Fun at Westham Island Farm, British Columbia

 

Ode to the Eastern Hemlock

Since moving from Ontario to British Columbia this summer, I've been thinking of what I've left behind. One of them is the Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), a beautiful tree and my friend while I was in Ontario. I used to visit old-growth stands in Catchacoma Forest on the sheidl and the Mark S. Burnham Forest, closer to Peterborough.

Eastern Hemlock, Catchacoma Forest, ON

Nina Munteanu Identified as a Leading Voice in Eco-SciFi Fiction

Inventor/author Kyo Hwang Cho recently identified Nina Munteanu, Kim Stanley Robinson, Jeff VanderMeer, and Richard Powers as leading voices in eco-science fiction in an article on the LinkedIn Skyhome Newsletter:

Cho mentioned the following Noteworthy Eco-ScienceFiction Works:

Nina Munteanu is a Canadian ecologist / limnologist and novelist. She is co-editor of Europa SF and currently teaches writing courses at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for the latest on her books. Nina’s bilingual “La natura dell’acqua / The Way of Water” was published by Mincione Edizioni in Rome. Her non-fiction book “Water Is…” by Pixl Press (Vancouver) was selected by Margaret Atwood in the New York Times ‘Year in Reading’ and was chosen as the 2017 Summer Read by Water Canada. Her novel “A Diary in the Age of Water” was released by Inanna Publications (Toronto) in June 2020.

A Diary in the Age of Water" Required Reading at Memorial University

 

Nina Munteanu is a Canadian ecologist / limnologist and novelist. She is co-editor of Europa SF and currently teaches writing courses at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for the latest on her books. Nina’s bilingual “La natura dell’acqua / The Way of Water” was published by Mincione Edizioni in Rome. Her non-fiction book “Water Is…” by Pixl Press (Vancouver) was selected by Margaret Atwood in the New York Times ‘Year in Reading’ and was chosen as the 2017 Summer Read by Water Canada. Her novel “A Diary in the Age of Water” was released by Inanna Publications (Toronto) in June 2020.

The Guardian's Invertebrate of the Year for 2025

 

Below are the top ten candidates selected from over 2 thousand nominations:

I decided to nominate the bdelloid rotifer and found my candidate in the top ten! 

The rotifer didn't win the top designation of Invertebrate of the Year; that went to the charismatic tardigrade. That's ok; the tiny rotifer got its brief recognition. Hail the resilient rotiter!