Protectors of the Planet: Environmental Trailblazers from 7 to 97

Jamie Bastedo’s Protectors of the Planet> highlights 11 inspiring and diverse Canadian environmental activists. As the subtitle suggests, these “trailblazers” range in age, experience, and focus. An author of both fiction and non-fiction, and a former CBC radio columnist, Bastedo interviewed each activist, compiled their heroic stories, and included their “trailblazer tips” as the end of each chapter. These tips provide the reader with actionable items to become involved in environmental activism.

Bastedo includes Sophia Mathur, a 13-year-old Sudbury native who was inspired by both the activists in her family and Greta Thunberg to become an environmentalist. BC native, author, filmmaker, protester and wildlife conservationist Ian McAllister is included for his lifetime of work, including his Pacific Wild organization which focuses on protecting the Pacific coast. McAllister has been recognized as a TIME Leader of the 21st Century and a “Kickass Canadian”. Born in the US and raised in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Elizabeth May, former leader of the Canadian Federal Green Party, is recognized for her lifelong body of work as an “eco-warrior.”

“That bee guy”, Ethan Elliot, is a 17-year-old youth from Stratford Ontario who plants pollinator gardens and is dedicating his life to ensuring a healthy bee population. Ethan was named one of “Canada’s Top 25 Environmentalists under 25” and credits Greta Thunberg as an inspiration. Anne Innis Dagg, a seasoned “giraffologist” and writer is included in Bastedo’s compilation. Readers will learn that Anne was a supporter and researcher of the giraffe long before Jane Goodall gained fame for her work on behalf of chimpanzees. Animal conservationist, Nova Scotian, and Executive Director of the Canadian Sea Turtle network, Kathleen Martin is praised for her work with leather back sea turtles, and John Theberge of British Columbia is noted for his work on behalf of wolves. Environmental advocates Rupert, 16, and Franny Yakelashek, 13, from Victoria, BC, committed to environmental rights at a very young age and are members of David Suzuki’s Blue Dot campaign, calling on government for environmental rights declarations. Sheila Watt-Cloutier is included for her dedication to Inuit culture. A survivor of the Canadian residential school system, Sheila went on to champion her Inuit community, work to stem climate change, ban persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and protect the Arctic. Trailblazer and biologist Karsten Heuer is included for his work as a wildlife advocate and adventurer. Heuer is probably best known for his movie Being Caribou and his work on the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) roaming wildlife corridor. Bastedo closes out the book with unique landscape architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander who fled Nazi Germany with her Jewish family as a child. She became one of the first class of female Harvard landscape architect grads, and many of Cornelia’s buildings are famous civic buildings. Her designs are “green” and include features like living roofs and mesh with the landscape, all while conserving trees and the surrounding habitat.

Protectors of the Planet is an interesting and easy read. Each “protector” is unique in some way, either in focus, age, or life story. The chapters feature historical backstories, actual snippets of the author-subject interviews, and the concluding practical “trailblazer tips” encouraging readers to become involved. “Digging Deeper: References, videos and websites” is included at the back of the book for further research. The featured photos would have been much more appealing had they been in colour and not black and white, but, otherwise, Bastedo has ticked all the boxes on an informative and entertaining read that should spur even the most apathetic to action.