Media Item 1: Parks Movement I found it interesting that Canada and B.C. are increasingly working with First Nations to create and manage protected areas. This seems very different from what Binnema and Niemi describe at Banff, where Indigenous peoples were excluded from the park partly because of conservation, tourism, sport hunting, and assimilation. It also connects to Cronon’s argument that what we think of as untouched “wilderness” is actually shaped by human ideas and history. To me, Indigenous-led protected areas challenge the older idea that protecting nature requires separating people from the land. Media Link: https://www.canada.ca/en/parks-canada/news/2026/05/mia-yaltwa-halidzogm-hoon-a-collaborative-approach-to-marine-protection-announced-for-the-central-coast-of-british-columbia.html   Media Item…

Media Item: “Xinhua Headlines: Pocket parks drive urban renewal, eco-improvement efforts in China” http://www.china.org.cn/china/Off_the_Wire/2026-07/24/content_118615867.shtml This article describes how China is building thousands of “pocket parks”—small green spaces typically covering 400 to 10,000 square meters—across cities to enhance urban living conditions, with over 18,000 built between 2021 and 2025 as part of a national urban renewal plan (“Xinhua Headlines: Pocket”, 2026). This directly connects to Unit 3’s exploration of urbanization and the historical relationship between cities and green space. In Steinberg’s account of the 19th-century “organic city,” urban dwellers were intimately connected to nature through animals, gardens, and waste recycling—connections that…

Article 1: Daily Hive – “B.C. government signs major land use plan with First Nation on Vancouver Island” Link: https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-island-namgis-first-nation-gwani-land-use-planning-project#google_vignette The Daily Hive article “B.C. government signs major land use plan with First Nation on Vancouver Island” provides a real-world example of how conservation in the present day continues to involve debates over how natural landscapes should be managed. The disagreement surrounding the land-use plan feels reminiscent of the Unit 3 discussions about the difference between Gifford Pinchot’s conservation philosophy, which emphasized scientific management of resources and John Muir’s preservation ethic, which viewed nature as valuable beyond economic interests. The…

Salt Spring Island BC Article: “Waterfront Property Donated” https://gulfislandsdriftwood.com/waterfront-property-donated-for-park/ A recent Gulf Islands Driftwood article notes that Ruth Baldwin’s family donated approximately 1.5 acres of oceanfront land at 215 Morningside Road to establish a community park on Salt Spring Island. The Salt Spring Island Archives indicate that the property was formerly home to David and Clara Maxwell, whose family had both Cowichan Indigenous and European ancestry, and that the land was used as a residence, a small farm, a gathering place, and an access point to the ocean. This history connects to Binnema and Niemi’s discussion of the parks movement because…

The first article chosen is about the recent 25% discount offered by Parks Canada for all parks under the jurisdiction of Parks Canada, while also simultaneously offering free admission for all travellers. Parks Canada states various benefits of Parks Canada, citing increased physical and mental health associated with visiting nature, which also helps lower health care costs across Canada.  Parks Canada also views national parks as an excellent source of revenue both locally and nationally, as tourists actively contribute to the rising GDP.  While Canada also highlights national parks, helping curb carbon footprints, I am reminded of the course readings…