Free Daily Podcast Summary
What On EARTH Can We Do?: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Alberta Emerald Foundation
This seasonal podcast, produced by the Alberta Emerald Foundation, shines a light on the people and organizations driving environmental change in Alberta. Each season focuses on a different topic, from food waste to low-carbon solutions, exploring the challenge, solutions, and inspiring stories behind them. Through conversational interviews and real-world examples, we share how Albertans are creating a brighter, more sustainable future for our province and beyond!
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- 6 days ago29 min
From River to Tap, and Back: Drinking Water & Wastewater Treatment
From river to tap—and back again—water moves through complex systems most of us rarely see.In this episode, Bri sits down with Trina Manning, Director of EPCOR’s Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant, to follow Edmonton’s water journey from the North Saskatchewan River to our taps and eventually back to the river.Together, they explore drinking-water treatment and testing, distribution, wastewater treatment, water reuse, and the people and infrastructure working around the clock to make it all happen. The conversation also shares simple ways households can help protect this essential system.About our guestTrina began her career with EPCOR in 2001 and has held a variety of roles over the years, including 13 years in project management. Prior to stepping into her current role, she served as the Senior Manager of Operations at Gold Bar, leading to a deep familiarity with the plant and its operations.Episode ResourcesHow Water Gets to Your Home—And Back to the River (a visual!)More about Edmonton’s water treatment processTake the self-guided walking tour of Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment PlantExplore EPCOR’s publicly available drinking-water and wastewater quality reports.Find out what belongs in the garbage instead of the toilet—and how proper disposal helps protect home plumbing and the wastewater system.About the PodcastWhat On EARTH Can We Do? is a seasonal podcast from the Alberta Emerald Foundation, hosted by Programs and Communications Manager Bri Huot-Boer.Through accessible conversations and real-world examples, each season explores an environmental topic affecting Alberta and shares the people, knowledge and solutions helping create a more sustainable and resilient future.Learn more about the AEFThis season of What On EARTH Can We Do? is made possible with support from EPCOR. It is also supported in part by the Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, the City of Edmonton, and the City of Calgary.The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation.
- 1 weeks ago17 min
Where Does Alberta's Drinking Water Come From?
Before water reaches a treatment plant or household tap, it has already travelled through a much larger natural system.In the premiere of What On EARTH Can We Do? Season 8, Dr. Evan Davies helps us trace Alberta’s water back to its source. Explore how precipitation, snowpack, rivers, lakes and groundwater contribute to the province’s water supply, why where we live affects where our water comes from, and how the health of our watersheds connects us to communities far beyond our own.About our guestDr. Evan Davies is an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada. His research focuses on water resources planning and management, and in particular on numerical simulation of the impacts of alternative management policies on water resources at scales from local to global.Episode ResourcesDiscover which watershed you live inExplore current river conditions near youAbout the PodcastWhat On EARTH Can We Do? is a seasonal podcast from the Alberta Emerald Foundation, hosted by Programs and Communications Manager Bri Huot-Boer.Through accessible conversations and real-world examples, each season explores an environmental topic affecting Alberta and shares the people, knowledge and solutions helping create a more sustainable and resilient future.Learn more about the AEFThis season of What On EARTH Can We Do? is made possible with support from EPCOR. It is also supported in part by the Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, the City of Edmonton, and the City of Calgary.The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation.
- Nov 20, 202521 min
Composting: Where Food Waste Goes When It Can’t Go Anywhere Else
This season, we’ve talked about rescuing surplus food, redistributing it to communities, and even turning it into clean energy. But what about the scraps, spoiled produce, bones, peels, and leftovers that can’t be saved?In this episode, Bri sits down with Brian Wonnacott, superintendent at AltRoot, a composting facility in Westlock that transforms organic waste into a valuable resource for local farms. Brian breaks down how industrial composting works, why microbes are the real stars of the show, and how composting helps reduce methane emissions, support regenerative agriculture, and build a truly circular local economy.ResourcesAltRoot’s End-to-End Tracability toolHow to compost at homeAbout the PodcastThe What On EARTH Can We Do? podcast is a program of the Alberta Emerald Foundation (AEF), a registered charity dedicated to accelerating environmental excellence across Alberta.Learn more about the AEFThank You to Our SponsorsCapital Power, Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Pathways Alliance, City of Edmonton, TD Friends of the Environment, and City of CalgaryDisclaimerThe views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation. As a non-partisan organization, we are committed to presenting diverse perspectives on environmental issues.
- Nov 13, 202517 min
How One Alberta Community Rescued Nearly a Million Pounds of Food
What if every community could rescue its food waste — and feed its neighbours at the same time?In Lacombe, Alberta, Echo Food Rescue is proving it’s possible. Since 2020, this volunteer-driven program has saved nearly one million pounds of food from the landfill, redirecting it to farms and families across their community.In this episode, we sit down with Christina Sturgeon, program coordinator at Echo Food Rescue, to talk about how the initiative began, what it takes to keep it running, and the powerful role community collaboration plays in fighting food waste. Learn more about Echo Food Rescue: https://www.echofoodrescue.com/–The What On EARTH Can We Do? podcast is a program of the Alberta Emerald Foundation (AEF), a registered charity dedicated to accelerating environmental excellence across Alberta.Learn more about the AEFThank You to Our Sponsors:Capital Power, Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Pathways Alliance, City of Edmonton, TD Friends of the Environment, and City of CalgaryDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation. As a non-partisan organization, we are committed to presenting diverse perspectives on environmental issues.
- Nov 6, 202519 min
Feeding Families, Not Landfills
Food waste isn’t just an environmental issue; it’s an economic one. In this episode, we sit down with Esther Cohn from Flash Food, a Canadian-founded tech company that rescues groceries destined for landfill and offers them to shoppers at a discount.Discover how Flash Food is making sustainable shopping simple, saving families money, helping grocers cut waste, and preventing over 150 million pounds of food from ending up in landfills. We’ll talk about how the idea came to life, how the app works, and why making sustainability affordable might be the key to lasting change.Listen to learn:How Flash Food connects shoppers with discounted groceries nearing their best-before dateThe environmental and economic impact of rescuing food wasteWhy accessibility and affordability are essential to sustainabilityHow changing our mindset about “waste” can help us all make a differenceDownload the Flash Food app and start saving money and food todayhttps://flashfood.com/?showgettheapp=true–The What On EARTH Can We Do? podcast is a program of the Alberta Emerald Foundation (AEF), a registered charity dedicated to accelerating environmental excellence across Alberta.Learn more about the AEFThank You to Our Sponsors:Capital Power, Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Pathways Alliance, City of Edmonton, TD Friends of the Environment, and City of CalgaryDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation. As a non-partisan organization, we are committed to presenting diverse perspectives on environmental issues.
- Oct 30, 202521 min
Meet the Albertans Turning Food Waste into Fuel
By transforming leftover food into low-emission energy, Eco Growth Environmental is helping businesses heat water, power equipment, and cut food waste in landfills — all while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In this episode, we explore how their made-in-Alberta technology works, the impact it’s having, and where it could take us next.What’s in this episode:03:36 - How Eco Growth Environmental’s system transforms food waste into a usable energy source07:57 - Why methane reduction is critical to achieving net-zero goals10:27 - The environmental and economic benefits of waste-to-energy technology15:56 - How this innovation is reaching remote communities in the Arctic and beyondResources:Learn more about Eco-Growth EnvironmentalGet a firsthand look at how their technology worksThe What On EARTH Can We Do? podcast is a program of the Alberta Emerald Foundation (AEF), a registered charity dedicated to accelerating environmental excellence across Alberta.Learn more about the AEFThank You to Our Sponsors:Capital Power, Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Pathways Alliance, City of Edmonton, TD Friends of the Environment, and City of CalgaryDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation. As a non-partisan organization, we are committed to presenting diverse perspectives on environmental issues.
- Oct 23, 202518 min
Can Small Businesses Help Solve Alberta’s Food Waste Problem?
When we talk about food waste, most of us picture what ends up in our own kitchen bins — but there’s a whole other side to the story. Across Alberta, small businesses like cafés, restaurants, and grocery stores face big challenges when it comes to keeping food out of the landfill.In this episode, Bri speaks with Maggie Bain, Project Manager of the ICI Food Waste Diversion Initiative at the Circular Innovation Council, about a pilot program in Strathcona County and Westlock that’s helping small businesses keep food out of landfills.Together, they unpack how the project worked, what made it successful, and the impact it’s already having — from reducing methane emissions to inspiring long-term change in local communities.Listen to learn:Why it’s so hard (and costly) for small businesses to divert food wasteHow collaboration between local governments, haulers, and processors made it possibleThe impressive results — including nearly 90,000 kg of organics divertedWhat this means for Alberta’s circular economy and the future of food waste solutionsLearn more about The Circular Innovation Council’s Commercial Waste Diversion PilotThe What On EARTH Can We Do? podcast is a program of the Alberta Emerald Foundation (AEF), a registered charity dedicated to accelerating environmental excellence across Alberta.Learn more about the AEFThank You to Our Sponsors:Capital Power, Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Pathways Alliance, City of Edmonton, TD Friends of the Environment, and City of CalgaryDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation. As a non-partisan organization, we are committed to presenting diverse perspectives on environmental issues.
- Oct 16, 202518 min
Why Solving Food Waste Matters
The impact of food waste goes far beyond what ends up in our green bins or landfills. It affects our climate, our wallets, and our communities from wasted water and emissions to economic loss.In part two of our conversation with Dr. Kate Parizeau, we are talking about why food waste matters and what can actually be done about it - from policy and infrastructure changes to simple actions we can all take at home.Resources:Second Harvest and Value Chain Management International report - The Avoidable Crisis of Food WasteFood insecurity among Canadian families (StatsCan)The Seed (Guelph, ON)Echo Food Rescue (Lacombe, AB)Circular Innovation CouncilThe What On EARTH Can We Do? podcast is a program of the Alberta Emerald Foundation (AEF), a registered charity dedicated to accelerating environmental excellence across Alberta.Learn more about the AEFThank You to Our Sponsors:Capital Power, Government of Alberta, the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta, Pathways Alliance, City of Edmonton, TD Friends of the Environment, and City of CalgaryDisclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by our guests do not necessarily reflect those of the Alberta Emerald Foundation. As a non-partisan organization, we are committed to presenting diverse perspectives on environmental issues.
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About What On EARTH Can We Do?
This seasonal podcast, produced by the Alberta Emerald Foundation, shines a light on the people and organizations driving environmental change in Alberta. Each season focuses on a different topic, from food waste to low-carbon solutions, exploring the challenge, solutions, and inspiring stories behind them. Through conversational interviews and real-world examples, we share how Albertans are creating a brighter, more sustainable future for our province and beyond!
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