The Zine, Attempt 6

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Zine Team Creative Director — Elyssa English Editor in Chief — Andrea Sadowski Managing Editor — Sydney Marchand Production Assistant & Illustrator — Brielle Quon Illustrator — Niusha Naderi Illustrator — Lindsey Roberts Photographer — Laura Ayres Gurtaj Dhami — Distributor Digital Media Manager — Jeff Mijo-Burch Cover Art: Brielle Quon About: The Cascade is the University of the Fraser Valley’s autonomous student newspaper and an alternative press for the Fraser Valley. The Zine is a biannual semester-end edition of The Cascade’s regular biweekly newspaper, featuring pieces of creative writing, journalism, and visual art from UFV students, alumni, and community members.

Our sixth iteration of The Zine is centralized around the theme of climate. In these pages, we explore a wide range of topics surrounding climate change, from protecting old growth forests, to saving coral reefs, to salmon conservation, as well as expressions of admiration for the vast ecosystems in our very own backyards.

The Zine is an outlet of expression, going beyond the showcasing of creative pursuits, to sharing the perspectives of our community. It is composed of people’s stories and experiences, their thoughts and ideas. Through The Zine we are representing the material of our present reality through a wider scope of expression.

This Zine is meant to not only educate readers about the effects of climate change and how we in the Fraser Valley are impacted, but to also share an appreciation for the spaces around us. Our world is precious and The Zine is here to express that for our readers, and to share with them the beauty, the joy, and the healing aspects of nature so vital to life. What we do not appreciate — what we do not cherish — we will lose.

We hope these beautifully crafted works of art and writing will instill a reverent fear and love in our readers for Mother Earth. iii

Contents Photography / Andrew Majka / Echoes of Old Growth

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Visual Art / Faria Firoz / Unfriendly Habitat

Photography / Ryan Keeping / Ice Storm

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Journalism / Andrea Sadowski / Q&A with Kristen Walters

Journalism / Keshav Dubay / Getting perspective on site C dam

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Photography / Cobi Timmermans / Lake Bottom

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Creative Nonfiction / Darien Johnsen / Why I don’t talk about climate change anymore

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Visual Art / Brielle Quon / Four Seasons

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Photography / Devon Riley / Leave no Trace

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Poetry / Washington Reimer / This Beautiful Coffin

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Poetry / Anisa Quintyne / A Portrait in Bloom

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Photography / Bekah Stokes / Crisis

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Journalism / Keshav Dubay / Bleaching underwater

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Photography / Devin Pigeau / Ocean Observations

Photography / Ryan Keeping / Arbor and Iron

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Visual Art / Anoop Dhaliwhal / Save the Earth. Local. Global.

Balance.

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Photography / Kiara Louwerse / Tide Photography / Kiara Louwerse / The Depths Photography / Kiara Louwerse / Land and Sea Poetry / Washington Reimer / Siren Song Photography / Sydney Dargent / Chemical Photography / Sydney Dargent / Plastic

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Contents Journalism / Dante Cross / Climate change and poverty

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Photography / Ryan Keeping / Glaciers

Visual Art / Adria Quon / Photographed

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Photography / Chloe Hoos / The Strike

Photography / Laura Ayres / Starfish

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Poetry / Chandy Dancey / Climate Anxiety - a playlist

Journalism / Zain Zaidi / GLOFs and why we should worry about them

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Photography / Kellyn Kavanagh / Stairway to Nowhere

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Photography / Brielle Quon / Death by Window

Poetry / Chandy Dancey / prodromal period

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Visual Art / Faria Firoz / Excessive

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Poetry / Dante Cross / System Shock

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Poetry / Eva Davey / 2021

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Visual Art / Chloe Hoos / Time is running out

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Visual Art / Piper Hornall / I'’ll Stop The World And Melt With You

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Biographies Adria Quon is a fourth-year UFV student studying fine art and graphic design. She is keen on illustration and typography, and in her free time, she loves to rock climb, backpack, mushroom hunt, and enjoy all things outdoors.

Brielle Quon is taking graphic design and visual arts at UFV. She is passionate about concept art and enjoys photography. Aside from art, Quon likes to forage for plants and berries on her backpacking trips.

Andrea Sadowski is the Editor-in-Chief of The Chandy Dancey is a UFV science alumna who Cascade. She hopes you enjoy flipping through thought she'd have it all figured out by now, but these pages, as so much love and care went into at least she can say hasn't joined an MLM — yet. each one.

Chloe Hoos is a first-year UFV student studying Andrew Majka is a fourth-year UFV student social sciences. As a self-taught artist, she primarstudying Computer Information Systems. He has ily works with acrylic, watercolours, photography, too many hobbies, ranging from tinkering with and pencil, although recently her new favourite is computers and playing video games to DJing and soft pastels, thanks to Intro to Drawing. Much of adventure motorcycling. However, his favourite Hoos’ work examines social issues through a surpastime is exploring and photographing the out- realist lens. doors. The further away from civilization he is, Cobi Timmermans has received her Visual Arts the happier he gets. diploma from the University of the Fraser Valley Anisa Quintyne is a first-year student pursuing and is currently completing her bachelor of fine her BA in English. She enjoys classical literature, arts. Her artistic practice focuses on digital and science fiction, Lovecraftian horror, and adding film photography, painting, and collage. Utilising on too many books to her TBR. When she’s not portraits, self-portraits, landscapes, and nature, writing, you can find her enjoying horror pod- her work explores feminism, ecofeminism, and casts or video-essays. identity.

Anoop Dhaliwal is an interdisciplinary visual artist and graphic designer. Dhaliwal’s practice is predominantly in photography (analog + digital), video, dynamic media, printmaking, painting, and illustration. Her artistic approach embraces traditional art practices, digital art practices, and their intersections. As an active community member, she believes arts engagement promotes community development.

Dante Cross is a returning university student focusing on creative writing. While his main areas of interest are fantasy and other fiction, he also dabbles in poetry, engages in social justice issues, and studies new-age spirituality. His hobbies include reading, video games, and entertaining a particularly needy cat named Navi.

Darien Johnsen is a UFV alumna, former editor of The Cascade, and a Zine OG. She currently Bekah Stokes is in her first year of Global De- works as a community developer. At her roots, velopment Studies at UFV. When she’s not on Johnsen is a passionate survivor, bunny-mom, campus, you can find her rowing out on the river, and writer. She is learning to guard her too-tender on the couch with a good long book or enjoying heart, and is getting better at consistently watersome dark chocolate. ing her plants. vi

Devin Pigeau is an Abbotsford-based analogue photographer who focuses primarily on the likes of landscape and portraiture work, with the occasional exception of experimental work that tends to focus around the general theme of biology.

Having originally had intentions of pursuing a career in sciences, photography began as a means of escapism, until inevitably becoming his most prominent hobby and passion.

Laura Ayres is a second-year Visual Arts student who specialises in photography. What started as a hobby has turned into a passion that has brought many amazing opportunities for her, one of them being the position of photographer for The Cascade. More of Laura’s work can be found on Instagram @lauraayresphoto.

Piper Hornall is a UFV student and an at-home creative. She loves reading, writing, making art, and Pokémon!

Devon Riley is a multimedia artist based in Chilliwack. The materials she works with include film photography and cut-and-paste collage. In her Ryan Keeping is a local photographer and comwork she explores themes of ecofeminism, nostal- puting science student at UFV. Keeping enjoys taking photos of people and nature, capturing gia, and memory. moments he finds unique and interesting. As well Eva Davey is a 22-year-old UFV student that en- as photography, Keeping also enjoys playing guijoys chilly autumns and warm springs. She hopes tar and singing with his sister Olivia at local venthey will stay that way. ues in their band Little King’s Olive Tree.

Faria Firoz is a multidisciplinary artist whose art practice deals with culture and identity and takes a critical look at the ongoing social, political, and cultural issues. She graduated from UFV in 2021 with a bachelor of fine arts, with a double extended minor in visual arts and graphic design.

Sydney Dargent is a multi-discipline visual artist from Surrey, currently focusing on photography.

She hopes her photos will serve as a time capsule for what life and the city was like for her as a young adult.

Washington Reimer is a writer, visual artist, and Kellyn Kavanagh is a local writer, photographer, trans activist from Langley. When not writing musician, unhinged lunatic, and potato chip en- poetry or learning a new art medium, he can be thusiast. Their writing generally consists of short- found birdwatching, playing D&D, and practising form horror fiction, social commentary, and sad amateur witchcraft. poetry. Their favourite plant is the aloe vera. They don’t know much about plants, but aloe vera looks Zain Zaidi is a fourth-year student in the Global Development Studies program at UFV. He also cool and is a good pal. works as a student research assistant at UFV on Keshav Dubay is a grade 12 student that attends refugee and newcomer research projects, and has Rick Hansen Secondary School. He is not only helped arrange and co-moderate UFV virtual a member of the Writer’s Club, but is also the panel events about climate migration and interteam captain of the senior boys’ volleyball team, sectional climate justice. a member of the Hurricane Council, and a part of the PE leadership team.

Kiara Louwerse is a third-year UFV BFA student with studio disciplines focused on painting, print, and photography. Louwerse’s pieces emphasise themes of aesthetic, environment, and place, asking questions surrounding the significance of humankind’s relationship with nature.

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Andrew Majka Echoes of Old Growth Photography; 120 film (scanned) Artist Statement: British Columbia was once covered in old growth forests. Today, only a small fraction is left standing. Hidden within the new, younger forests, you can find stumps of ancient trees. The powerful presence of these stumps immediately demanded my attention from a distance and made me wonder how disparate this forest would look if history was different.

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Ryan Keeping Ice Storm Photography Artist Statement: The ice storm in late 2021/early 2022 was a wild event for everyone residing in the Fraser Valley. I knew it would be a perfect time to go get some great shots of Bridal Veil Falls. Most of the waterfall was frozen, including the creek. The mist from the falls was freezing on my sunglasses and on my face. It was magical to stand under the cold mist and stare up at the falls. I think sometimes people forget just how beautiful the Fraser Valley is and how lucky we are to live here.

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The Importance of Land: Getting Perspectives on the Site C Dam Keshav Dubay

How BC Hydro’s “clean energy” project is destroying Indigenous lands and wildlife

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ur environment not only presents us with challenges, but also provides us with everything we need to survive. Before colonization, First Nations depended on the environment to meet their basic needs and were careful to preserve these natural systems for generations to come. However, when settlers established themselves in B.C., they came from a culture that believed farming was the most effective way to ensure food was available to all. They saw the natural environment of the land they claimed as their own as something wild and not very useful. Hence, the settlers wanted to change To this day, First the natural environment to establish their own agricultural systems and hydroelectric technology.

Nations living in B.C. This Eurocentric attitude presented Indigenous find themselves in a people with numerous challenges. Not only did battle to protect their settlers take over much of the land they have lived on for time immemorial, forcing them onto reenvironment serves, but by drastically altering Mother Nature, they broke the system by which nature functions.

Thus, much of today’s natural surroundings are depleted and infested with technologies, infrastructure, and with that, pollution.

To this day, First Nations living in B.C. find themselves in a battle to protect their environment, from the construction of the Trans Canada Pipeline to the construction of the Site C dam. The government of British Columbia gave the Site C project permission in December 2014. Yet despite government approval, the project has encountered many legal challenges from First Nations communities and landowners who perceive its progress as a source of destruction. This project, initiated by BC Hydro, is for the generation of hydroelectric power on the Peace River in northeast British Columbia. The project will generate 1,100 megawatts of capacity and approximately 5,100 gigawatt-hours of energy every year for the province.

While BC Hydro’s conservation initiatives seek to provide 66 per cent of the province's future electricity, they predict that the growing population in B.C. will demand an additional 40 per cent increase over the next 20 years. This is the justification BC Hydro provides as they reinvest their assets to aid in the construction of the Site C dam. BC Hydro presents a one-sided argument in favour of the construction of the dam, trying to convince the public that the project is reliable and environmentally “clean.”

However, the information provided by BC Hydro shows an “implicit assumption” that there is no other alternative that could be pursued other than Site C to fulfil these future energy needs.

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Despite the Canadian government claiming that they are working toward reconciliation, they continue to ignore the need for change in many aspects of Canadian life that negatively impact Indigenous communities, like the construction of the Site C dam. Public consultations, environmental assessments, and the subsequent decision by the government of British Columbia to carry on with the construction of the dam have occurred despite the government of Canada’s commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous the building of such a people and their right to self-government. Construction of the dam ignores Indigenous people project is forecasted to and their human rights in the struggle against have adverse effects on climate change. Despite the calls of many InFirst Nations lands digenous people to end the construction, raising fears about their land and the changing climate, provincial and federal governments are proceeding with the construction as if there’s no problem. Hopes that were present for First Nations people after government calls for reconciliation were dashed with the announcement and endorsement of the Site C dam from both provincial and federal governments, leaving many feeling betrayed. From the completed construction of the Site C dam, it is predicted that First Nations groups’ ancestral lands will flood, putting into question their rights to fish, hunt, and trap under Treaty 8 (a peace and friendship treaty signed in 1899). As a result, the building of the Site C dam would render these rights meaningless. It was the hope of Indigenous people that reconciliation pledges by the government would mean more control and autonomy over their lands, but the building of such a project is forecasted to have adverse effects on First Nations lands, which subverts the government claims to the pursuit of reconciliation.

Site C will have a severe impact on Indigenous peoples’ lives beyond dispute, as well as adverse effects on the environment. The lands that the West Moberly First Nations and Prophet River First Nations have lived on for generations and have established their culture and traditions on would be at risk and would jeopardize their Site C would destroy the way of life. Additionally, Site C would destroy the habitats for over 100 species already at risk habitats for over 100 for extinction, threatening the biodiversity of species already at risk the ecosystems in the area. As a result, this for extinction would overhaul the current inner workings of the habitats there, such as the food chain, forcing many species to migrate to other environments for adequate food sources or living conditions. Furthermore, Site C would cause challenging geotechnical issues on the Peace River’s unstable riverbank, which would cause additional costs to build the dam safely.

The building of the Site C dam is unacceptable due to its adverse effects on the environment, climate, cost to taxpayers, and the effect on Indigenous peoples’ rights. While proponents of the project spout the economic benefits to be made from the dam’s construction, discussion of the 5

Site C dam is not complete without mentioning the negative effects that would come of it. The environmental effect evaluation of the Site C dam clearly shows that flooding the Peace River Valley would demolish many graves and more culturally significant sites belonging to First Nations. Construction of the dam will also lead to adverse and permanent destruction to the environment, destroying biodiversity and land that has the potential to feed a million people.

In order for the government to respect Indigenous people and follow through on their pledges for reconciliation, an end to the construction of sites that directly harm Indigenous lands and the environment should be scrapped and replaced by more environmentally friendly initiatives aided by Indigenous perspectives.

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Ryan Keeping Arbor and Iron Photography

Artist Statement: The Arbor & Iron Workshop is a small local business that up-cycles sustainably harvested trees into beautiful furniture. This process eliminates the need to import foreign lumber and allows patrons to enjoy the raw beauty of wood products without contributing to the deforestation of valuable carbon sinks like the Amazon or Indonesian tropical forests.

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save the earth 9

Anoop Dhaliwal Save the Earth. Local. Global. Balance.

Digital Illustration and Photography Inkjet Print on Fine Art Paper Artist Statement: This poster employs minimalistic design highlighting Earth’s beauty and the importance of protecting our landscape. The universal shapes represent the global landscape: sun, moon, mountains, and trees. The photographs represent BC’s local landscape: sunset (New Westminster), Pacific Ocean (White Rock), and an evergreen shrub (New Westminster).

Together they create balance.

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Kiara Louwerse Tide Diptyic alternative negative

Artist Statement: “Tide” explores the effects pollution has on the ocean. This alternative negative was created with sand and water placed in a plastic ziploc. Later, the prints were dipped in toner.

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Kiara Louwerse The Depths Collage with alternative negative

Artist Statement: “The Depths” was created as a collage using an alternative negative of water and sand in a plastic ziploc dipped in toner.

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Kiara Louwerse Land and Sea Collage 13 with photogram

Artist Statement: “Land and Sea” explores humankind’s relationship with the ocean.

Siren Song Washington Reimer

her coffee cup vanishes under a sheet of dark ocean, cold to the touch. water curls over the lip of her grey, ceramic mug, and caresses the creases in her grey, ceramic hands. she is crusty her lips, eyelids, fingertips glitter with coarse crystal like barnacles on slick rock. she bobs fish eyes in hot chocolate when marshmallows won’t float in briny water. the tide rolls out. her eyes are sea glass and her restlessness returns at the itch of midnight. in the morning it won’t quite reach the shore. slowly, with bottle green fingers wrapped in wire, she lifts the cup to her lips, again, and only salt remains.

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Sydney Dargent Chemical Experimental Photography Artist Statement: Being so close to the coast, one of my biggest environmental concerns is chemical and oil spills affecting our water.

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Sydney Dargent Plastic Experimental Photography Artist Statement: Although single-use plastics are being outlawed in many Lower Mainland municipalities, I still worry about plastic pollution in our water.

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Faria Firoz Unfriendly Habitat Oil on Canvas Artist Statement: The effects of climate change have a great impact on the spawning of salmon. The hot summers have caused the water level to decline and the rainfall precipitation during the cooler months have triggered more heavy flooding. This has resulted in an increase in egg loss and a decrease in salmon population.

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An interview with Kristen Walters, Lower Fraser Salmon Conservation program coordinator: Andrea Sadowski

Kristen Walters works to coordinate the collaboration between different conservation groups, First Nations, academics, and other various stakeholders to identify pathways towards an Indigenous-led and ecosystem-based management framework for the lower Fraser region to restore salmon habitat and populations.

What led you into the field you are in now? What makes you passionate about conservation and particularly salmon conservation?

Great question. I mean, I've always been passionate about wildlife and conservation since I was a little kid.

I grew up just outside of Yellowstone National Park in the States, so I was exposed to lots of wildlife from a young age. I came to B.C. to study at the University of British Columbia for my undergrad, and I’ve always been fascinated by predators. As I went through my degree and then went to do my masters, I was researching bald eagles and their relationship with salmon.

During my degree and doing my research and field work, I just totally fell in love with salmon. I think living on the coast of B.C., it's impossible not to, just because they play such an incredible role as foundational species in coastal ecosystems. I think just how crucial they are to life and culture and ways of being on the coast just made me really, really love them.

So, after I finished grad school, I was lucky enough to be hired by Raincoast as a salmon biologist and work on salmon conservation.

Given that Pacific salmon are examples of foundational species of our ecosystem here in the Pacific Northwest, what is the most interesting thing you’ve learned about salmon during the course of your education and career?

Oh, there's so many things. I feel like just the way that they really are the lifeblood of coastal ecosystems in terms of bringing all these nutrients into rivers and then once they complete their spawning cycle and die, scavengers like bears bring their carcasses in the forest and trees and plants absorb all those nutrients.

So, when you think of salmon being in trees — and trees that grow next to salmon-bearing rivers grow three times as fast as those that don’t — that's just such an incredible thing. That really goes to show how important salmon are to the coast and is an easy way for people to understand the importance, when they know that you can find evidence of salmon in trees.

You can find evidence of salmon in trees?

Yeah. So, you can do what's called a stable isotope analysis. You can take leaves, bark, anything from the 18

tree and you basically grind it down and dry it. And then researchers ran these complicated analyses on it, but it measures the amount of marine-based carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. It's technically heavier compared to land-based carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. So, you can actually measure how much of those nutrients salmon are providing for trees, which they then suck up through the roots. So, it's really, really cool. You can also look at tree rings, [because] tree rings from trees that grow next to a river with salmon are much bigger. They grow a lot faster. They really are the foundation upon which these ecosystems are built. I think that when I learned that fact, it absolutely blew my mind for sure.

What would you say are the biggest threats to salmon species and 102 other species living in the Fraser river basin that are at risk of extinction?

Oh man, there's so many threats. I think land use challenges are huge. Land use is kind of an umbrella term, but it can apply to development, which leads to loss of habitat. It can apply to pollution, which comes from runoff of agricultural practices, but also from sewage treatment plants. It can also refer to ongoing industrialization, like the paving over of streams. So, land use challenges in terms of how we manage the land and make decisions around the land is a really big threat.

Salmon need habitat. If they have a habitat, they will come back and do their thing. They're very resilient.

But habitat loss in the lower Fraser for not only salmon, but also those 102 other [endangered] species is a huge [threat] because, as you know, it's become a very urbanized, industrialized region. There's ongoing human population growth. So, when habitat is lost and it's not recovered, or it becomes not connected, there's such an inconsistency in habitat quality and fish can't even access habitats. This again comes back to land use and how we make decisions and governance.

Of course, climate change as well will basically make all of the challenges that salmon already face worse, just with varying water quality, quantity, and temperature. In terms of the lower Fraser specifically, habitat loss and governance are big [threats]. Then, of course, they face challenges like over-harvest and all kinds of other things when they're out in the ocean. But in our region, I would say loss of habitat, pollution, and inaccessible habitat.

Given that the Fraser Valley is just only going to get bigger and continue to expand, do you see a future where the Fraser Valley can expand yet the habitat of salmon still be preserved?

Yeah, I do. I think so. And it comes down to working across all sectors. We need everyone on board. Nations are doing so much to restore salmon habitat, but we need farmers; we need agricultural practitioners on board; we need local governments on board; we need decision makers, who are the crucial ones for sure.

I think there is an opportunity, for example, if we upgrade our flood control infrastructure. Floodgates are these big barriers for fish passage because they basically prevent slews, channels, and other watercourses that farmers rely on for irrigation. They are at the mouth of an irrigation channel and they close as the tide comes in. The Fraser River is tidally influenced all the way up to Mission. Those flood gates close to prevent saltwater from entering irrigation channels, but these channels are really important rearing habitats for juvenile salmon and spawning habitats. Due to the floodgates alone, there are thousands of kilometers of habitat that is inaccessible to juvenile salmon or salmon in general in the lower Fraser region.

If we can work with local governments and say, “Hey, we need the funding to upgrade this flood control infrastructure.” We can do that, but we also need agricultural practitioners on board to be like, “how can we 19

update our practices to continue supporting our livelihoods, but also, restore access for salmon?”

That's just one example, but I think our region can continue to grow, continue to be this hub of activity while also supporting salmon. We just have to make some big systemic changes, and I think that's the root of it. These are big changes that need to happen. And unfortunately, I think we just don't move quickly enough or collaboratively enough to be able to make them in the timeframe that salmon need them to be made What are some practical steps that students can take if they want to get involved in the protection of endangered species on the Fraser River as a whole?

Get involved with community groups. There are lots of community groups that are stewards that do habitat restoration. I know volunteering can be difficult, especially for students that are really busy in school, but I would really recommend even just chatting with folks that are doing work. Just making those connections is a great way to build support and also get your name in the door if you ever want to go into conservation professionally.

Even if you don't have time to volunteer, like boots on the ground, you can still support and advance conservation efforts just through engaging on social media, sharing campaigns, and getting your friends involved, supporting projects, and getting the word out.

At the end of the day, a lot of this comes down to decision makers. If you can engage your elected officials, write a letter, give them a call, because a lot of what happens in terms of threats to salmon are down to the way our governance structure is set up.

I think it's easy to think that in order to be involved in conservation, you have to have a science background, but I don't think that's the case at all. I think anyone can kind of contribute; if you're an artist, a musician, literally anything that you study or that you love to do can be used to progress conservation. I do want to emphasize that everyone has individual and unique skill sets that can contribute to supporting recovery of endangered species and salmon.

What is something that makes you hopeful for the future, for the Fraser River, for our climate? Have you had any success in overcoming some of these threats?

There are so many people doing wonderful work in the Fraser Valley and the Lower Mainland on salmon conservation. In terms of Raincoast, our restoration work in the Fraser River estuary has created breaches and jetties. Previously, jetties were really big barriers to juvenile salmon migration, but we went in and removed some of the rock, so now juvenile salmon can access salt marsh habitat, which they need to rear in, which was previously disconnected for a hundred years. So, seeing that the number of juvenile salmon in the estuary where we did this restoration work has tripled is really encouraging that habitat restoration is effective. And it is encouraging as well that we've had a lot of partners on that project; we've got support from the federal government, we work with Nations whose territories are in the estuary, and we work with other NGOs. I think there is a lot of inspiring work to be done; it just needs people, especially young people, to continue putting the pressure on decision-makers to shift away from the top-down, more colonial framework, and to shift more towards a community-based, ecosystem-based approach that really fosters ecological resilience over economic gain.

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Cobi Timmermans Lake Bottom Photography 35 mm film (scanned) Artist Statement: Lake Bottom is a series of film photographs documenting the 2021 reflooding of the Sumas Prairies, which was a result of atmospheric rivers caused by climate change. These photographs are of various buildings including my home, located in the lake bottom of the original Semá:th Lake of the Stó:lō Nation, which was drained in the 1920s to allow agricultural farming to European immigrants.

Since taking up photography in 2018, I have spent the vast majority of my artistic career documenting my home and the nature surrounding it in the Sumas Prairies, located on the unceded territory of the Stó:lō Nation. Through different seasons, storms, and growth, I have taken an interest in the effects that humans and weather have on the landscape.

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35 mm film (scanned)

Photography

Cobi Timmermans Lake Bottom

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Why I don’t talk about climate change anymore Darien Johnsen

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hen I was growing up, I used to spend every spring break and every summer on my baba and grandpa’s big farm property on the outskirts of Aldergrove — just on the corner of 248th and Robertson crescent. During these springs and summers, I would play for hours either on my own or with my cousin in what my family called “the back forty.'' There was a creek with thick grey clay that we scraped out of the bottom of the shallow areas of the water and smeared over our bodies. We let it dry and crack in the sun — early feminine beauty treatments. There was a big empty field that used to hold cattle that had an old abandoned boat that my cousin and I would play make believe in, stealing as many toothpicks from restaurants as we could to pretend to smoke as we steered the ship through rough waters.

There were family gatherings and parties where everyone would congregate around a bonfire and kids' bedtimes disappeared into the night sky like the sparks from the fire. We stayed out late because the parents and aunts and uncles were all busy drinking and eating and chatting and dancing with each other. We snuck sips of beer from the cans and they would pretend not to notice while we pretended to be drunk, giggling and stumbling over each other.

In the mornings, I trudged out into the fields, my gumboots on under my dress, following baba or grandpa to feed the chickens from the chicken bucket — an old ice cream pail we used to collect compost in before the cities delivered their big green bins to put out on the curb on garbage day. Afterwards, I would chase the hens around the coop and try to catch one to hold and pet. Baba would always scold me about this.

“You’re stressing them out! They won’t lay!” she would say. I would give my hen one last peck on the head and put her down so she could hop back into her coop.

It was here that we learned about the nuances of climate and weather, too. We gained an understanding of the seasons from the depth of the creek. In summer months we could swim because all the mountain water melted and rushed into our backyard and raised the water in the creek. During the winter it turned into nearly a trickle. Spring was planting season; summer was when we could eat the berries right off the bushes, pull big carrots from the garden, and wash them off with the hose to crunch into the dense centres. We dragged the ladder around the orchard to climb up into the trees, eating apples and plums and cherries until our bellies felt full enough to burst. We laughed and screamed, swatting off the hornets that swarmed around the rotting, overripe fruit graveyard beneath our feet.

One spring the ferocity of climate reared its head and I understood the power of water. A group of neighbours had gathered near a part of 248th street that ran over a water tunnel from the creek. It had 24

buckled from the pressure of too much water trying to pass under the road. The water had risen higher than it ever had and the piping couldn’t handle it. My baba had explained that it was a part of our creek that ran under there. Our creek had done this? I marvelled at the hole of earth that had opened up below my feet, a gaping black hole with jagged edges of concrete. After that I had nightmares about earthquakes and the world splitting in two.

That creek, that chicken coop, the orchard, and the fire pit, were the same ones that my dad and uncles played near while they were growing up. Now, it’s no longer ours. Last year, my grandparents decided that they couldn't handle the development going on around them, couldn’t manage the property on their own, and were struggling with the rising cost of living in the Lower Mainland. The properties across from them were being torn down and redeveloped into shiny, wealthy suburbs that would not tolerate their late night parties and drinking and illegal outof-season bonfires. My grandpa sold the property and they both moved to Quesnel, where I rarely see them. My baba had tears in her eyes the week before she moved as she expressed her conflicted and overwhelmed feelings about living in the Lower Mainland: “it’s just too much,” she had said. Now they have more space, a ranch, and a log cabin, but are far from family, and far from the property we had all enjoyed for decades.

When we talk about climate change I am often at a loss. I’m not too sure where this planet is headed. The possibilities at this point seem bleak, considering the issue of climate change is something that has been looming like a heavy black cloud in my mind since the first grade, and still now as a twenty six-year-old graduate. I’ve seen little progress over the course of my life, only watched things get worse.

I could go on about greenwashing, corporate CO2 emissions, and the exportation of climate issues from western countries to southern nations, but we know already. We’ve all heard statistic after statistic, the cries for action, the ridiculous emission-producing climate summits that produce goals no country ever seems to reach yet heartily devote themselves to. I’m tired of it.

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As a Christian, I believe that God's plan is to create a new Earth — that this world will end. But God is too easy — a spiritual Band-Aid, a cop-out, and my heart continually breaks for everyone currently experiencing the extreme consequences of climate change, and I worry about what my own future holds as I watch the valleys flood and the interiors burn here in B.C. But truly, the overload of information, the demands on consumers to do better, be better, look at X amount of suffering in X country — it gets exhausting, and the risk of exhaustion and hopelessness is apathy. And apathy is the end of empathy, compassion, and love for one another.

So, this is my encouragement to you: regardless of your goals in life, stance on climate change, job occupation, or career goals — enjoy nature. Enjoy the intricacies of the natural world around you. Whether you think climate change is a hoax or not, the world is changing and has the capacity to change beyond what we see in front of us right now. I wish that I had visited my baba and grandpa’s property just a few more times before it was gone; I wish I could walk its perimeter one more time. I wish that I had set foot in that creek to feel my toes in the clay again. I miss the orchard, the little berry bushes, the garden, the rotting old boat, and the hectic chicken coop. I did not appreciate it when it was there because I was so caught up in my own life — moreover, a life full of activism. Now, I am left with only memories and photographs, and we are no further in our fight against climate change.

Learn from my mistake; enjoy this world, enjoy what you have access to while it’s around. It’s too easy to be caught up in the anxiety and (righteous) anger of activists and spend so much time fighting. Don’t forget to love this world for what it is right now, because it may be gone soon — before you know it, before you are able to fully appreciate it. This is not to say to make you sad — this is to say to make you grateful. You get to enjoy this world right now in a time when the future of the planet is so uncertain, yet still so beautiful. Like my baba would say to me when I would try to capture the chickens in the hen coop, holding on to something will only produce anxiety. So let go, let it be, and just love it. Maybe there is a greater plan for this world. I know that good always prevails; love will prevail. So love this Earth like it was yourself; love it like it was your child — with the realisation that it may go away sometime, that it may betray you, that it may not be what you expected it to be. Don’t take your space for granted; enjoy it and love it unconditionally.

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Brielle Quon Four Seasons Acrylic on Canvas Artist Statement: This four-part series is a reflection of growth as an artist and as a person. I re-painted this series that my sister and I painted as children, demonstrating that improvement happens with hard work, dedication and experience. Each of the images portrayed are also significant places where I showed personal growth.

The spring painting depicts a field near my cabin; a place I have grown up. Unfortunately, much of the land near my cabin is being developed. The quiet neighborhood and the surrounding wildlife will never be the same after the new buildings are constructed.

The summer painting depicts Mystic Beach on the Juan de Fuca trail where my family and I backpacked for almost a week. Recently I have discovered how damaging overfishing is to the environment. The beautiful views and wildlife we saw on that trip may not be the same in 50 years.

The autumn painting portrays a view from Mount Outram in early October; the first backpacking trip I accomplished without my parents. The mountains in the background are faded, while a pinkish orange hue can be seen on the horizon. This is due to a smoky haze from forest fires. Over the last few years, summers have been dryer, causing more of these devastating disasters.

The winter painting portrays a scene from Sasquatch Mountain ski resort; representing a sport I was terrified of as a teenager but have grown to love as an adult. Though skiing is a fun activity, I also understand the consequences skiing has on the environment. Logging clear cuts paths for skiers and ski lifts. This is a damaging and very unnecessary act.

All these places, though significant to me, have been impacted or have had an impact on our environment and the changing climate. I have preserved these places in these paintings, wondering if the paintings will outlast the views.

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Devon Riley Leave no Trace Photography Artist Statement: In this series, “Leave no Trace,” I explore the theme of ecofeminism and the impact of a patriarchal society on women and nature. Through the male gaze, nature and women are viewed and treated similarly. In these photographs, I illuminate this connection.

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This Beautiful Coffin Washington Reimer

there’s a flower in the back of her throat, crawling up through her rows of picket fence teeth like moss through an old sidewalk. she sings white petals with lips of pollen rust and the roots dry her mouth to dust and desert. she bleeds thorns that cut her and she bleeds more until there is no skin but red rose ligaments and corpse sinew. the earth will claim her again once canyons of muscle have eroded and all that’s left are bone vaults and wires for cactus hands to wrap around and die with.

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A Portrait in Bloom Anisa Quintyne Flames tear through rooms fueled by a black pyre, Near a portrait hung in its bright echo.

There, a single bud blooms, bearing outcry In this blank western corridor. And know, Child, though it breathes, it need not cough in Hurt or in pain, or bellow its throat raw, It does not suffer to prove how often This life can be bested; tested, it falls.

It cannot furl its fists into wild rage, Or bound them blue by desperate prayer.

But thornapples long predict years in age, Before sin first kissed what Lilith laid bare.

Though the bud wilts, it lifts just as Atlas, Burning in its likeness by an axis.

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Bekah Stokes Crisis Photography Artist Statement: Our generation has been handed a world on a collision course. Society straps us into our mass-produced psychedelic safety vests and sends us out into the chaos, asking for solutions.

33 no longer afford to silence our consciences. Our earth, we, are screaming. Listen.

We can

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Bleaching underwater: the influence of global warming on the demise of coral reef Keshav Dubay

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oral reefs are some of the most biodiverse underwater ecosystems in our world, often referred to as the “rainforests” of the oceans. Unfortunately, global warming has threatened the survival of these important ecosystems. Climate change is the main contributor to the demise of coral reefs, as it causes a phenomenon known as coral bleaching to occur. This phenomenon has already affected numerous coral regions in the South Pacific, threatening the many advantages these ecosystems have to offer.

The significance of coral reef degradation and loss will negatively impact millions of people worldwide.

Coral reefs have extremely high biodiversity and productivity. They contribute billions of dollars to global economies each year by providing jobs in the fishing, recreation, and tourism sectors. The Great Barrier Reef alone “contributes $6.4 billion to the Australian economy annually, and helps employ more than 64,000 people.”

Coral reefs are one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth, with approximately 25 per cent of all marine life dependent on these ecosystems at some point in their lifetime. They provide a home for an incredibly diverse array of ocean life who would lose their habitat if these ecosystems were lost, threatening extinction and the food security of approximately one billion people. It was noted that two species of fish in Samoan regions were ten per cent smaller than their average size, and their population had decreased as they either migrated or perished due to loss of habitat.

Climate change is causing increased sea surface temperatures, ocean acidification, and the increased prevalence of tropical storms, which is threatening the survival of our coral reefs. These animals are beginning to undergo a phenomenon known as “coral bleaching.” Coral bleaching is when corals Coral bleaching is a death lose their microscopic symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae, which live within the coral's tissues. event that leaves the They are photosynthetic and thus provide the bare structure of corals coral with their primary source of energy and exposed, without any coloration. Otherwise, all that would be present is a skeleton beneath the translucent tissue of organisms left to sustain or white. When corals become stressed as a result create more of climate change, they begin to bleach. At this point, they are essentially starving and highly susceptible to disease and death due to the loss of major food sources. Coral bleaching is a death event that leaves the bare structure of corals exposed, without any organisms left to sustain or create more.

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Bleaching has led to the evident decline in reef structures, which has only declined habitats for other organisms that rely on corals.

Moreover, due to the massive absorption of carbon dioxide by our oceans, increasing ocean acidity is another factor of climate change that is devastating corals. One-fourth of our carbon emissions end up in the oceans each year, and when carbon dioxide reacts with seawater, it produces a carbonic acid that makes the water acidic. For more than a century, ocean “acidity has increased by 26 per cent, reducing ocean pH by 0.1 pH units.” This has caused marine species that inherit calcareous structures, much like corals, to slowly dissolve. There has also been a substantial amount of destruction to coral reefs from tropical storms that have become more prevalent due to climate change. Research has shown that category four and five cyclones are intensified by 30 per cent when global temperatures rise by one degree Celsius. Without a doubt, coral reefs are suffering from both natural and man-made destructive forces.

Climate change has extended periods of high water temperatures, increased ocean acidification, and progressed tropical cyclones, all of which have threatened the survival of coral reefs.

In 2016, the Great Barrier Reef experienced record-breaking sea surface temperatures, which resulted in a mass bleaching event. Within eight months, a third of the coral reefs were dead, with the staghorn and tabular corals being impacted the most as they suffered from a widespread die-off. If no actions are taken towards limiting the consequences of climate change, coral reefs will continue to decline in abundance. This could eventually lead to the loss of reefs worldwide in and around places such as Australia, the Maldives, Kiribati, Samoa, and Hawaii. Coral reefs might not vanish overnight, but as the rate of climate change increases, all coral bleaching events should be taken as a warning to the income, food sources, and coastal protection these animals offer.

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Devin Pigeau Ocean Observations I Medium-Format Analogue Photography Artist Statement: The overarching goal of this series is to encapsulate the withering nature of our current ocean climate. Every aspect of this ecosystem is at risk and is slowly deteriorating; fading out of sight so much that it may never return to its naturally balanced state. With this in mind, I attempted to go with an ominous and ghostly portrayal to further drive home the fact that, due to this self-inflicted impending climate crisis, our oceans are truly in a state of complete and utter dilapidation.

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Climate change and poverty: A cross-section of crisis Dante Cross

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t is not uncommon to hear talk of climate change in the news today, with increases in natural disasters like forest fires, hurricanes, droughts, floods, later and harsher cold snaps, and extreme summer heat domes.

More and more we are seeing the impact of climate change here at home in the Valley and around the world — and what we are seeing isn’t pretty.

While we are all affected by it to one degree or another, climate change doesn’t impact everyone equally. Vulnerable, lower-income communities are disproportionately affected by the extreme weather events caused by climate change. We don’t have to look any further than our own province to see examples of this.

In the summer of 2021, B.C. experienced an extreme heat dome that brought record high temperatures to the the BC coroner service province. As a result, the B.C. coroner's service reported a staggering 569 heat-related deaths from June 20 to July reported a staggering 569 29. While the government doesn’t keep track of heat-reheat-related deaths from lated hospital admissions, the elderly and those with June 20 to July 29 disabilities were some of the most at risk of fatality, with poverty being a significant factor. The lack of appropriate air conditioning led to overwhelming numbers of people in lower-income housing seeking cooling centres or other relief.

As we look closer at the impact of climate change on those living in poverty, we see a concerning trend.

Poverty already comes with significant obstacles, but the influences of climate change both here and abroad can lead to an increased risk of instability for the most vulnerable. While wealthier people are able to relocate and can afford to insure their homes and other properties, poorer people are at risk of potentially losing everything.

An article by Benjamin Powers showcases this disparity surrounding the events of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. People with significant wealth were able to bring in private security or firefighting teams during this weather disaster. This natural disaster displayed that the wealthy are able to adjust more effectively, and any losses they experience can be recovered quickly.

In our own backyard, we watched as flooding devastated the Sumas Prairie just months after the heat waves. This left many British Columbians reaching out to charities for support as they lacked the resources to recover on their own. This put stress on food pantries and other social systems as they tried to keep up with the needs of the people affected.

This is just one example in B.C., a province in a country with one of the highest GDPs in the world. This is nothing compared to the famine and disease caused by climate change in countries with lower GDPs, that don’t have the resources to support their residents who are living in poverty, in the face of catastrophe.

What can be done to help alleviate the risks of climate change for those living in poverty? Is there an answer?

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In the concluding remarks of S. Nazrul Islam and John Winkel’s paper, “Climate Change and Social Inequality,” they make the case for the best way to address the impact of climate change on inequality is to reduce inequality. This may sound like an oversimplification, but when we look at the details it makes sense.

The United Nations lists “no poverty” as its leading point to address in their “Sustainable Development Goals.” The Canadian government already spends billions of dollars addressing the impacts of poverty and climate change. So, while Canada has announced a poverty reduction plan of its own, there are questions about whether it goes far enough towards reducing poverty across the country. We’ve seen an increase in minimum wage and assurance of paid sick days for working Canadians, which both help, but the government can still do more.

There is a growing movement seeking Universal Basic Income (UBI) for all. UBI would ensure that every Canadian, regardless of employment, had the income to cover basic necessities for survival like rent and food, which would go a long way to ending poverty. It would also alleviate many other areas of spending in regards to welfare, disability, old age security, child tax credits, and homelessness. These areas of reduced spending would free funds that could go towards other areas, like addressing climate change solutions in Canada.

In reducing poverty, the government and our communities would see stronger resiliency in the face of climate disasters. Reducing poverty would also give people the power to make more environmentally conscious decisions that are denied by their financial circumstances. While the brunt of human-induced climate change can’t be laid on the individual, we can’t deny the impact of millions of people being able to participate in more environmentally sound action.

Additionally, removing the stress of poverty would make it possible for more people to be involved in climate action and community support. Such volunteer work is crucial to growing an informed and action-oriented population.

We can see that vulnerable communities are at higher risk from the effects of climate change and the issues of climate change and poverty can’t be taken in isolation. They are intimately tied together. Especially as the impact of climate change continues to grow.

The government must continue to address poverty in environmentally adaptive ways to ensure that the changes we are making can hold up to the climate effects to come, and all climate change plans must include consideration for those living in vulnerable conditions to ensure that all people are safe and protected as ecosystems change around us.

Together, we can make a difference. We, as a society, must continue to educate ourselves on these issues, watch what other countries are doing right, and what they do wrong, and reach out to our own government to ensure they are taking appropriate steps to address these intertwined concerns.

We cannot allow ourselves to forget the most at-risk in our communities and how these larger issues disproportionately harm them. We can address social justice while tackling the real life effects of human driven climate change, building a more sustainable system, and bringing about a better world for everyone in the process.

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Adria Quon Photographed Acrylic on Canvas

Artist Statement: In this series, I explore the complexities of nature through a close-up, intimate perspective of mushrooms — as I am an avid mushroom hunter. I limited myself to a black and white scheme to emphasize light and shadow which adds intensity to the paintings and an almost ghost-like appearance to the mushrooms. Here, I want to create a discussion about environmental issues by using inspiration from film photography. The mushrooms are in black and white and are depicted in realistic representation — much like black and white film — to illustrate that in a few decade’s time, humanity’s severe impact on the environment will be irreversible and perhaps pictures may be the only thing Earth has left of nature.

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Adria Quon Photographed – Shaggy Mane

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Adria Quon Photographed – Russula

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Adria Quon Photographed – Oyster Mushrooms

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Laura Ayres Starfish Photography Artist Statement: When I was younger, I wanted to become a marine biologist because I have always loved everything to do with the ocean. To this day, I still find going to the beach very exciting, mostly because I love to see all the different wildlife, such as starfish. I remember as a kid I would go with my parents to White Rock beach and we would try and count all the starfish we could see when we got to the end of the pier. Unfortunately, as I got older, I started to see them less and less until eventually I just never saw them. I had learnt from my dad that certain species of starfish on the west coast were getting a virus that was basically turning them into mush and it would get worse due to rising ocean temperatures.

Over the summer, I went to Belcarra Park and took this series of photographs. I was so excited as it was the first time I had gone there and seen starfish. I feel that these photos really showcase the beauty of aquatic wildlife and I dread the day that animals, like starfish, will go extinct.

For now, my goal is to try to capture these species while we still have them.

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GLOFs and why we should worry about them Zain Zaidi

The harbingers of climate change in the Himalayas

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ou are probably wondering what a GLOF is and why it should worry each and every single one of us, but before I quench your curiosity, let me try to get across to you just how serious these are.

Imagine standing outside your house and you see a giant wave of water and debris coming your way.

You are frozen in shock as you see this wave rapidly advancing towards you. For a split second, your brain may wonder what exactly caused this — perhaps a tsunami, but you live nowhere close to an ocean; a flood, yes, but you don’t recall there being excessive rainfall earlier in the day, nor was there a flood warning issued.

There is nothing you can do to stop this wave from engulfing you and everything you have ever cared about — your loved ones, your home and the town you grew up in. If you miraculously made it out alive, you’d see a newly formed lake and what was once your home would be at its bottom.

GLOFs, or glacier lake outburst floods, occur when millions of cubic metres of water and debris are suddenly released when rapid slope movements or water from melting glaciers overwhelm the natural dam containing the lake. They lead to the loss of lives, livelihoods, and property of people living in downstream mountain communities that tend to be remote and impoverished.

If you’re reading this article in the global north, you and I both bear part of the blame for the recurrence of GLOFs, as the countries we live in emit more than our fair share of the world’s CO2 emissions, and it is these emissions that lead to rising temperatures. Rising temperatures accelerate global glacier melt, which in turn leads to the water levels of glacial lakes breaching their boundaries and resulting in GLOFs. This is a reality for millions — and yes, I mean millions — of people, such as the 7.1 million people living in the northern regions of Pakistan, namely Gligit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who are especially vulnerable to GLOFs occurring at any given time. The 2018 Badwast GLOF submerged the entire village of Badswat in Gilgit Baltistan, and the survivors of this tragedy still live in temporary shelters as climate refugees, while their homes sit at the bottom of the newly formed lake.

“When it became a lake, 32 houses in Badswat were submerged. There was a day and night school, houses were destroyed, and I couldn’t even salvage a spoon from my home,” said Shahbano, a school teacher who was one of the survivors of the Badswat GLOF and has since been living as a climate refugee in one of the temporary shelters in District Ghizer. Since the Badswat GLOF, there have been 27 climate change-caused geological disasters in the Gilgit Division, and 21 of the 27 disasters were in the Ghizer district, where Shahbano and hundreds of other climate refugees live.

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As a Canadian-born child of immigrants from Pakistan with extended family living in regions of Pakistan that are vulnerable to GLOFs, I cannot help but think about how I live in a nation that, according to the most recent statistics, is considered the worst polluter in the world in 2021 in terms of cumulative CO2 emissions per population. At the same time, the CO2 emissions of Pakistan are less than one per cent of total global emissions, and the emissions in Gilgit-Baltistan are even lower, as they are completely reliant on hydroelectric power. How can we collectively justify emitting far more than our share of the world’s CO2 emissions, and having the implications of our emissions affect people living in a region in the global south that relies on a domestically-produced renewable energy source?

I implore anyone reading this to take a second to think about this north-south juxtaposition of CO2 emissions. Our global climate system is interconnected, and the global north’s emissions disproportionately contribute to rising temperatures. This causes a cascade of events which result in significant enough glacier melt to submerge an entire village in the global south by a GLOF. It is important to remember that it isn’t just Pakistan, or other countries in the global south, that have been affected by climate change. Canada has seen a barrage of climate disasters over the past few years, and in 2021 alone, British Columbia has experienced heat domes, catastrophic wildfires, and extreme flooding. Climate change may not affect us all the same way, but it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t prepare for both present and future impacts of climate change by holding our governments accountable to meet our climate goals and reduce national emissions.

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prodromal period Chandy Dancey

why can't you see what illness ails me or tell me why my skin sloughs off in layers bleached, balding, bacterial bleeding into the bloated rivers when even paris is in agreement that my body is crumbling, becoming inhospitable that my transformation has just begun and still my fever is ever increasing rising, rising, rising temperature — wildfire in my veins acidity — bile in my throat sea level — wet phlegm in my lungs and though my wounds weep no salve or bandage can staunch the sickening decay when the science is clear that these threats to my life are interconnected i can’t contain everything that’s contaminated: from malformed migration patterns to simmering storms, to emitted methane into dirty air but let it be known that i cannot bear the brunt of this blood on my hands i demand to be examined beg to be treated by a hypocrite’s hippocratic oath to be cleansed by fire, by ice, or by welcoming the impending supernova of that great sun for i have seen the four horsemen conquest, war, famine, and death and with fiery tears i say, that they have come to save me from my inflicted skin infection the pestilence on my flesh the children who deny my suffering and together we approach a violent implosion that you call a catastrophe and that i call it the cure 49

Faria Firoz Excessive Acrylic on Paper Artist Statement: The past few years have shown us the extremes in weather systems; heat waves, extreme rainfall, and frequent snowfall are a result of human-induced climate change.

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System Shock Dante Cross

We live inside a system Of balances and checks For everything we take away That's one less thing that’s left

Of nature which we rejected For our own unhinged needs The world is slowly burning All thanks to unbound greed

Some resources will come back With time and with some care Others are just finite Once gone they won’t be there

But we can reclaim the balance If we demand that greed should end We can save the world If we promise to new ends

So you think we would be careful With how we chose what we do How we treat our environment Make sure the balance is true

Promise to be sustainable Promise to renew To protect the environment That supports all people too

Yet that’s not how it has happened That system is in shock We’ve torn down all the trees And ripped up all the rock

So take your stand, good people Because we can be better We can save ourselves too Humans and nature together

We’ve poisoned all the streams Filled the oceans with trash Filled the ground with chemicals And there’s no coming back People aren’t the virus We’ve seen we can live with the world It’s the uncontrollable greed By which humankind is ruled Greed consumes the forests The mountains and the lakes Kills off all of the animals For profit is at stake It’s greed that drives this violence In this system where we are a part Greed undoes the balance That supported the now broken heart 51

2021 The hottest summer so far!

Customers call from the front of the store The air conditioning broke five hours into my shift The coolest one yet.

Eva Davey

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Chloe Hoos Time is running out 22” x 30” multimedia (soft pastels, acrylic paint, charcoal)

Artist Statement: Mother earth is trapped; we need to be her voice.

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Piper Hornall I’ll Stop The World And Melt With You Visual Art

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Ryan Keeping Glaciers Photography Artist Statement: I had just hiked for about eight hours, two of which I was lost, getting stung by hornets and trudging through the bush. I was exhausted, dead tired. My friend had booked a cabin at the top… or so he thought. Apparently, the cabin he had booked was actually in Whistler. Luckily, there were still tent pads available. I was so happy to have made it to such a beautiful lake and to finally rest. The next day we hiked around the lake and swam beneath the glacier. It was the coldest water I had ever felt, but the view from below the glacier was gorgeous.

Lake Lovely Water, Squamish, B.C.

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Chloe Hoos The Strike Photography Artist Statement: 100,000 people crowded the streets of Vancouver, deeming a liveable climate more important than school or work. September 27, 2019.

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climate anxiety - a playlist Chandy Dancey

1. everybody wants to rule the world - tears for fears 2. but why - brayke 3. everybody knows shit’s fucked - stephen paul taylor 4. billionaires boy club - hallowed 5. killin the planet - the vines 6. heat waves - glass animals 7. deep flooding waters - the deep dark woods 8. biblical locust plague - 40 proof 9. by the way - red hot chili peppers

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10.

fuck you - lily allen

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mosquitoes - days n daze

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selfishness runs rampant - ethan starkey

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i feel like i’m drowning - two feet

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talkin’ bout a revolution - tracy chapman

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time to act! - nasum

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i’m scared, but - three legged raven

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it’s not too late - leo

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it’s just begun - she wants revenge

Kellyn Kavanagh Stairway to Nowhere Photography Artist Statement: Two fallen trees in a quiet section of trail in Squamish, BC. One tree rests on top of the other with what looks like a hand carved stairway leading to a sudden, empty drop off onto the trail. After all of our natural resources are extracted, forests are cleared, and wildfires burn away entire towns — where do we go from here? For what purpose did it all serve but to line the pockets of the absurdly wealthy? When the rich get richer and the rest of us spiral into poverty, sickness, and death — when will they decide enough is enough? Net zero by 2050 won’t cut it.

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Brielle Quon Death by Window Black and white film photography Artist Statement: A bird flew into the window of our house and died. It lay on our lawn while I photographed it. When the photo was developed, I realized how sad it was that the life of this bird was taken all because it flew into a window. What if my house did not exist in that spot in that moment in time? The bird could still be alive. This one circumstance was upsetting; it made me think about how human development such as deforestation, agriculture, and overfishing have caused an even greater amount of destruction to wildlife.

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Thank you.

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The Zine is published by the Cascade Journalism Society.

Regular bi-weekly editions of The Cascade newspaper can be found on stands and benches across UFV campuses and cafés around town.

For more information visit ufvcascade.ca.

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