Saving our planet: 10 good news conservation stories from 2016
The choices we make about our planet in the next decade are going to impact nature and the well-being of people for generations to come. Both nature and human well-being face some big challenges. Biodiversity continues to be threatened by habitat...
An ode to whale (Part Two)
Blue whale (Illustration by Denise Wong)
morning! /he takes in the salt /retiring to depth / (Inspired by Eden Killer Whale Museum) Facts: Baleen, also known as whalebone, is not bone. Baleen is the bristly drapery that lines the mouth of a dozen species of whales, including the...
Something's Fishy: A feast for fish
Illustration by Frits Ahledfedt
My favourite holiday memory is learning to make mashed potatoes in my grandma’s kitchen, her hand gently clasping mine as I firmly squished down into a large yellow bowl using an old wooden-handled masher. I recall the way she recited the...
Leaving a lasting legacy with conservation
Paul Smith (right) takes a walk through the forest he transferred to NCC, with Karen Clarke-Whistler, chief environment officer of TD Bank Group, and John Lounds, NCC president and CEO (Photo by Simon Wilson)Paul
When Paul Smith was a child, he called the family’s forest, located three to four miles from his home, “Grandma’s Woods.” Deeded to his ancestors in 1856, it had passed to his grandmother, and he remembers that she had just...
Beech bark disease in Canada
Roots of an old American beech tree at Clear Creek Forest (Photo by NCC)
While hiking through some of Ontario’s forests, you may notice that the beech trees look infected by something. During my undergraduate studies in biology at Western University (formerly known as the University of Western Ontario), I learned...
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...
Invasive species: A battle worth fighting
NCC staff members remove invasive garlic mustard from the Happy Valley Forest, Ontario (Photo by NCC)
Invasive species have developed a bad reputation, and for good reason: these nasty organisms wreak havoc on natural ecosystems, outcompete native species, threaten human health and cost us billions of dollars every year. They are the second...
Innovation through collaboration
Nebo, SK (Photo by Matthew Braun/NCC staff)
Corporate philanthropy plays an important role in supporting the arts, culture, education, health and environment in Canada. Five years ago, corporate philanthropy in Canada totalled approximately $3 billion. Since then, the corporate-giving...
Keeping Kettle Island out of hot water
Volunteers clear debris from Kettle Island (Photo by NCC)
On a sunny Saturday morning in early fall this year, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) team prepared to meet 20 or so members of the community from the Ottawa River Valley area, who all had one thing in common: they all cared deeply about the...
Getting my hands dirty for conservation
Volunteers got their hands dirty for conservation (Photo by NCC)
I started volunteering with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) about a year and a half ago, after becoming overwhelmingly “itchy” at my office job. I had been working in the environmental field for the past 20 years but was, for...
