Hello! Are you here for change? Change Reaction is an evolving hub for curious minds to explore the unfolding science and timeless solutions for regenerating our planet.

Science and solutions for regenerating our planet.

We're in conversation with individuals and organizations across BC who are researching and engineering a brighter future. Explore their ideas below.

Up in the Air

Earth's atmosphere: past, present, and what’s still up in the air.

  • Was the Sky Always Blue?

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  • Did Dinosaurs Get Cold in the Winter?

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  • How do Hamburgers Make Summers Hotter?

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  • If Vancouver's GHG Emissions Were a Pizza, How Big Would it Be?

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  • If BC's Winters are Wetter, Why are Summers Drier?

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  • Will the Fraser River Dry up in My Lifetime?

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  • Will BC See More Heatwaves, Hurricanes or Tornadoes?

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  • How Can We Use Fire to Have Fewer Fires?

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How old is the oldest living tree in BC?

Maybe? It's hard to say for sure. But that's the estimate from data sampled from this beauty named the Cheewhat Giant, a western red cedar almost 6 metres in diameter, on Vancouver Island.

Cheewhat Giant Trail, Carmanah Walbran Provincial Park, Vancouver Island, BC Canada

Nope! That's the age of the oldest tree in the world, not pictured here as its location remains a secret, a Great Basin bristlecone pine in eastern California.

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Tree in California White Mountains Inyo National Forest

Land Remembers

For thousands of years, Indigenous Peoples have fostered deep connections with the environment. What colonization disrupted, the land remembers. 

  • How did we lose our balance?

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  • How are we related to water?

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  • Why should we bring back threatened species?

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  • How do otters make oceans healthier?

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  • Were the first gardens underwater?

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  • How did Indigenous languages and grizzly bears co-evolve in BC?

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  • What are we protecting in the ocean's deepest parts?

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  • When does a wild rose bloom?

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Explore traditional uses of some of BC's native plants

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spánanexw (spah-na-noo)

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Spánanexw is a vegetable that holds significant value for the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) People and other Indigenous communities. The bulbs are harvested in April or May, immediately after flowering, and cooked in a pit for 24 hours to break down the inulin (starch) into fructose and caramelize the bulbs. English name: Camas

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sí7semachxw (say-sem-ahch-kw)

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sí7semachxw is a remarkable herbal remedy. Its fresh leaves serve as a poultice, while dried powdered leaves slow or halt bleeding. The entire plant contributes to inflammation reduction. English name: Yarrow

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lhásem (lha-sum)

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lhásem, a vital root vegetable in the lily family, thrives in estuary root gardens across BC. Traditionally cultivated by Indigenous communities, its bulbs, rich in rice-grain bulblets, ensure annual returns when replanted. English name: Northern Riceroot

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ḵálḵay (call-kay)

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ḵálḵay is a vital food and medicine. Rosehips are rich in antioxidants and vitamin C, and the petals are also edible and offer calming medicinal benefits. English name: Wild rose

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ḵweláwa (quell-ah-wah)

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Kweláwa, a cherished wild onion among the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh People, is harvested alongside blue camas and similarly undergoes pit cooking. The entire plant, a delectable addition to stir fry or salad, is edible. English name: Nodding Onion

Making Waves

People across BC are making waves in how we understand our connection to oceans and how we can regenerate their health.  

  • What if Earth had no oceans?

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  • How deep does the plastic go?

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  • What does the ocean have in common Coca-Cola?

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  • How do fish stay cool during marine heatwaves?

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  • Will we be able to eat salmon in the future?

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  • Will Earth always be a water planet?

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Each year, millions of salmon make an epic journey to spawn in BC rivers. Which river is famous for hosting one of the largest sockeye salmon runs?

Named after Chief Sel-howt-ken, a Sxste'lln leader who was baptized as Adam by missionaries. Every four years, volunteers host the Salute to the Sockeye in  Tsútswecw Provincial Park, northeast of Kamloops, to welcome the salmon. It's a sight to behold.

Sockeye salmon swimming under trees along the shore of the Adams River, British Columbia, Canada.

Close! It happens in Adams River, a tributary to Fraser River, northeast of Kamloops.

Sockeye salmon swimming under trees along the shore of the Adams River, British Columbia, Canada.

Nature, Nurtured

BC is home to the greatest biodiversity in Canada. Learn how people across the province protect and nurture nature. 

  • Is a love for plants and animals in our genes?

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  • Who keeps track of all the plants and animals?

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  • Why are there so many plant and animal species in BC?

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  • What's threatening biodiversity in BC?

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  • Why should we protect old-growth forests?

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  • What are the rarest animals in BC?

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  • What can we learn from Skowkale Nation about regenerating salmon?

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  • Why should I care about the plants and animals in my backyard?

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Explore some of the biomes that make BC so biodiverse

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Coastal rainforests

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BC's coastal rainforests are home to high productivity and biodiversity. For example, marine-based nitrogen is transferred to the land through salmon swimming upriver to spawn. Some are eaten by bears, and their remaining carcasses eventually deteriorate and enrich the soil.

Additionally, BC's coastal temperate rainforests are globally rare. These types of forests only occur on 0.2% of the Earth's surface!

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Interior grasslands

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The interior grasslands is one of the driest and hottest locations in Canada. This area is home to many plant and animal species that are adapted to summer droughts and cold, dry winters.

Some grassland plants grow from bulbs deep underground, where there is more moisture. Other plants grow in early spring when there is more moisture in the soil.

Grasslands cover less than one percent of BC and are home to more endangered species than any other habitat.

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Alpine tundra

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More than 12 percent of BC is alpine tundra, or land above the trees. Due to its harsh climates and high elevation, the alpine tundra is mostly treeless and some areas are covered by snow and ice year round.

However, over 400 species of native alpine plants thrive in this environment. Many of these plants are shrubs, herbs, mosses, and lichens.

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Boreal forests

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At 299,000km2, BC's boreal forest is larger in size than the United Kingdom! What impact does this make? Quite a lot.

It stores over five billion tonnes of carbon in its soils, peat, and forests. Further, it's the breeding ground for approximately 170 species of birds and supports other wildlife, like 1,000 of Canada's threatened Woodland Caribou population.

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Wetlands

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Approximately five percent of BC is covered by wetlands, which help minimize environmental problems and provide crucial habitat for wildlife.

Wetlands are nature's filtration system, and help regulate atmospheric gases and climate cycles through absorbing water quickly and releasing it slowly with improved quality. They also help to stabilize shorelines, recharge groundwater, and more.

Wetlands also contain rich biodiversity. An estimated 50 percent of wildlife species in North America rely on access to wetland habitats.

It's On

Generating electricity from quartz? Beaming solar power from space? When it comes to transforming our use of energy, it’s on.  

  • Can you road-trip in a Tesla?

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  • What does your skin have in common with solar panels?

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  • Can the sun charge my phone?

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  • Could your leftovers light up a nation?

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  • Can your body heat your home?

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  • What do the Fraser Valley and the Great Pyramid have in common?

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A human eats a slice of pizza and gets enough energy to bike 5 kms at 10 kms/hour.

A car traveling the same distance and speed would need the energy equivalent of 200 slices of pizza.

Machines can't use the energy in fossil fuels as efficiently as the human stomach uses pizza. 

Fast Forward

We can’t speed up time, but exciting new technologies can fast forward our solutions to a brighter future.

  • What does Artificial Intelligence know about climate change?

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  • Has Artificial Intelligence gone fishing?

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  • How do we scale up carbon recovery?

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  • Can my 3D printer recycle my water bottle?

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  • What would you ask your robot to do for you?

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  • Will cars always need batteries?

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  • How much smarter can computers get?

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  • Can my old EV battery charge my new one?

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Which country leads the world in installed renewable energy?

Yes! In fact, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, China was set to install as much solar power in 2023 as exists in total in the runner-up country, United States. While they're still one of the world's largest carbon emitters, they've committed to carbon neutrality by 2060.

Solar power station on a mountain in China

Nope! But they're the runner-up to China, who's led in renewable energy installation for years. While they're still one of the world's largest carbon emitters, they've committed to carbon neutrality by 2060.

Solar power station on a mountain in China

In This Together

Blueberry farming, tenancy rights, energy equity, UNDRIP. When it comes to climate change and social justice, we're all in this together.

  • Food insecurity in BC is growing. What are the solutions?

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  • What's a just transition away from fossil fuels?

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  • What is energy equity?

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  • Do your BC tenant rights protect you from climate change?

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  • Where is the shade in the Downtown Eastside?

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  • Is BC implementing UNDRIP?

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If we turned Metro Vancouver's annual CO2 emissions (14.8 million tonnes) into a pizza, it would be the total size of BC and Alberta, at 1,300 kilometres in diameter.

It could feed 37 million people! 

Strike a Balance

How can we mitigate, adapt, and build climate change resilience? It’s all about striking a balance.  

  • How many trees grow in the "world's greenest city"?

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  • How are climate action plans designed?

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  • How do Indigenous values reshape our response to sea-level rise?

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  • What if my home is in a flood zone?

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  • There's one spotted owl left in BC. Where is she?

    Explore
  • Should your crispy lawn earn you cash?

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  • How can BC build climate resilience?

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Explore the future of flooding in Vancouver

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False Creek

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This area is the False Creek floodplain. Dark blue shows flood events we experience today and light blue shows anticipated flooding in 2100 with one metre of sea level rise.

Located in the light blue area is BC Place, Pacific Central Station, Olympic Village, Science World, and the future St. Paul's Hospital site.

Due to sea level rise, the future St. Paul's Hospital is currently being built to "a 2050 standard and a 2100 standard." This includes placing mechanical equipment above ground level, ensuring optimal drainage, and using flood-resistant building materials.

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Port of Vancouver

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Areas shaded in light blue include the Port of Vancouver (Canada's largest port), Canada Place, Waterfront Station, and parts of Gastown.

The City of Vancouver notes that many museums, cultural destinations, and historic sites in Gastown and Chinatown are at risk.

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River District

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Vancouver's River District is a growing, 130-acre community along the Fraser River. This area is currently susceptible to flooding today, and more severe flooding in 2100.

Potential flooding scenarios range from water in basements and underground parking areas to water reaching first floor and roof levels, causing residential evacuation.

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Marine Drive

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According to the City of Vancouver, flooding in the Marine Drive area is caused by rising ocean levels. By 2100, flooding in this area would reach the ground floor level in homes and cause resident evacuation.

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xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nation and Southlands

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Flooding in this area would affect residences, parks, and golf courses. Before colonization, this area was home to the Musqueam people's main winter village for over 3,500 years. "The perfect storm" of rising sea levels and increasing winter storms is worrying for the Musqueam First Nation.

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Jericho and Locarno Beach

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As the ocean creeps up due to sea level rise, the beach area exposed during low tides will shrink. This is called a "coastal squeeze" and will result in habitat loss for birds, forage fish, mussels, and clams in Vancouver’s shoreline ecosystem.

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Kitsilano and Granville Island

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Granville Island is considered one of the most flood-vulnerable areas in False Creek. It houses over 300 businesses and its arts, culture, and culinary scene make it one of Vancouver's most popular destinations.

Flooding in this area would also affect Kitsilano Beach, Vanier Park, and homes within Kits Point.

In the Loop

Turn food waste into art. Redesign a paddleboard. Harvest gold from your TV. Get in the loop on circular economies.

Supported By

Drax

Clothing is one of the fastest growing waste streams in Metro Vancouver, which encompasses 21 municipalities, one electoral area and one treaty First Nation. A whopping 20,000 tonnes of clothing waste is created in the region every year, in large part because of fast fashion and short trend cycles. That’s about 8kg of clothing, roughly the equivalent of 44 t-shirts, discarded every year, per person.  

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Climate Change 101

Climate change describes the change we are witnessing in the average weather conditions found in a place. These could be the average amount of rainfall, temperature, or even shifting the timing of events like when the snow melts and spring arrives.

Climate change is often used to refer to both global warming – or our rising global average temperature - and subsequent resulting changes we are witnessing around our planet, changing weather, rising sea levels, shifting ranges of plant and animal species, ice loss, more intense heat waves, longer wildfire seasons, etc.

Meet our Advisors

Hillary Hyland

Senior Environmental Specialist,
Tsleil-Waututh Nation

Hillary Hyland (Te-awk Tenaw) comes from the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) in North Vancouver. The passion and love for the environment and how we interact with it shown to her by her Elders led her to making a personal goal to work for her Nation to help bring back the health of her homelands and water. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Geography, minoring in Biology and since then, she’s returned to work with TWN’s Treaty, Lands and Resource Department and currently holds the position of Senior Environmental Specialist.

Her work includes a diverse portfolio that provides opportunities to blend western and indigenous science and traditional knowledge, applying a unique holistic lens to projects in the Metro Vancouver region that pushes for innovative processes that can address the complex needs of the residents of Vancouver and First Nations. 

Through her work, she has contributed to federal and provincial scale environmental assessments, provided technical advice, guidance and field work on restoration and offsetting projects to enhance habitats in Burrard Inlet, managed relationships with partners in the region and implements proactive and preventative plans for environmental protection and incident response.  Complimentary to her technical work, Hillary prioritizes education by sharing her experiences as an indigenous scientist with governments, academia and her community’s school.  

Hillary’s experience at government tables and in the field has only strengthened her passion for protecting the environment and has given her an opportunity to bring her closer to her Coast Salish roots as she learns more about the history of the Tsleil-Waututh people in Burrard Inlet.  

Outside of work, Hillary is also active in her community and participates with the Youth Leadership Committee and other community discussions. She has also participated on other boards of directors in the area to provide her expertise and vision for her territory.  In her free time, Hillary can be found hiking through the forests of the North Shore Mountains, swimming in the local rivers and paddling up and down Indian Arm.  

About the sticker

Survivors

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

Egg BB

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

Comet Crisp

Artist: Jeff Kulak

Jeff is a senior graphic designer at Science World. His illustration work has been published in the Walrus, The National Post, Reader’s Digest and Chickadee Magazine. He loves to make music, ride bikes, and spend time in the forest.

About the sticker

T-Rex and Baby

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Buddy the T-Rex

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Geodessy

Artist: Michelle Yong

Michelle is a designer with a focus on creating joyful digital experiences! She enjoys exploring the potential forms that an idea can express itself in and helping then take shape.

About the sticker

Science Buddies

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

About the sticker

Western Dinosaur

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.

About the sticker

Time-Travel T-Rex

Artist: Ty Dale

From Canada, Ty was born in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1993. From his chaotic workspace he draws in several different illustrative styles with thick outlines, bold colours and quirky-child like drawings. Ty distils the world around him into its basic geometry, prompting us to look at the mundane in a different way.