Science Borealis: 100 Canadian science blogs ... and counting

CALGARY/OTTAWA, Sept. 24, 2014 /CNW/ - This week the Science Borealis team celebrated the addition of the 100^th blog to its roster of Canadian science blog sites! As was recently noted in the Council of Canadian Academies report on Science Culture, science blogging in Canada is a rapidly growing means of science communication. Our digital milestone is one of many initiatives that are bringing to fruition the vision of a rich Canadian online science communication community.

The honour of being syndicated as the 100^th blog goes to Spider Bytes, by Catherine Scott, an MSc student at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. Catherine will receive a highly sought after Science Borealis t-shirt in honour of this milestone!

Since launching in late November of 2013, the Science Borealis site at http://ScienceBorealis.ca has welcomed bloggers from physics to health, from science art to science policy, and more.

Some of our popular blogs are Malcolm Campbell's Six Incredible Things Before Breakfast, including his weekly roundup of top science stories from around the web;  Sketchy Science, which provides illustrative cartoons on key science topics; the group blog Sci/Why with science for kids; Science Policy Exchange on Canadian science policy; Plain Language Science on science communication; and Companion Animal Psychology which covers the science of people's relationships with their pets.

More recent additions to the Science Borealis blog feed include: Agile Geoscience by Matt Hall, Le nez en l'air by Jean Pierre Urbain, Musings of a Clumsy Paleontologist by Liz Martin-Silverstone, and Science Menu by Nick Dragojlovic.

"Blogs come and go, and blog networks often struggle to find their voice and keep content original, fresh, and exciting. Science Borealis, despite its young age, is already surpassing expectations." says Chris Buddle, an early adopter who blogs at Anthropod Ecology and Expiscor.

Built on the principles of curiosity, engagement, and collaboration, Science Borealis is a community-driven effort that has welcomed members and supporters who share a commitment to respect and encourage science communication in Canada.

With a one-year anniversary on the way in November, Science Borealis has celebration activities in store and a renewed vision and focus for the future. Stay tuned!

SOURCE: Genome Alberta

Mike Spear, Genome Alberta, [e-mail]
Jenny Ryan, Canadian Science Publishing, [e-mail]