From the name of a winter pastry to the back of our five cent piece, the beaver is everywhere in Canada. But few people know the true history of beavers – that they were nearly wiped out by trapping; that they play an integral role in our ecosystems; and that they are still trapped every day from coast-to-coast.

So this week we’re exploring the beaver in two very different but important ways.

First we’ll hear from University instructor, naturalist, photographer and author, Michael Runtz, about his new book - Dam Builders: The Natural History of Beavers and Their Ponds.

Then we’ll talk with Dian Murrell of the Alouette Valley Association, whose frustration with the beaver-trapping ways of her municipality led her to working with APFA to find non-lethal solutions to potential conflict.

To start out the new year we’re taking a look at some serious news – Canada’s failing grade for animal welfare and protections.

Late last year, World Animal Protection unveiled their first ever API – or Animal Protection Index – an ingenious way of measuring individual nation’s efforts at protecting animals. Canada received a failing grade – lower than some third world countries – causing a media firestorm. Also late in 2014, the International Fund for Animal Welfare announced that Canada was failing to meet its international obligations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. This was incidentally timed with a study from Canadian scientists showing that our country's efforts to protect already at-risk or endangered species are critically failing.