What is a legacy?
Threshing machine, a modern version of one that was used on the family farm back in the day (Photo by Ben Franske)
It wasn’t until I became a grandparent that I started pondering the question, “What is my legacy?” Separating the wheat from the chaff took a great deal of time and thought. It was while reviewing my past experiences that led me...
The magic of nature
Denise Harris with her granddaughter (Photo by NCC)
When I first started going to my neighbourhood park, I often saw disturbing human behaviour; some from children as young as three. In the "School of Life," where my field-testing on educating others about our waterfowl neighbours initially failed,...
Bees and wasps a buzzin'
Bees have a good reason to be wary of crab spiders. (Photo by Dr. Diana Bizecki Robson)
Through social media, I learned about the humble bumblebee’s need for drinking water. A need, no doubt, that has arisen as a result of prolonged droughts, loss of wetland habitats and loss of biodiversity. I was asked to incorporate a bee...
The void of indifference
American badger near its burrow (Photo by Gerald A. DeBoer/Shutterstock)
I often take forays out to wilderness areas for what I call it my sanity break. So it was one August afternoon, as I turned my vehicle down a gravel road, that I made an abrupt stop. There, about a quarter of a mile away, I spotted some creature...
Granny cannot walk on water
Wetlands at Reiser property, AB (Photo by NCC)
Early this September, I participated in a Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) Conservation Volunteers (CV) event at the Reiser property, located approximately 115 kilometres southwest of Edmonton. I knew it would be a challenge, in part because of...
Lessons learned from Mother Goose: How I learned to appreciate Canada geese through three seasons of careful observation
Canada goose (Photo by Denise Harris)
Sometimes we don’t know what we have until we lose it, and that is exactly how I feel about Canada geese this spring. This year, I have discovered the territorial a flock of Canada geese who conveniently bred in my urban backyard for the...
Hope is...
Denise Harris, Clifford E. Lee Nature Sanctuary, AB (Photo by NCC)
As I head into my 10th season with the Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC's) Conservation Volunteers program, I am disturbed by news regarding climate change impacts, species extinction and so on. But whenever life’s challenges pop up, I...
Mother’s Day
Canada geese (Photo by Denise Harris)
When I think of a mother I think of my own mother who gave selflessly and tirelessly her entire life. My mother worked from dawn ‘til late every night, 365 days of the year. She was always busy with an endless list of chores. From growing...
When the walls came down
Volunteers at the Bears in Mind event help bring down an old structure on NCC property (Photo by NCC)
As I journeyed south on Highway 2 to participate in the Bear(s) in Mind Conservation Volunteers (CV) event, I pondered the cloudy skies hanging low over the mountains. Was this to be a cold and soggy day or would our historical luck for nice...
Robin
Robin (Photo by Lee Karney, USWFS)
When I was a year old my parents moved to a quarter section of bush where they built a farm. I would guesstimate that 95 per cent of what our family ate was grown on that farm. To build the nutrients up in the field’s clay soil Dad planted...
