Lake Erie: Recovery, or requiem?
![Aerial view of Point Pelee, ON (Photo by Gerry Kaiser)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/blog/Point-Pelee-Ice-Aerial_Kaiser-thumb.jpg)
Aerial view of Point Pelee, ON (Photo by Gerry Kaiser)
Someone recently asked me how I would invest a million dollars to help conserve Lake Erie. My first thoughts were that I would use that money to protect wetlands and other habitats on the coast, or maybe to help farmers create wider buffer strips...
Twelve spooky facts about Canadian bats
![Townsend's big-eared bat (Photo by Brock Fenton)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/species/mammal/Corynorhinus-townsendii-brock-fenton-thumb.jpg)
Townsend's big-eared bat (Photo by Brock Fenton)
There are 18 known bat species in Canada. Although they are subjected to a spooky stigma around Halloween, they’re nothing to be afraid of. Here are 12 things you didn’t know about these not-so-scary mammals: 1. The snooze...
Going batty in BC
![Early morning scene of a small town in Transylvania, Romania, while volunteering with Operation Wallacea, Romania chapter. (Photo by Katie Bell)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/blog/FoggyValley_Moon-thumb.jpg)
Early morning scene of a small town in Transylvania, Romania, while volunteering with Operation Wallacea, Romania chapter. (Photo by Katie Bell)
The moon is full and bright, with fog settled in the valley, making for an eerie view. It is early morning, just before sunrise. I am with a group of volunteers and one biologist. We are on our way back to camp after a two-hour walk around a small...
Coasting along Canada’s habitats
![Musquash Estuary, NB (Photo by NCC)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/land/nb/musquash-estuary-nb-ncc-thumb.jpg)
Musquash Estuary, NB (Photo by NCC)
Canada is a nation bordered by three oceans: Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic. In many ways, the habitats, local culture and economies are shaped by them. Often when those of us who don’t live near the shoreline think of oceans, we picture a...
Invasive, shrimp-sucking parasite continues northward Pacific expansion
![The cough drop-sized parasite Griffen's isopod, native to Asia and Russia, has decimated mud shrimp populations along the West Coast. The parasite on the right is a female with the much smaller male attached. (Florida Museum photo by Amanda Bemis and Gustav Paulay)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/blog/Bopyrid-isopod_header-thumb.jpg)
The cough drop-sized parasite Griffen's isopod, native to Asia and Russia, has decimated mud shrimp populations along the West Coast. The parasite on the right is a female with the much smaller male attached. (Florida Museum photo by Amanda Bemis and Gustav Paulay)
By Josh Silberg and Natalie van Hoose Researchers have identified an invasive, blood-sucking parasite on mud shrimp in the waters of British Columbia’s Calvert Island. The discovery represents the northernmost record of the parasite on the...
Seeing Canada through the trees: How Canadians can lead the world in forest conservation
![Whitemouth River Watershed Natural Area, MB (Photo by Mike Dembeck)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/land/mb/whitemouth2-mb-mike-dembeck-thumb.jpg)
Whitemouth River Watershed Natural Area, MB (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
Forests define our Canadian geography and identity. One-third of our country is covered with trees, and forests occur in every province and territory. Jobs in forestry employ more than 200,000 Canadians and support many Indigenous and northern...
A throwback to working in Backus Woods
![Forest canopy in Backus Woods, ON (Photo by Neil Ever Osborne)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/land/on/Backus_Woods_Neil_Ever_Osborne_Thumb.jpg)
Forest canopy in Backus Woods, ON (Photo by Neil Ever Osborne)
I had the pleasure of working for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) for the summer of 2019 as a conservation technician out of the Norfolk County, Ontario, office. When I first came to Norfolk, I was expecting to see mostly farmland and...
Emblems of Canada: tree edition
![Red maple (Photo by Jean Isaacs)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/species/plant/Red_Maple_Jean_Isaacs.jpg)
Red maple (Photo by Jean Isaacs)
Trees have played a significant cultural role in the lives of many Canadians; they are engrained in our national identity. Take the Canadian flag, for instance. It features a single, prominent red maple leaf in the centre, which speaks to the...
What the knowledge of how trees communicate means for forest conservation
![A shady Douglas-fir forest (Photo by Jenny McCune)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/blog/shady-oak-forest-by-jenny-mccune-thumb.jpg)
A shady Douglas-fir forest (Photo by Jenny McCune)
Japanese people are generally familiar with shinrin-yoku or forest bathing — the practice of being immersed in a forest. In Germany, the concept is referred to as Waldsehligkeit, a feeling of profound well-being that comes from being...
Tackling invasive European common reed
![Me on a six-foot ladder amidst European common reed, to illustrate its height and density. (Photo by Courtney Robichaud)](https://www.natureconservancy.ca/assets/images/blog/Rooney_Robichaud_Ladder-profile.jpg)
Me on a six-foot ladder amidst European common reed, to illustrate its height and density. (Photo by Courtney Robichaud)
The highs and lows of monitoring the large-scale suppression of Phragmites australis spp. australis My field crew and I are covered in scratches. I’m a PhD student studying the recovery of native vegetation after invasive species control,...