt that I enjoy. I do enjoy the product of food gardens, but not enough to make me take up gardening. With that out of the way, I will say that … Continue reading
There is significant evidence of the benefits of exposure to nature, from seeing trees out a window to living in a neighbourhood with street trees. All have been shown to affect factors like reducing the amount of medication patients take after surgery, increasing productivity at work, and decreasing rates of aggression. But new research carried … Continue reading
I’m an allergy sufferer. I always have been but they seem to have been getting worse in the last number of years. I’m allergic to peanuts but that one is pretty manageable, even with its life threatening-ness. It’s the environmental allergies that are really getting to me. The hay fever for weeks or more in … Continue reading
Okay, first thing first. Recycling is not the way to go. We need to reduce the amount of waste we generate first. Strategies like carrying a reusable mug, metal water bottle, and cloth grocery bags are simple places to start on the reduce front. Other strategies like buying clothes that last longer (both fashion wise … Continue reading
