The birds of southwest Manitoba
In July 2019, I visited southwest Manitoba for a research scouting trip from the University of Oklahoma. (Photo by Paula Cimprich)
In July 2019, I visited southwest Manitoba for a research scouting trip from the University of Oklahoma, where I am a PhD student in the biology department. I was scouting for bird species and potential study areas to help with a University of...
Learning to listen: Bringing students closer to nature
A teacher conducts a lesson in the forest (Photo by the Nature Office for the International Day of Forest Kindergarten)
Children and young students face a world that competes for and demands their attention every second of every day. Teachers face an even more daunting task, as they work to hold their students’ attention while educating and nourishing their...
A glimpse of the past: Using historic maps to guide land management
Historic land survey outlining the store house and fort site at NCC’s Fort Ellice property in MB (Photo by Manitoba Archives 2019)
The Prairie provinces, like much of agricultural Canada, look vastly different than they did before European settlement. During the development of Western Canada, forests were cleared, wetlands drained and grasslands plowed in an effort to settle...
Hummingbirds: The forgotten pollinator when it comes to pesticides
Female rufous hummingbird (Photo by Jennifer Kepler CC BY-NC)
When life is leaping forth in its freshest tender green and shrubs are casting their best wine-rich blooms of colour, there comes a humming. Not just from the song of spring rising in the world, but from wing beats — 52 to 62 per...
Making friends with the solitary bees
Blue orchard bee (Photo by Robert Engelhardt)
When you think of bees, your mind probably goes to honey, hives and stingers. But what if I told you that there was a species of bee, native to the Saskatchewan prairies, that didn’t make honey, live in a hive or (usually) sting? Mason bees...
Point counts at Wideview: 10,000 steps by 7 a.m.
Wideview, SK (Photo by NCC)
3 a.m.: Why am I awake this early? The only other creatures awake right now are the birds. Oh, right. The birds are exactly why I’m awake this early. It’s time for point counts at the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s)...
The language we all speak
Me as a child in China (Photo courtesy of Hai Lin Wang)
One of the most common questions people ask me is why I chose to study conservation. For a long time, I couldn’t answer that question. Unlike most of my classmates and fellow interns at the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), I did not grow...
60 things – A year to remember
Conservation Volunteers building a bat house (Photo by Lorena Squires)
My name is Dianne Young, and I turned 60 in February. I wanted to do something special to celebrate but couldn’t decide what to do. Hot air balloon ride? I’ve always wanted to do that. Tandem parachute jump? I’ve always wanted to...
Life as an intern with the Nature Conservancy of Canada
Before the summer ended and we went our separate ways, I caught up with my fellow interns to get an idea of what they do when they leave the office. (Photo by NCC)
As the former communications intern for the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Saskatchewan Region, I spent most of my summer at my desk, while our five other interns spent most of their time in the field. Before the summer ended...
A day in the field at the Alfred-Kelly Nature Reserve
Alfred-Kelly Nature Reserve, QC (Photo by NCC)
When I started my communications internship here at the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) back in May, I didn’t think I would get the opportunity to visit an NCC property this summer. Luckily, I was wrong. After a bit of planning, I joined...
