SASKATOON — The Sustainability Speakers Series is hosted by the Saskatoon Public Library in partnership with the Saskatchewan Environmental Society.
These free events are in the Meeting Room in the basement of Frances Morrison Central Library (311 - 23rd St. E). The events start at 7:00 p.m. and end at about 8:30 p.m. These are in-person events. Recordings of the presentations are posted on the internet several days after the event.
“Xeriscape: Low Water, Low-maintenance Gardening” is the topic Tuesday, Jan. 24.The principles of xeriscape (design ideas that conserve water, soil improvement, efficient irrigation, reducing conventional lawn areas and mulching) and the best of the hundreds of hardy and drought tolerant plants for prairie gardens will be described by Sara Williams.
A presentation Tuesday, Feb. 28 is titled “Greening the Saskatchewan Electrical Grid.” To meet the challenge of the climate crisis, Saskatchewan must change how it produces electricity to greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions is the message of Dr. Brett Dolter from the Department of Economics at the University of Regina, who will discuss costs of various options.
“Implementing Regina’s Waste Plan” is the topic Tuesday, March 28. In 2011, Regina’s city council adopted Waste Plan Regina and set a residential waste diversion target of 65 per cent by 2020 and approved service levels for the non-residential sectors. Janet Aird and Derek Adam will look at the city of Regina’s waste programming in the last few years as well as progress towards achieving the residential diversion target, other results and next steps for residential and non-residential sectors.
Tuesday, April 18, Glenn Wright, who farms near Saskatoon, will present “Sustainable Food Production: A Farmer's Opinion.” Wright will share insights about growing crops in a more sustainable way. He has used alternative energy in his farming and has converted a truck to an electric vehicle. Wright will also touch on legal aspects of international loss and damage due to climate change.
“Our Trees in a Changing Climate: When has spring sprung?” is the topic Tuesday, May 16. In Saskatchewan, climate change is resulting in the biggest changes in the winter and spring months. For trees coming out of their winter dormancy period these changes play havoc with their natural rhythms, since they do not know when winter has ended and spring has started. Dr. Colin Laroque of the University of Saskatchewan will describe how climate change is affecting Saskatchewan’s trees.
Recordings of previous presentations in the series are available at: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRUK7BHZUVfrHCxuJyBeO0IgjjeqBwseY
