One million steps: A hike to honour the legacy of conservation (Part one)
Rockway Conservation Area, a conservation area that NCC helped the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority protect in the 1970s. (Photo by Chris Knaggs)
I’ve been working at my dream job at the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) for 15 years. In addition to the deep satisfaction of lasting conservation impacts, NCC is also a great place to work. One of the opportunities NCC provides is that...
Five ways to save a lake
Lake Winnipeg (Photo by Christine Chilton/NCC staff)
There has been a lot of bad news lately about Lake Winnipeg. Algae blooms occur regularly, and zebra mussels are settling into their new home. Lake Winnipeg was named the world’s most threatened lake in 2013 by Global Nature Fund, and some...
Ten tips for finding a job in conservation
Volunteer measures tree root collar diameter with calliper. (Photo by NCC)
There’s a lot I love about my job at the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). Working on endangered species, landscape planning and protecting some of Canada’s most important habitats is not a bad way to spend the day. I also like...
Protecting what matters most: Identifying and conserving freshwater key biodiversity areas
Richelieu River, îles de Jeanotte et aux Cerfs, QC (Photo by Claude Duchaîne)
Nature conservation is fuelled by urgency. With over 750 Canadian wildlife species at risk, and many habitats being lost and degraded, it’s clear we need to do more conservation in Canada, and we need to do it faster. There are spaces and...
10 good news nature conservation stories from 2017 that prove we have the solutions
Inlet around Lancaster Sound, NU © Parks Canada/Diane Blanchard
Nature conservation can seem a long and arduous journey. Current issues, from climate change to protecting north Atlantic right whales to micro-plastics in our oceans, can seem overwhelming. When viewed as a snapshot in time, these issues can even...
Stopping the sixth extinction needs to start at home
Blanding's turtle (Photo by Gabrielle Fortin)
I can still remember the day I saw a Blanding’s turtle for the first time. It was at Point Pelee National Park, in Ontario, in 1990 while working as co-op student studying rare plants. I thought it was an amazing animal, with its high, domed...
Nature may “need half,” but it needs to be the right half
Bartholomew River, Miramichi, NB (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
My first introduction to protected areas targets was during my undergraduate at the University of Waterloo. Our Common Future (also known as the Brundtland Report), from the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development, was hot...
20,000 days of nature conservation
At the end of this summer, on August 30, 2017, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) will mark exactly 20,000 days of conservation. This milestone provides an opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the work done by NCC and our partners each day,...
How the Great White North can change the world: Canada's role in global biodiversity conservation
Powder Islands, Lake Superior, ON (Photo by Alan Auld)
I still remember a time when thinking about conservation made me feel disappointed in Canada. During my undergraduate years at the University of Waterloo in the early 1990s, I learned about the pioneering work of Norman Myers and read subsequent...
Canada's role in preventing species extinctions
Greater sage-grouse (Photo by Gordon Sherman © Audubon Canyon Ranch)
One of the most powerful tools of nature conservation in the 21st century is our ability to put the protection of Canadian species into a global context. By documenting Canadian species that are not just rare in Canada, but rare everywhere, we can...
