By Brian Lin

Monica Pearson is on an egg hunt – one that could save the most endangered amphibians in Canada.The Oregon spotted frog – whose Latin name means “precious frogs” – has bright golden eyes and ranges in color from “Kermit green” to dark brown. They are shy, hide in tunnels and spend much of their time under water.

Creative writing students at UBC’s Okanagan campus link literature, art and science in a novel, collaborative study.

Call it sowing the seeds of a new idea. Budding writers in the Department of Creative Studies at UBC’s Okanagan campus are blending plant metaphors with plant science to discover their emerging literary voice. 

By Heather Amos

From Guyana to Vancouver, Janette Bulkan has built a career on protecting indigenous land rights and access to resources. Her involvement with social issues in forestry began after she noticed more and more chainsaws in indigenous communities in her homeland of Guyana. The men from  these communities were getting into logging.

By Heather Amos

Sara Barron wins the world’s largest forestry scholarship. From promoting recovery in hospitals to reducing stress, there is growing evidence that nature plays an important role in our wellbeing. But according to Sara Barron, suburban communities are going to need more than a few tree-lined streets to be effective.

By Selina Marshal

Most people don’t need to be told to “shush” in a library: the studious ambience promotes quiet behaviour.  In the same way, UBC researchers have found a significant connection between occupying a green building and behaving in a more environmentally friendly manner. The implications could be momentous for sustainability.

To what degree can human activities associated with the built environment lead to improvements in both ecological integrity and human quality of life?

This is just one of the big questions some 65 sustainability thought leaders and practitioners from Sweden, Oregon, California, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Washington, Vancouver and Victoria grappled with as part of the Regenerative Neighbourhoods Summit, held February 14 and 15, 2013 on UBC’s Vancouver campus.

UBC researchers have discovered a new method of trapping heat, called the ‘heat trap’ effect, and used nanotechnology to create a novel device for converting sunlight to electricity.

Everyone is talking about energy.  Cost, sources and the impact of fossil fuels on our planet are in the news daily. With the proliferation of new technologies and the growth currently taking place in countries such as China and India, the demand for energy is not about to ease up.