Why Canada’s prairies are the world’s most endangered ecosystem
Rolling prairie at Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area, SK (Photo by Branimir Gjetvaj)
Updated November 7, 2018 Ask any Canadian kid to name the world’s most endangered ecosystem, and chances are you’ll hear one of the following answers: 1) rainforests; 2) coral reefs; 3) leave me alone. Ignoring the last answer,...
Vernal pools (Part Two)
Vernal pool (Photo by Bernt Solymar)
In Part One of this blog I provided a 101 on vernal pools; why this seasonal ecosystem created from rainfall that accumulates in land depressions is so important to wildlife, in particular amphibians. Here I will go into detail about the...
Vernal pools (Part One)
Vernal pool (Photo by Bernt Solymar)
Ecosystems come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from as large as the Amazon Basin to as tiny as your backyard pond. Regardless of their size, ecosystems and habitats provide homes for animals to breed, raise their young, forage and feed. Some...
From prairie to forest: My journey to a new natural area
Tall grass prairie (Photo by Jenna Siu/NCC)
I spent many of my formative years as a field biologist in the Carolinian region of Ontario, which includes Norfolk and the surrounding counties. The fragmented landscape is largely agricultural with bits of restored tallgrass prairie and...
Life in freshwater country: How helping water helps Canada (Part Two)
Bow Lake, AB (Photo by Sarah Boon)
In Part One of this blog I presented an overview of Canada's freshwater resources and the need to protect them for people and nature. Here I will further explain how today’s problems need new solutions. Over the last year the Nature...
Life in freshwater country: How helping water helps Canada (Part One)
Elbow Lake, Frontenac Arch, ON (Photo by NCC)
If you are Canadian, either by chance or by choice, you probably have a story about water. It might be learning to paddle a canoe, pulling your first fish from the water or standing on the dock on the May 24 weekend with friends, challenging each...
Monarch butterfly habitat selection
Monarch butterfly (Photo by A. Dabydeen)
The monarch butterfly is one of the most recognized and loved insects in the world. It is known, in part, for its phenomenal migration from its Canadian breeding grounds to overwintering sites in the mountains of Mexico. Unfortunately, the...
The Migratory Bird Treaty turns 100!
Woman, wearing a large feathered hat and boa, posing for a portrait (Photo by John Oxley Library, Public Domain)
This year we mark the centennial of the convention between the United States and Great Britain (for Canada) for the protection of migratory birds — also called the Migratory Bird Treaty — that was signed on August 16, 1916. A century...
NCC's new Happy Valley Forest Hike Series
Participants listen in as Todd Farrell talks about the plants in Happy Valley Forest (Photo by Evelyn Senyi)
City, meet nature “How far do you think we are from Dundas Square?” It’s an odd question that Todd Farrell, coordinator of conservation biology in central Ontario for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), poses to a group of...
Creating homes for waterfowl in the Codroy Valley
Kathy Unger (NCC) and Danielle Fequet (DUC) showing the students a nest box prior to installation (Photo by NCC)
On May 30, 2016, my colleague Kathy Unger and I had the pleasure of partnering with Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) to offer a waterfowl and wetland education event to the students of Belanger Memorial Elementary School. The Nature Conservancy of...
