Gardening’s hidden benefits: How digging in the dirt could bolster mental wellbeing

If you spend any time gardening, you probably understand what I mean when I say it feels good — despite the lifting, sweating and straining involved. Yes, exercise is good for our bodies, but there’s something about digging in the dirt while listening to a bird soundtrack that lifts my spirits. Even the scent of the soil and mulch makes me happy.

As it turns out, there are scientific reasons for this.

In fact, there’s an entire field called horticultural therapy that’s dedicated to using “plant-based and garden-based activities to support people who have identified treatment needs,” according to Karen Haney, a horticultural therapy instructor at UCLA Extension in Long Beach, California.

“Research suggests 20-30 minutes (of gardening) a few times a week can reduce stress and lift mood, with benefits increasing the more regularly one gardens,” says Sarah Thompson, a professionally registered horticultural therapist in Boise, Idaho.

Being Muslim and American in the nation’s heartland

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — The oldest surviving place of worship for Muslims in the United States is a white clapboard building on a grassy corner plot, as unassumingly Midwestern as its neighboring houses in Cedar Rapids – except for a dome.

The descendants of the Lebanese immigrants who constructed “the Mother Mosque” almost a century ago — along with newcomers from Afghanistan, East Africa and beyond — are defining what it can mean to be both Muslim and American in the nation's heartland just as heightened conflicts in the Middle East fuel tensions over immigration and Islam in the United States.

Standing by the door in a gold-embroidered black robe, Fatima Igram Smejkal greeted the faithful with a cheerful “salaam” as they hurried into the Islamic Center of Cedar Rapids for Friday prayers. In 1934, her family helped open what the National Register of Historic Places calls “the first building designed and constructed specifically as a house of worship for Muslims in the United States.”

“They all came from nothing … so they wanted to give back,” Smejkal said of families like hers, who arrived at the turn of the 20th century. “That’s why I’m so kind to the ones that come in from Somalia and the Congo and Sudan and Afghanistan. I have no idea what they left, what they’re thinking when they walk in that mosque.”

As AI becomes part of everyday life, it brings a hidden climate cost

Marissa Loewen first started using artificial intelligence in 2014 as a project management tool. She has autism and ADHD and said it helped immensely with organizing her thoughts.

“We try to use it conscientiously though because we do realize that there is an impact on the environment,” she said.

Her personal AI use isn't unique anymore. Now it’s a feature in smartphones, search engines, word processors and email services. Every time someone uses AI, it uses energy that is often generated by fossil fuels. That releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and contributes to climate change.

And it's getting harder to live without it.

Searing heat draws visitors to California’s Death Valley, where it’s tough to communicate the risks

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — Ray Estrada's 11-year-old grandson is used to Las Vegas' scorching summers, but he'd always wanted to experience the heat in one of the Earth's hottest places. So Estrada recently drove him to Death Valley National Park, with an umbrella, extra water and electrolytes in tow. That day, the thermometer soared to 118 F (47.78 C).

“We have to be very careful when we go out there,” Estrada told him. “If you start feeling dizzy or whatever... we’re just gonna turn back and be safe so we can do this again another time.”

The extreme temperatures in this stretch of California desert attract visitors every year, some determined to finish a grueling, multiday race, others just curious about the sizzling heat and the landscape's vast beauty. Yet despite the warnings, the heat kills one to three people annually, and park rangers respond to overheated visitors multiple times per week, making communication about heat safety a priority for the National Park Service.

But that's easier said than done.

Try out being a tourist at home — in Winnipeg

Many Canadians and Manitobans are rethinking their travel plans to the United States this summer. We might take this opportunity to become tourists in our own city, rediscovering Winnipeg — a city that is often underappreciated, but one that is truly unique in Canada.

Le centre d’interprétation Saint-Léon: là où souffle l’esprit de la nature et de l’innovation

Avec ses galeries interactives, ses sentiers en pleine nature et son riche contenu éducatif, le Centre d’interprétation Saint-Léon est bien plus qu’un simple musée rural. En 2025, la communauté célèbre les 20 ans du premier parc éolien du Manitoba — une réalisation marquante racontée au cœur du Centre. Entre salamandres mystérieuses, énergies vertes et oiseaux migrateurs, les visiteurs y découvrent un territoire où science, nature et fierté locale se rencontrent.

Situé près du lac Saint-Léon, le Centre d’interprétation Saint-Léon a toujours eu pour vocation d’éduquer les curieux, qu’ils soient touristes ou de la région, mais aussi de rassurer. Lorraine Mabon, la présidente, raconte:

“Le but original, c’était de parler des salamandres et de leur rôle, parce qu’il y en avait énormément dans la région et les gens en avaient un peu peur. Mais les salamandres, qu’on trouve sur les terres humides, sont une bonne chose: elles sont indicatrices de la bonne santé de l’environnement.

“Un autre fait intéressant, c’est que si elles perdent un membre, elles peuvent le régénérer! Beaucoup de scientifiques étudient cette faculté exceptionnelle.”

Green chemist and musician on fighting climate change

There’s no shortage of doom and gloom associated with the words “climate change” these days. As a result, many people are stressed out and feeling helpless.

Particularly concerning is that, more than ever, younger people are experiencing considerable distress with environmental anxiety, also known as eco-anxiety or climate anxiety. The Journal of Mental Health and Climate Change, an open-access publication that features interdisciplinary scientific research on mental health and climate change, continues to write extensively on this subject.

While prominent environmental activists, including well-known science broadcaster David Suzuki, paint a bleak picture of the future, many other professionals in various fields are working tirelessly to educate, inspire and fight the good fight for the next generations.

Born and raised in Lynn Lake, Man., Devin Latimer is one of those professionals. The faculty member in chemistry at the University of Winnipeg is also a long-time musician, bass player with local band Leaf Rapids and the Juno award-winning Nathan Music Co.

Au Musée Saint-Joseph, là où le patrimoine s’explore grandeur nature

Au Musée Saint-Joseph, on s’immerge dans le monde des années 1880 à 1930 de la municipalité rurale de Montcalm à partir de villages immersifs et d’artefacts préservés.

Situé à une heure de route au sud de Winnipeg, le Musée Saint-Joseph offre une véritable plongée dans le quotidien des pionniers qui ont façonné la région. Avec ses bâtiments d’époque, ses artefacts soigneusement conservés et son ambiance immersive, ce site patrimonial est bien plus qu’un musée: c’est une expérience vivante et enrichissante, idéale pour les curieux d’histoire comme pour les familles en quête de découverte.

Mais le musée ne se contente pas de montrer le passé — il le fait revivre. Grâce à un calendrier d’activités scolaires, des visites guidées et surtout son festival du patrimoine Montcalm en juin, le site devient un lieu animé où le patrimoine francophone et rural du Manitoba prend tout son sens.

D’ailleurs, Camille Fisette-Mulaire, directrice du Musée Saint-Joseph, affirme que le musée ne cesse d’attirer les touristes grâce à ses villages immersifs et son festival annuel.

Un voyage au cœur de l’héritage métis

Installé dans un ancien couvent centenaire, le musée de Saint-Pierre-Jolys invite les visiteurs à plonger dans l’histoire du village et de ses communautés fondatrices. À partir du 5 juin, une toute nouvelle exposition permanente — L’établissement de la Rivière-aux-Rats — met à l’honneur l’héritage métis de la région, des premiers échanges de fourrures jusqu’à l’arrivée du chemin de fer en 1878. Documents rares, cartes anciennes et récits de résistances font revivre une époque charnière du Manitoba. Une halte incontournable pour qui souhaite découvrir le passé vivant de la province.

Roland Gagné, l’actuel président, revient sur le développement du musée. “Ce sont les grands-parents de Sol Desharnais — le commissaire des expositions permanentes – qui ont racheté l’ancien couvent. De là, c’est devenu un musée, puis la cabane à sucre est née.” Sur place, une salle de classe traditionnelle a été reconstituée, témoignant ainsi de l’ancienne activité du musée. En 1985, le musée acquiert par donation la Maison Goulet, située sur le sentier Crow Wing, puis l’année 1998 voit la création de la fameuse cabane à sucre connue pour le célèbre festival du Temps des sucres.

À l’intérieur, l’établissement renferme deux expositions permanentes, une sur l’ancienne église démolie dans la controverse en 1980 et l’autre sur l’artiste de renom originaire de Saint-Pierre-Jolys, Réal Bérard.

Une toute nouvelle exposition

Explore Indigenous discovery centre opens its doors at The Forks Market

People seeking tourism opportunities in Manitoba have a new resource.

Indigenous Tourism Manitoba and The Forks North Portage Partnership celebrated the grand opening on Friday of Explore Indigenous, a new space that aims to build awareness and understanding of Indigenous-led tourism experiences in the keystone province.

Located at The Forks Market, the downtown Winnipeg discovery centre offers self-guided learning tools and interpretative displays that introduce visitors to Indigenous Tourism Manitoba’s network of operators — who they are, where they’re located and what types of experiences they offer.

A curated product showcase features artisans who have been accredited through the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada’s Original Original program, which highlights businesses and experiences that are at least 51 per cent Indigenous-owned.

De l’église au musée: le cœur battant de Richer vous attend

Cet été, faites une escale inoubliable à Richer, au cœur du Manitoba, et laissez-vous surprendre par le charme et la richesse du Musée Dawson Trail Museum. Installé dans une ancienne église magnifiquement restaurée, ce musée communautaire unique raconte l’histoire vibrante de la région, tout en devenant un véritable lieu de rassemblement pour les générations d’hier et d’aujourd’hui. Entre expositions fascinantes, activités familiales, marchés d’été et projets culturels, il y a mille et une raisons de venir le découvrir.

Une église sauvée par la passion d’un village

Impliquée dans la genèse du Musée Dawson Trail Museum depuis 2005, Yvonne Godard, aujourd’hui présidente du musée, raconte: “En 1995, les dames du village voulaient sauver l’église, donc elles ont formé un groupe, les Amis de la prière. Mais ça prenait beaucoup d’argent pour entretenir la bâtisse, la cour, le cimetière.

”Donc en 2005, un nouveau comité a été créé, et j’ai été élue présidente. Ça a encore pris presque dix ans pour amasser les fonds pour faire toutes les rénovations, mais finalement on a ouvert notre musée dans l’ancienne église en 2014.”

Keeping fur babies fed in a fire zone

FLIN FLON — Harley Eagle became an expert at breaking into houses during the month-long evacuation of this northern community as a wildfire raged nearby.

However, he had the homeowners’ permission.

While 5,100 Flin Floners waited out the fire in southern Manitoba, Eagle and his wife, city councillor Judy Eagle, offered to stay behind and feed animals that didn’t make the trip with their owners.

“It was groundhog day every day. You get up at 5:30 a.m., go to the community hall, make the coffee and then that’s when you start caring for all the animals,” he said Wednesday afternoon, as residents slowly made their way back to their homes and pets.

Quand la rivière Winnipeg devient musée

Le long de la rivière Winnipeg, à Saint-Georges, un musée pas comme les autres raconte l’histoire d’un peuple lié à l’eau. Grâce aux objets, aux témoignages et à une vue imprenable sur la rivière, les visiteurs plongent dans une mémoire régionale bien vivante, accessible en français autant qu’en anglais.

À Saint-Georges, le Musée du Patrimoine de la rivière Winnipeg est un incontournable pour comprendre l’histoire et l’identité de la région. Ouvert toute l’année depuis 2019, il est le fruit de la résilience de la communauté après un incendie en 2014 qui avait détruit l’ancien Musée des pionniers.

”Face au feu, la communauté n’a jamais baissé les bras,” affirme la directrice, Diane Dubé. Dès 2015, on travaillait déjà à recréer un musée.”

La reconstruction a permis de concrétiser une vision déjà en marche depuis 2012, celle de “sortir de Saint-Georges pour faire un musée vraiment régional.”

More than 7,000 elms felled in Winnipeg last year due to disease

A city report reveals elm trees were chopped down more than expected last year due to Dutch elm disease.

‘She’s all of us’: mural illustrates ties between Winnipeg and grateful Ukrainian newcomers

Blue and yellow ribbons wrapping around the city’s skyline show the deep connection between Ukraine and Manitoba in a new mural.

Take Pride Winnipeg, a downtown non-profit that seeks to clean up and inspire civic pride, unveiled its newest mural, titled “Pray for Ukraine” in the Exchange District on Monday.

It pictures a Ukrainian woman in traditional clothing stoically gazing into the distance as butterflies and a dove — which symbolize hope, peace and rebirth — flutter around the Esplanade Riel and Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

The installation at Exchange District BIZ at 492 Main St. was painted by Jennifer Mosienko, who’s worked on more than 40 murals across the city.

‘I hope that we don’t lose the town’: Snow Lake residents get mandatory evacuation order

Another wildfire-threatened town in northern Manitoba began a mandatory evacuation Friday, while a 140-kilometre-long blaze threatened multiple communities in two provinces and put evacuees on tenterhooks.

Snow Lake, home to about 1,100 people, ordered residents to get out before noon Saturday and head to an evacuation reception centre in Winnipeg if they need a place to stay.

“I put the sprinkler on my home, and locked the door and left,” resident Caroline Denby told the Free Press during her roughly seven-hour drive to Winnipeg. “I hope that we don’t lose the town. Everybody getting out is the main thing. I really trust our (fire) crew, and believe they’re really wonderful at what they do.”

Town officials started planning for a potential evacuation as early as about two weeks ago. A voluntary evacuation began Tuesday. Denby was ready to go when it became mandatory.

What is a famine and who declares one?

For months, U.N. officials, aid groups and experts have warned that Palestinians in Gaza are on the brink of famine.

Earlier this month, Israel eased a weekslong blockade on the territory as a result of international criticism, but the U.N. humanitarian aid office said Friday that deliveries into Gaza remain severely restricted, describing the current flow of food as a trickle into an area facing catastrophic levels of hunger.

Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people relies almost entirely on outside aid to survive because Israel’s 19-month-old military offensive has wiped out most capacity to produce food inside the territory.

Israel said it imposed the blockade to pressure Hamas into releasing the hostages it holds and because it accuses Hamas of siphoning off aid, without providing evidence. The U.N. says there are mechanisms in place that prevent any significant diversion of aid, though aid trucks have been robbed and hungry crowds have broken into aid warehouses a few times.

‘Pray for rain’: wildfire races toward Flin Flon

Premier Wab Kinew urged Manitobans to remain calm Friday, a pivotal day in the war on wildfires in which shifting winds sent flames bearing down on Flin Flon, more people had to be evacuated from more communities and desperately needed resources were promised by the United States.

“Keep calm and carry on,” Kinew told an afternoon news conference at the legislature.

He said the threat to Flin Flon, about 830 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg, had become so severe that the mayor, council and the few others who remained after a citywide evacuation order issued Wednesday afternoon had no choice but to leave Friday.

“We had our health-care workers leave this morning… the only folks remaining on the ground are the firefighters and folks in the office of the fire commissioner and RCMP who are there to battle the blaze,” Kinew said.

To the margins of our rivers, our marginalized

It’s not surprising that in the not-quite-public spaces on the margins of Winnipeg's rivers live the marginalized, the people not quite suited, for whatever reason, to a life away from its shores.

Heiltsuk Nation ratification feast brings written constitution into force

The Heiltsuk Nation has ratified its written constitution through a celebratory feast in Bella Bella, B.C.

Marilyn Slett, the nation's elected chief, called it a "monumental day" that comes after two decades of development and consultation.

"It's hard to put into words how big it is. It's definitely a day of celebration and reflection on everything that brought us to the day," Slett said of Friday's feast.

The Heiltsuk Nation approved the adoption of a written constitution for the First Nation on British Columbia's central coast in February. That followed six months of engagement with more than 2,000 Heiltsuk members in Bella Bella, Nanaimo and Vancouver.

First solo show in WAG-Qaumajuq’s flagship Qilak gallery

Since his last gallery show in Winnipeg, Abraham Anghik Ruben’s focus has shifted from introspection to cross-cultural exploration.

That personal and artistic arc is currently on display at WAG-Qaumajuq in a sprawling retrospective of the master Inuit sculptor’s 50-year career.

It’s a fitting full-circle reunion.

The Winnipeg Art Gallery hosted Ruben’s first solo show at a major institution in 2001 and now, nearly 25 years later, the artist’s work is featured in the first solo exhibit in Qaumajuq’s main Qilak gallery.

Toronto Zoo warns of extinctions if Ontario mining bill becomes law

TORONTO - Species could go extinct if Ontario passes a controversial mining bill that is set to transform its approach to endangered species and the environment, the Toronto Zoo warned the province.

Bill 5, the Protect Ontario by Unleashing our Economy Act, would strike a blow to the recovery of several species the institution has been trying to save, said Dolf DeJong, the zoo's CEO, at a committee hearing at Queen's Park on Thursday.

If and when the bill becomes law, DeJong wants the province to step up with funding so it can dramatically increase its biobank with Ontario species that could die off as a result of the legislation.

"We're concerned this act will result in the erosion of biodiversity and the loss of species at risk," DeJong said.

Getting river rehab rolling: Other cities' success in stemming effluent offer splashes of hope for Winnipeg's waterways

From giant cisterns to rain gardens, storage tunnels and parks, cities across Canada — and the rest of the world — have shown there are plenty of options to stop the overflow of sewage into freshwater.

Province’s mine assessment ‘shoddy,’ environmental group says

A group that opposed a sand mine ultimately nixed by the NDP government says the environmental assessment of an open pit mine that has been approved near Hollow Water First Nation is “shoddy.”