Wetland / Waste Land | A Conservation of Change Documentary

Since European settlement, 40-70% of wetlands in the North American Prairies have been lost. Small farms and towns are also disappearing from the prairies. The Canadian province of Saskatchewan has lost nearly 75% of its farms and 50% of its rural population since 1940.
In "Wetland / Waste Land", anthropologist Philip Loring and filmmaker Donald Selby look at the emerging conflicts in the Canadian prairies over the apparently-conflicting needs of wetlands and agriculture. The prairies are the "duck factory" of North America, so conservation of wetlands is essential for waterfowl and other plants and animals. But the prairies are also Canada’s bread basket, and Saskatchewan farmers manage 40% of Canada’s total crop land. How water and land are managed has real implications for local ecosystems and livelihoods.
Are trade-offs inevitable, or can these challenges be managed for the mutual benefit of all? We speak with farmers, environmental scientists, engineers, and Indigenous leaders in an attempt to answer these questions.
Learn more about the Conservation of Change Lab: www.conservationofchange.org
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This film was made possible with support from:
Arrell Food Institute www.arrellfoodinstitute.ca
Global Water Futures gwf.usask.ca

[@ConservationofChange]

Thanks to everyone for watching! We're grateful for your interest.

[@mikearmando]

Yes I have used this same principles for my goldfish Koi Pond with a Wetland filter. I constructed a wetland area above my fish pond. The wetland filter has a void space at the bottom with aquablocks and 2 feet of different size river rocks on top of the blocks. The water comes in from an intake bay from the pond up though all the gravel & rocks and is filtered. The water after it is filtered than returns back into the pond clean. You can do the same with storm water run off from house gutters. The water runs from the gutters into the bottom of the wetland filter comes up though the river rocks and goes into the pond. The pond rocks house all the beneficial good bacteria removing ammonia and any harmful chemicals which can be harmful to fish and to humans. The wetland filter is planted with many aquatic plants which adds to the filtration and the breakdown of harmful chemicals.

[@scottschaeffer8920]

If it’s hydric soils, hydric vegetation, aerobic bacteria, and so on,,, it’s a wetland!!’ Leave it alone. You can’t avoid impacts whether you ditch, tile, fill, farm, by centimeters or feet, you’re just moving the water down the watershed , usually too fast, and usually unclean. And wonder why we flood all the time now, ugh.