Transformations - Fall ‘20
Dear Reader,
Today I gathered all of The Planet’s printed issues that I have dutifully collected over the years into a pile. I searched the pages for tidbits of wisdom, words of inspiration, reminiscing over my time with the magazine. I had to laugh when I flipped open to the first page of the Conservation Issue where my predecessors had mulled over the eventual day when The Planet would switch from print to pixel.
I laughed because in the end, the decision wasn’t in the name of conservation or the environmental movement like they had expected, but rather events that forced our hand. As the pandemic shut down the world around us this spring, confining us to virtual classrooms, the decision to move the publication online felt like the only one. The Planet adapted because it was necessary for us to adapt. I believe that is a narrative everyone has faced in one way or another this year.
Transformation can be a subtle thing. You don’t always realize change is occurring, the world warping and reforming around you, until things have settled again, the dust cleared, and everything is different. It can also be a powerful tool for progress. People can usher in change with purposeful action, guiding society into uncharted territory. With all that has happened this year, it is easy to focus on how difficult the process of change was, over what it achieved.
This issue challenged our team to find these stories of transformation — of people adapting, learning, growing. You will read about a conservative farmer challenging conceived notions about what it takes to be an environmentalist. You’ll join researchers trekking across remote alpine ridges to spy elusive wolverines, persisting in spite of a changing landscape. You will witness the resilience of communities, adapting to the pandemic that threatened the security of our food systems.
One of our greatest abilities is that of transformation, and we are responsible for knowing when change is necessary and for making it happen.
Olivia Marsh
Editor-in-Chief
Stories
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Researchers examine the link between seal diets and the declining salmon populations.
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Jordan Pollack, a veteran wildland firefighter, discusses the increasing trend of wildfires and his own personal connection to the issue.
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With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, local gleaning operations are working to provide food to those facing food insecurity.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything, including the amount of plastic that may make its way into marine ecosystems.
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In the Salish Sea, increasing vessel traffic and a rise in the humpback whale population is pushing the need for ways to protect these vulnerable species.
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The Office of Sustainability at Western Washington University is coming up with new, sustainable ways to tackle food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Scientists and local beekeepers are on the lookout for an invasive hornet in Washington State that poses a threat to local honeybee populations.
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A departure from the typical liberal environmentalist trope, conservative dairy farmer Rich Appel works hard to keep his farm’s environmental impact in check while also keeping business booming.
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As the deer population increases in the suburbs of Bellingham, Washington, a more threatening presence follows close behind, setting locals on edge.
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Jocelyn Akins and her team at Cascades Carnivore Project venture into the mountains to track down one of the region’s most elusive animals: the wolverine.
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Researchers are looking for answers to the mysterious die-off of sword ferns in Seattle’s Seward Park.
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Ravaged by wildfire, the town of Malden looks to the future.
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An agricultural age gap may threaten the future of farming, but organizations like Viva Farms and Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland are set on saving the farming lifestyle.
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In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, Huxley College reckons with student demands to make up for racism in the institution's history.