It’s that time of year again. At the start of each year, I like to dip into our site stats and run down the most-read posts. It’s a fun way of reviewing the past year, getting some sense of what garnered the most attention.
And the last year was a doozy for everyone. Throughout the pandemic, our volunteer team of editors produced outstanding work on what continues to be the largest publishing platform for Canadian environmental history. In many ways, 2020 was our biggest year yet. This included blog posts, podcasts, book reviews, videos, and peer-reviewed scholarship. Here’s NiCHE in 2020 by the numbers:
- 208 blog posts
- 8 book reviews
- 1 peer-reviewed article
- 4 Nature’s Past podcast episodes
- 11 NiCHE Conversations video interviews
- 2 livestream conference panels
- 256,902 words
- 140 comments
We published more blog articles than we ever have before with a whopping 208 individual posts clocking at over 250,000 words. What were the most-read of those many many posts?
5. Getting into Hot Water: Racism and Exclusion at Banff National Park by Meg Stanley and Tina Loo
4. Held Captive: Prisoners of War and Their Pets in Canada during the Second World War by Michael O’Hagan
3. What Difference Does a Century Make? Pandemic Responses to Influenza and COVID-19 by Magda Fahrni and Esyllt Jones
2. “Chemical Castration”: White Genocide and Male Extinction in Rhetoric of Endocrine Disruption by Meg Perret
1. Settler Forgetting in Saulnierville: The Sipekne’katik Mi’kmaw Fishery as Reminder by Mercedes Peters
Most-Read Posts of 2020
I want to send out a huge thanks to all of our contributors from 2020. It was a tough year and we are headed into another difficult one for 2021. You shared your knowledge and expertise on issues that showed the continuing relevance and urgency of the study of the intersections of nature and history. Thank you.
Bonus: Most Downloaded Podcast Episode of 2020
Nature’s Past Episode 68: Home and Environment
For those who missed these great posts and more, check out the links above. And if you are sufficiently inspired, you too can publish your work with us. Find out more in our contributors guide.
We have big plans for 2021 with more great writing, videos, podcasts, and more. So don’t miss a thing in 2021 by signing up for our monthly newsletter!
Image by Photo Mix from Pixabay

Sean Kheraj

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- Top 5 Posts of 2021 - January 6, 2022
- 2022 Melville-Nelles-Hoffmann Lecture in Environmental History: Bathsheba Demuth - January 3, 2022
- Thank You - December 20, 2021
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