The ocean has a chance to recover within 30 years
Sea otter (Photo by Kate, Unsplash)
Marine life, habitats and ecosystems have a chance to recover within 30 years according to a new study in Nature. While this would require huge conservation efforts and major policy changes, we have the knowledge to make this happen by 2050. The...
Environment week 2021: Species we have saved
Trumpeter swan family (Photo by Karol Dabbs)
For many of us, wildlife is the symbol of nature conservation. This isn’t surprising; humans have lived closely with other living things for most of our history. We knew the names and habits of animals, and we held knowledge of the plants...
By conserving and restoring nature’s foundation we can build a more prosperous future for Canada
Low tide kelp forest (Photo by Mark Smith, Flickr)
We are coming to the end of an era in human history. For much of our human existence, nature has been in abundance. While even early humans were able to deplete natural resources locally, and some past civilizations collapsed as a result, we have...
There’ll never be a dull moment in nature if you do this
Volunteer using a smartphone at a NCC BioBlitz event. Photo by Brent Calver.
Is your outdoor walk getting dull? Or maybe your access to a sizable natural area is limited. Is lack of time a barrier to your ability to connect with nature? For some people with a close connection to nature, it might not take much effort to...
Our treasured islands of Mahone Bay
Saling on Mahone Bay, NS (Photo by MICA)
Imagine looking out from a shoreline and seeing beautiful pristine islands nearby. To row, paddle or sail to an island and find it in its natural state is not a dream in the waters of Mahone Bay, southwest Nova Scotia; it is a reality where you...
Conservation finance: Making nature investable
Misty Darkwoods forest, BC (Photo by Bruce Kirkby)
While nature is incredibly valuable, protecting it has not been all that profitable. Nature conservation, as a result, has been chronically underfunded. Investments in conservation to date have been disproportionately funded by governments and a...
Reflections, roundtables and royalty: Thoughts from attending the IUCN Global Youth Summit
A group photo of one session during the IUCN Youth Summit
There are not many reasons I will willingly get out of bed at 5:30 a.m., but the opportunity to make a real difference in the world is one of them. Recently, I gathered with 13,000 fellow young people from across the globe at the International...
Hooray for hummingbirds
An Anna's hummingbird on one of her nests. (Photo by Eric Pittman)
You hear a buzz and see a streak of green, red or purple, and then you realize that a hummingbird just flew by! Hummingbirds are fascinating creatures that have captured our attention for as long as humans have co-existed with them. They are...
The hurdles of the charisma-challenged
Eastern mole (Photo by Bert Cash, CC BY 4.0)
What do dodgeball and charisma-challenged species have in common? In elementary school, I was always, by far, the shortest kid in the class, and I barely cracked 80 pounds. In gym class, I was pretty much the last player chosen for the dodgeball...
Why I welcome a conservation plan for the Great Sand Hills
A tree sunken into the sand and snow at the Great Sand Hills, SK (Photo by Bill Armstrong)
Fifteen years ago, I signed up for a photography workshop at Saskatchewan’s Great Sand Hills, a place I’d heard about from other photographers but had never visited. I remember the first morning of the workshop, watching the rising sun...
