You may have already seen what happened when wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. But a 20 year study has allowed researchers to dive deeper into the effects of apex predators and better understand their impact on the whole ecosystem. Read the full article: https://www.livescience.com/animals/land-mammals/reintroducing-wolves-to-yellowstone-helped-entire-ecosystem-thrive-20-year-study-finds?utm_term=0D91C092-D416-4EF1-87AF-48F324AD52D3&lrh=19917ed234756cf8a0484e3923cfb5a0866c42a132a64f04b0aca9950bba4647&utm_campaign=368B3745-DDE0-4A69-A2E8-62503D85375D&utm_medium=email&utm_content=513D6FA7-397D-466D-9167-7DEC142BE2BB&utm_source=SmartBrief

Bacterial cellulose has been found to enhance plant healing. Read how the discovery was made: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/bacteria-band-aid-plants-heal-wounds

Article is available with free account. 

Gaia College instructors and staff will be busy in the coming weeks with workshops and tradeshows. Come find us to say hi!
 
BCRPA Professional Pathways Tradeshow: https://www.bcrpa.bc.ca/conferences/
Michael Hermary will be at the Tradeshow on February 27.

Seedy Saturday: https://seeds.ca/events/
Christina Cook will be at Victoria (February 15) and Julia Dupuis at Ottawa (March 1)

Soil Amendments: What and When with Christina Cook: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/soil-amendments-what-and-when-tickets-1060300500339 

Tips and Tricks of Starting Seeds with Jennifer Burns-Robinson: https://www.gaiacollege.ca/webinars

Landscape Design Workshop with Annette Vierling: https://www.specialtygardens.ca/

Native Seeds with Laurie Smith: https://www.gaiacollege.ca/webinars

You've probably never heard of Prochlorococcus bacteria. These little workers are an important part of our planet, create 10 to 20 percent of the atmosphere's oxygen.  Researchers in Spain have recently learned that these microscopic bacteria are actually connected to one another, building bridges to support life on Earth. 

Read more: https://www.wired.com/story/life-on-earth-depends-on-networks-of-ocean-bacteria/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

The efficient conversion of solar energy into storable forms of chemical energy is the dream of many engineers. Nature found a perfect solution to this problem billions of years ago. The new study shows that quantum mechanics is not just for physicists but also plays a key role in biology. Read more: https://www.tum.de/en/news-and-events/all-news/press-releases/details/quantum-mechanics-helps-with-photosynthesis

Eukaryotic microorganisms, protists, play fundamentals roles in Earth's ecosystem. This review outlines why protists matter to the understanding of the global ecosystem and the challenges of predicting species resilience and fragility to climate change. Read the full article: https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-024-02077-8

Veteran and ancient trees are important species for maintaining biodiveristy in various habitats. But their value depends on tree related microhabitats, and as veteran trees are lost so are these tree-related microhabitats. Read the full article here: https://resjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/icad.12785

The Great Bear Sea initiative in BC is using conservation finance to create jobs and preserve nature. The best part will be watching the ecosystem to flourish. Read the full article from The Tyee: https://thetyee.ca/News/2024/11/20/BC-North-Coast-First-Nations-New-Economy/

Governments, researches and think tanks spent ample time and money on Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS). Carbon Capture and Sequestration are typically industrial plants that prevent CO2 from reaching the atmosphere. What has been overlooked, is the capacity of healthy soil to capture and store carbon.

Read more about this overlooked wonder from Beyond Pesticides: Business As Usual “Carbon Capture” Undermines Organic Land Management as a Climate Solution

A study into the distribution of green space in the UK found interesting results correlating preventable deaths with the amount of green space in a neighbourhood. In urban areas of the UK, the percentage of grassland was significantly lower in more deprived neighbourhoods. In most places, a 1% increase in green space lead to a 37% reduction in preventable deaths.

Read the full article: Inequality in green space distribution and its association with preventable deaths across urban neighbourhoods in the UK, stratified by Index of Multiple Deprivation