facebook

Strengthening the bond between people and land at Sandstone Ranch

Sandstone Ranch, Milk River Ridge, AB (Photo by NCC)

Sandstone Ranch, Milk River Ridge, AB (Photo by NCC)

Earlier this summer, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) Calgary staff and 22 Albertans collectively donned their volunteer hats and travelled to the Sandstone Ranch in Alberta to help eradicate the spread of invasive downy brome. The bus ride...

Continue Reading »

Alberta's ranching evolution (Part Three)

Waldron, Southern Foothills, AB (Photo by Kyle Marquardt)

Waldron, Southern Foothills, AB (Photo by Kyle Marquardt)

For just over 130 years, the western rangelands of southern Alberta have been the cradle of the stock-raising industry. As long as the prairie grasses have been allowed to perpetuate themselves, the cow and the calf have been able to harvest a...

Continue Reading »

Alberta's ranching evolution (Part Two)

A cattle herd just west of Fort MacLeod (Photo by Doug Madill)

A cattle herd just west of Fort MacLeod (Photo by Doug Madill)

(Continued from Part One.) Since it was the landscape of the rangelands that had originally attracted me to Alberta and western Canada, I have become increasingly fascinated with not only the buildings and artifacts associated with the ranching...

Continue Reading »

Alberta's ranching evolution (Part One)

Boholomec Ranch, Crowsnest Pass (Photo by NCC)

Boholomec Ranch, Crowsnest Pass (Photo by NCC)

For me, there is something about the Canadian prairies. It’s not where I originally came from, but when I moved west to Saskatchewan and Alberta from Ontario some 36 years ago, they just took me in, and I knew I could not ever stop living...

Continue Reading »

Willows on the Waldron

Willows on the Waldron CV event, AB (Photo by NCC)

Willows on the Waldron CV event, AB (Photo by NCC)

"Willows on the Waldron," the website read. A volunteer opportunity. Nature Conservancy of Canada. A worthy cause. I think to myself, "Self! here's your chance. Walk the talk! Let's volunteer!” But Willows…? On the...

Continue Reading »