1) Learn about the world around you.
Your phone can be a helpful instrument. Download plant identifier apps to your phone and start the habit of learning the names and origins of plants, insects, and birds you see and hear:
Plants
Plantnet https://identify.plantnet.org/
Inaturalist https://www.inaturalist.org/
Planta https://getplanta.com/
Picture this. https://www.picturethisai.com/
Birds
Merlin Bird ID https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/
Insects:
Pictureinsect https://pictureinsect.com/
2) Bookmark Resources.
Canadian Networks:
Nature Conservancy of Canada https://natureconservancy.ca/who-we-are/
Environmental Defense Canada https://environmentaldefence.ca/
Ecology Action Canada (Nova Scotia) - critical environmental issues from biodiversity protection to climate change to environmental justice. https://ecologyaction.ca/
Yellowhead Institute https://yellowheadinstitute.org/
CLEAR Lab (OISE) The Civic Laboratory for Environmental Action Research (CLEAR) is an Indigenous-led feminist and anticolonial laboratory conducting research on social and natural sciences related to environmental justice, especially plastic pollution. https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/collaborativeindigenousresearch/research/clear-civic-laboratory-environmental-action-research
NiCHE Network in Canadian History & Environment | Nouvelle initiative Canadienne en histoire de l'environnement
3) Find Data Sources:
Canada
Canadian federal government’s climate change page: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/climatechange.html
Wildfires: https://climate.esri.ca/pages/wildfire
US
Climate.US – rebuilt government site https://www.climate.us/ See especially https://www.climate.us/climatedashboard
NOAA climate https://www.noaa.gov/climate
Heat.gov https://heat.gov/
Indigenous Environmental Network: https://www.ienearth.org/
Wildfires
Wildfires: https://climate.esri.ca/pages/wildfire
FIRM (Fire Information for Resource Management) NASA Wildfires: https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:2026-07-11..2026-07-17;@0.0,0.0,2.4z
4) How much carbon do you use? Try some calculators:
5) Glossaries and terms
Environmental Humanities Living Lexicon: https://read.dukeupress.edu/environmental-humanities/pages/lexicon
Noaa's climate glossary: https://psl.noaa.gov/enso/glossary.html
CBC's climate change glossary: https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/cbc-news-climate-change-glossary
UNDP Climate Dictionary https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2023-10/undp-the-climate-dictionary-v3.pdf
Szeman, Imre, et al., editors. Fueling Culture: 101 Words for Energy and Environment. Fordham University Press, 2017.
6) Archives
National Snow and Ice Data Center - Glacier Photograph archive https://nsidc.org/data/glacier_photo/index.html
Bradford Washburn finding aid: https://library.americanalpineclub.org/washburn
9) Read and submit your environmental themed writing to:
The Starfish (Canada) https://thestarfish.ca/journal
Grist magazine (US) https://grist.org/
Biographic (International): https://www.biographic.com/
Mongabay https://news.mongabay.com/
The Guardian Environment: https://www.theguardian.com/us/environment
The Ecologist (UK): https://theecologist.org/
Ecotone (United States)
A literary magazine that publishes “writing of place,” Ecotone features poetry, fiction, and essays that explore the natural world and our relationship to it.
Patagonia Stories (International)
First-person essays on wilderness, activism, and environmental advocacy—from surfers protecting coastlines to scientists tracking melting glaciers.
Voices for Biodiversity (International)
An online magazine that uplifts stories from around the world about wildlife, conservation, and indigenous knowledge.
Orion Magazine (United States)
Writing and art that explores the connection between nature and culture.
Terrain.org (United States)
An independent magazine of literature, artwork, commentary, and design that focuses on place, climate, and justice.
MĀNOA (Pacific Islands, Asia, Americas)
Pacific journal of international writing that brings literature to English-speaking readers twice a year.
The Hopper (United States)
Environmental literary magazine that publishes poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and visual art, all of which are paths towards an invigorated understanding of nature’s place in human life.
Little Blue Marble (Canada)
Magazine that publishes articles and works of speculative fiction that bring greater awareness of the consequences and potential solutions to anthropogenic climate change.
More:
This Tapestry resource will be built out by fall students in ENG480: https://tapestries.media/u/monique.tschofen.tmu/Environmental-Humanities