Julia-Simone Rutgers

Julia-Simone Rutgers

Reporter

Julia-Simone Rutgers is a climate reporter with a focus on Manitoba’s environmental issues. Her position is part of a three-year partnership between the Winnipeg Free Press and The Narwhal, funded by the Winnipeg Foundation.

Before taking on this new collaboration, Rutgers served as the first-ever writer in residence at the Walrus magazine. She has written daily news for the Free Press and the Star Metro Halifax, and has a smattering of bylines in the Globe and Mail, the Coast, and the Discourse.

Though she has lived on both coasts, she grew up in Calgary and feels at most at home lounging on riverbanks under the wide open prairie skies.

In her spare time, she dabbles in music-making, visual art curation, writing poetry and exploring the forests, fields, lakes and rivers Manitoba has to offer.

 

Recent articles of Julia-Simone Rutgers

Climate change a polarizing topic in the province, poll reveals

Julia-Simone Rutgers 6 minute read Preview

Climate change a polarizing topic in the province, poll reveals

Julia-Simone Rutgers 6 minute read Wednesday, Mar. 29, 2023

Climate change remains a polarizing and partisan issue for Manitobans, but new polling suggests more rebates and incentives for reducing emissions would resonate across party lines.

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Wednesday, Mar. 29, 2023

High water levels wash out highway 307 just north east of Winnipeg, Tuesday, May 24, 2022. Floods, droughts and major storms that wash out highways, damage buildings and destroy power systems could cost Canada’s economy $139 billion over the next 30 years, a new climate-based analysis predicts. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

A surge in mineral extraction in Manitoba faces hurdles when it comes to sustainability issues, First Nations consultation

Julia-Simone Rutgers 17 minute read Preview

A surge in mineral extraction in Manitoba faces hurdles when it comes to sustainability issues, First Nations consultation

Julia-Simone Rutgers 17 minute read Friday, Mar. 3, 2023

Over the past four years, the Manitoba government has been seeking a resurgence in its century-old mining industry.

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Friday, Mar. 3, 2023

MANITOBA ARCHIVES

Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd. in Flin Flon.

Manitoba, Ottawa ink deal to protect dwindling boreal caribou population

Julia-Simone Rutgers 5 minute read Preview

Manitoba, Ottawa ink deal to protect dwindling boreal caribou population

Julia-Simone Rutgers 5 minute read Friday, Mar. 3, 2023

Manitoba’s boreal woodland caribou are one step closer to having their population — and habitat — protected. This week, the federal and provincial governments signed an agreement reaffirming their commitment to protecting and recovering the threatened and declining population.

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Friday, Mar. 3, 2023

Woodland caribou make their home in the boreal forests of nine provinces and territories, but the animal’s habitat is continually lost to development. (The Canadian Press files / Calgary Zoo-Bill Quayle)

Resources, reconciliation and Wetiko

Julia-Simone Rutgers 7 minute read Preview

Resources, reconciliation and Wetiko

Julia-Simone Rutgers 7 minute read Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023

For Manitoban author, filmmaker and environmentalist Clayton Thomas-Müller, healing is about connection to the land.

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Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023

SUPPLIED

‘Putting a net in a lake, pulling it out, getting fish and building a smoker to dry your fish — these are things that everybody needs to experience,’ Clayton Thomas-Müller says, offering one view of personal reconciliation.

Seeking a watertight plan: flood mapping, forecasting programs fail First Nations

Julia-Simone Rutgers 9 minute read Preview

Seeking a watertight plan: flood mapping, forecasting programs fail First Nations

Julia-Simone Rutgers 9 minute read Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023

Before the flood waters overwhelmed Peguis First Nation last spring, local trappers noticed the beehives had been built much higher than in years past. The beaver dams looked different; the foxes and raccoons they usually snared had moved to higher ground.

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Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023

JOHN WOODS / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES

Flood waters surround Peguis First Nation last spring. Representatives from Manitoba First Nations met last week to start reworking flood maps, employing more traditional knowledge and local community input.

Get proactive to protect belugas

Julia-Simone Rutgers 14 minute read Preview

Get proactive to protect belugas

Julia-Simone Rutgers 14 minute read Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023

Before she was a marine biologist with a PhD focused on beluga whales, Kristin Westdal ran a small kayaking ecotourism outfit out of Churchill, Man., in the waters of Western Hudson Bay.

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Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023

JOHN WOODS /CANADIAN PRESS FILES

Whale watchers are drawn to Churchill where thousands of belugas spend their summers to feed, moult and raise their young.

Arctic energy corridor: A pipe dream for Churchill? How we got here and what might be next

Julia-Simone Rutgers 16 minute read Preview

Arctic energy corridor: A pipe dream for Churchill? How we got here and what might be next

Julia-Simone Rutgers 16 minute read Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023

Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was met with rousing applause last week as he laid out a vision for a prosperous northern Manitoba that hinges on the contentious Port of Churchill.

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Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023

John Woods / the Canadian Press

The Hudson Bay shipping season is extending with warming temperatures, which is leading to a renewed focus on possibilities for the Port of Churchill.

Ottawa tabs $1.6M for Lake Winnipeg support

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Ottawa tabs $1.6M for Lake Winnipeg support

Julia-Simone Rutgers 4 minute read Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023

The federal government is chipping in to help restore the health of the Lake Winnipeg watershed, providing nearly $1.6 million to support projects aimed at reducing nutrient loads in the lake basin.

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Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Terry Duguid, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announces an investment to protect Lake Winnipeg at the Red River Basin Land & Water International Summit Conference Tuesday.

Greening the concrete jungle, in Winnipeg and Edmonton

Julia-Simone Rutgers 12 minute read Preview

Greening the concrete jungle, in Winnipeg and Edmonton

Julia-Simone Rutgers 12 minute read Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023

In the leafy shade of Edmonton’s living-cities victories, Winnipeg advocates see hope for easing the grey expanse of 150 downtown surface lots to an urban oasis

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Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023

SUPPLIED

City of Edmonton’s Warehouse Park is set to be completed in 2025.

‘Zombie deer’ in crosshairs

Julia-Simone Rutgers 20 minute read Preview

‘Zombie deer’ in crosshairs

Julia-Simone Rutgers 20 minute read Friday, Dec. 16, 2022

In early December 2021, a grisly scene unfolded along Manitoba’s western border: marksmen armed with semi-automatic rifles loaded into a helicopter and hovered low over the prairie.

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Friday, Dec. 16, 2022

KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Trevor Farmer, owner of Stonewood Elk Ranch near Stonewall, says the prospect of chronic wasting disease showing up in wildlife near his operation is a nightmare scenario.

Fishing for a ‘much brighter future’

Julia-Simone Rutgers 5 minute read Preview

Fishing for a ‘much brighter future’

Julia-Simone Rutgers 5 minute read Friday, Nov. 25, 2022

On Cedar Lake, some 460 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, members of the Chemawawin Cree Nation spend the summer and winter casting nets, looking to pull in schools of walleye, goldeye, lake whitefish and northern pike.

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Friday, Nov. 25, 2022

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Floyd George, president of Cedar Lake Fisheries Inc., says fishing on Cedar Lake is a way of life, and sustainable certification will ensure it will remain for the next generations.

In time of climate crisis, Manitoba unveils new water strategy

Julia-Simone Rutgers 9 minute read Preview

In time of climate crisis, Manitoba unveils new water strategy

Julia-Simone Rutgers 9 minute read Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022

From nutrient-rich wetlands and 100,000 lakes to a dry southern region and an Arctic port, Manitoba is a province defined by water — after all, nearly a fifth of the province is covered in it.

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Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022

Manitoba Premier Heather Stefanson announces the province’s new water strategy on Nov. 8. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Seal River Watershed Alliance paddle to preserve one of the world’s largest remaining intact watersheds

Julia-Simone Rutgers 14 minute read Preview

Seal River Watershed Alliance paddle to preserve one of the world’s largest remaining intact watersheds

Julia-Simone Rutgers 14 minute read Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022

It had been a stormy August week in Tadoule Lake, nearly 1,000 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Days of lightning and rain had darkened the skies over the 325-person community and Stephanie Thorassie was praying for sun.

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Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022

The Seal River Watershed Alliance’s Indigenous guardians program kicked off this summer with a canoe trip to the source of the Seal River.

Shades of green: A review of mayoral candidates’ climate-related campaign promises

Julia-Simone Rutgers 10 minute read Preview

Shades of green: A review of mayoral candidates’ climate-related campaign promises

Julia-Simone Rutgers 10 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022

Cities are on the front lines of climate adaptation. They manage the day-in, day-out impacts of warmer, wetter and more extreme weather.

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Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022

PHIL HOSSACK / FREE PRESS FILES

81 per cent of weekday trips are made by personal vehicle, and greenhouse-gas emissions from transportation make up just over half of the overall emissions profile.

Climate change will only worsen Winnipeg's roadway issues

Julia-Simone Rutgers 16 minute read Preview

Climate change will only worsen Winnipeg's roadway issues

Julia-Simone Rutgers 16 minute read Friday, Oct. 21, 2022

It’s a familiar sight: On a service road in Winnipeg’s Linden Woods neighbourhood, city workers shovel tarry, black asphalt into a small crater in the road while a third crew member perches atop a steamroller, ready to compact the fresh filling and seal the pothole off.

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Friday, Oct. 21, 2022

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

A 2021 CAA study found the average Canadian driver spends an extra $126 on their car per year thanks to poor road conditions.

It’s a race against time to keep Winnipeg's older tree canopies alive

Julia-Simone Rutgers 15 minute read Preview

It’s a race against time to keep Winnipeg's older tree canopies alive

Julia-Simone Rutgers 15 minute read Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022

On the corner of Lilac Street and Mulvey Avenue, three tall, stately American Elm trees bear an ominous orange dot. It’s Winnipeg’s mark of death: the familiar, tell-tale sign that a tree won’t live through the coming winter. It marks the tree as one of thousands of victims of Dutch elm disease, a fungal wilt spread by elm bark beetles that’s plagued the city’s trees since 1975. For many Winnipeggers, it’s a sign of mourning.

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Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2022

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS A tell-tale sign of Dutch elm disease is wilting branches.

Lighting a fire under geothermal

Julia-Simone Rutgers 7 minute read Preview

Lighting a fire under geothermal

Julia-Simone Rutgers 7 minute read Thursday, Sep. 1, 2022

The West Kildonan Memorial Community Centre is starting to show its age.

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Thursday, Sep. 1, 2022

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

The West Kildonan Memorial arena is starting to show its age.

Country’s leading electric bus maker hopes to ride wave of zero-emission transit technology

Julia-Simone Rutgers 22 minute read Preview

Country’s leading electric bus maker hopes to ride wave of zero-emission transit technology

Julia-Simone Rutgers 22 minute read Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022

In a sprawling 350,000-square-foot factory on the eastern edge of Winnipeg, hundreds of workers are leading the public transit revolution.

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Saturday, Aug. 20, 2022

Bus shells are assembled in the massive New Flyer factory in Transcona. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Winnipeg Free Press)

Peguis leaders, residents say flood-fatigued First Nation in desperate need of support

Julia-Simone Rutgers 20 minute read Preview

Peguis leaders, residents say flood-fatigued First Nation in desperate need of support

Julia-Simone Rutgers 20 minute read Saturday, Jul. 30, 2022

On a warm summer evening, a flash of heavy rain breaks open over Derek Sutherland’s home in Peguis First Nation.

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Saturday, Jul. 30, 2022

Flooding on Peguis First Nation on May 4. (David Lipnowski / The Canadian Press)

Free parking helps keep councillors driving to city hall

Julia-Simone Rutgers 6 minute read Preview

Free parking helps keep councillors driving to city hall

Julia-Simone Rutgers 6 minute read Monday, Jul. 4, 2022

Most city councillors, like the majority of Winnipeggers, drive to work, and those commutes help make driving the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the city.

Despite the city’s plan to slice emissions in the coming decades, one city hall perk makes it hard for councillors to abandon their cars — a free parking pass.

Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface) says the option of free parking makes it easy to decide to drive to work.

“One of the biggest inconveniences of commuting to work downtown is finding that parking spot,” he said. “So not only is it tempting from a financial perspective, because you already have a spot paid for, but also you have the convenience of knowing that there’s going to be a spot for you as soon as you pull in.”

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Monday, Jul. 4, 2022

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface) says the option of free parking makes it easy to decide to drive to work. Allard hasn't used a free parking pass since 2018, opting for other modes of transportation instead.

Winnipeg’s shiny plan for net-zero emissions

Julia-Simone Rutgers 12 minute read Preview

Winnipeg’s shiny plan for net-zero emissions

Julia-Simone Rutgers 12 minute read Saturday, Jul. 2, 2022

The City of Winnipeg is taking steps toward a net-zero emissions future; a committee of council has unanimously approved an ambitious, multibillion-dollar ‘road map’, with hopes of getting there by 2050.

The Community Energy Investment Roadmap was commissioned by council in 2020. Meant to accompany the city’s broader guiding documents (OurWinnipeg2045 and the 2018 Climate Action Plan), the road map outlines a series of targets for reducing emissions in five sectors, as well as recommendations to help make the goals of the plan a reality. The committee also approved a plan to request annual progress reports from each department affected, and a motion to discuss hiring two additional employees to tackle work outlined in the report at the next budgetary consultations.

Climate and environment advocates lauded the report at a water, waste, riverbank management and environment committee meeting, celebrating its detailed financial modelling and holistic approach to emissions reduction.

“Universally, there is a lot of joy amongst (the climate advocacy) community as a consequence of receiving this report,” Climate Change Connection executive director Curtis Hull said during the June 28 meeting. The road map “is phenomenal; it’s exactly what we need right now.”

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Saturday, Jul. 2, 2022

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES
The City of Winnipeg is taking steps toward a net-zero emissions future.

Compost Winnipeg fills a gap in city services

Julia-Simone Rutgers 15 minute read Preview

Compost Winnipeg fills a gap in city services

Julia-Simone Rutgers 15 minute read Friday, Jun. 10, 2022

It’s a wet and windy morning in Winnipeg and Garrett LeBlanc’s main concern is dodging the foul-smelling juice spraying out from the dozens of green bins he’ll tip during the day.

He zips his raincoat up high and secures a 290-litre bin to the hydraulic arm on the side of his ride for the day — a compact garbage-collection truck — then pushes a button to start the lift. He keeps his eyes trained on the slow rise of the bin, then on the green bags of discarded watermelon rinds, meat scraps and kitchen leftovers that tumble into the bed of the truck.

The breeze hooks a thin trail of “rot splatter” and sends it whizzing toward LeBlanc. He dodges. He gives the bin a shake at the peak of the lift, a quick up-down motion with the buttons, before lowering it back to the pavement.

LeBlanc then lines the bin with a new, compostable bag before wheeling the green tub back into place among this particular condominium’s other garbage and recycling bins.

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Friday, Jun. 10, 2022

MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Garrett LeBlanc, compost courier with Compost Winnipeg, dumps a bin into the truck in Winnipeg.

Next city council needs to up its green game, advocates say

Julia-Simone Rutgers 4 minute read Preview

Next city council needs to up its green game, advocates say

Julia-Simone Rutgers 4 minute read Thursday, Jun. 9, 2022

In advance of the civic election this fall, advocacy groups are trying to make the environment and sustainability ballot-box issues.

“​​We’re trying to make sure that mayoral candidates are challenged to put forward a strong climate platform in their campaigns,” said Niall Harney, a researcher at the Manitoba chapter of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, at an event at the courtyard at city hall Thursday.

Representatives from seven groups presented policy options from the centre’s alternative municipal budget that would curb greenhouse gas emissions and improve green infrastructure.

“The next four years are critical for climate; the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says we have to reach peak emissions by 2025, and that we have to reduce emissions by 43 per cent by 2030. We want to make sure that mayoral candidates know that and are being pushed to go further,” Harney said.

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Thursday, Jun. 9, 2022

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
A boost to Winnipeg Transit operating funds, along with capital investments in driver safety measures, electric buses and rapid transit infrastructure could help improve ridership and reduce emissions, said Niall Harney, a researcher at the Manitoba chapter of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Murals bring colour, play, inspiration

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Murals bring colour, play, inspiration

Julia-Simone Rutgers 6 minute read Monday, Nov. 22, 2021

Robin Love likes to think of her painting style as “playful.”

“I like to tune into a child-like fantasy world that’s kind of pop-surreal fantasy. I describe it as ethereal because of the colours. It plays with this duality: it’s very bright and vibrant, but sometimes there’s an eerie darkness to it,” the 39-year-old mother of two says on a phone call. “I love colour play.”

Such an attention to brightness, colour and play caught the attention of a group of dedicated employees serving the south Winnipeg community from a collection of offices in a church basement this past summer.

At the time, the walls of the South Winnipeg Family Information Centre’s rented space in the basement of Fort Garry United Church were “a dull, muddy brown-ish colour,” says executive director Tricia Robinson, and the team was looking out for a way to brighten its halls.

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Monday, Nov. 22, 2021

Robin Love painted the Rainbow Portal mural inside the South Winnipeg Family Information Centre rented space in the basement of Fort Garry United Church. (Supplied)