The University of Winnipeg

News

Research

Climate, maps, and gardening

Dr. Danny Blair standing in front of books in library.

Dr. Danny Blair

UWinnipeg’s Co-Director of the Prairie Climate Centre and famed ‘climate guy,’ Dr. Danny Blair, is a contributor and guest editor for the 2023 Prairie Garden book. The theme of this year’s edition of the book is “Climate-Aware Gardening.” McNally-Robinson Bookstore is holding an online launch for the book on Sunday, November 13, at 2 p.m.

Blair contributed an article that discusses how climate change is expected to affect the temperature conditions in the southern Prairies and what this may mean for gardening in the region. For 79 Prairie locations found in UWinnipeg’s Climate Atlas of Canada, he identifies climate analogues from the United States. A climate analogue is a location with climate conditions that another location, such as Winnipeg, is expected to have in the future. These locations are shown in a series of climate analogue maps, all of which are accessible on the Atlas’s Climate Analogues webpage.

“Climate analogue maps show that climates are migrating northward, and they usually cause people to say that they didn’t realize so much change is expected in our temperature conditions,” shared Blair. “Graphs and spreadsheets do not necessarily convince people that climate change in the coming decades will result in profound changes to our weather.”

This annual Prairie gardening book is Western Canada’s only gardening annual, dedicated to the advancement of horticulture in the prairies since 1937.

Pre-registration is required to attend the virtual book launch at 2023 Prairie Garden.

 

 

Media Contact