Spot the species on World Wetlands Day
Coastal wetlands of Sandy Island, eastern Georgian Bay coast, Ontario (Photo by NCC)
If one slogan can help us appreciate wetlands more, for me it would be: “wetlands are not wastelands.” In fact, the term “wetlands” represents a wide variety of habitats (such as bogs, marshes and swamps) that offer a rich...
Lichen: 10 reasons to make it your new favourite hobby for 2016
Troy McMullin, lichenologist from the University of Guelph, takes a lichen sample from a rock. (Photo by NCC)
As we enter into the crisp, blank canvas of a new year, many of us have laid out plans and promises to become fitter, smarter, nicer, happier, richer versions of ourselves. Some plans for self-improvement may include trying a new activity like...
Badlands in Canada
Horseshoe Canyon (Photo by NCC)
As a child, almost all of my family holidays were spent packing up the camper and heading west from Edmonton to go camping in the mountains. As a result, I viewed Alberta predominantly as a province of trees, mountains, lakes and foothills. This...
A new hope for nature: Was 2015 a turning point for conservation?
Bayers Island in Musquodoboit Harbour, Nova Scotia (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
No one was expecting 2015 to be a special year for nature conservation. As we started the year, it seemed Canadians were mostly focused on the economy, security and health care. Yet when we reflect on the year that was, it’s clear the...
Nice habitats, but not for humans
A brightly-coloured mushroom in an alder thicket in the Chignecto Isthmus, NB (Photo by Joanna Hudgins)
As a Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) intern, I spent many days this past summer strolling along beaches that rival the Caribbean for their beauty. Not all days could be like that, of course, so some days I hiked (or rather, scrambled) through...
Reptiles and amphibians of the Happy Valley Forest
Red eft (the immature form of the spotted newt) are the commonest reptile in the Happy Valley Forest and crowd the forest trails during egg-laying time. (Photo by Dr. Henry Barnett)
The reptile species in the Happy Valley Forest number 19. The area provides one of the last redoubts for the threatened Jefferson’s salamander. Red efts are common, red-backed and spotted salamanders will be regularly seen in the but the...
The rocky intertidal: Starring Pisaster ochraceus
The sea star team (from left to right: Maggie Cascadden, Marianna DiMauro, Chloe Boyle, Aimee McGowan, Mike Huck) (Photo by Anne Salomon)
Between ocean and land exists a remarkable place unlike any other in the world: the intertidal zone, where marine ecosystems are both exposed to air at low tide and under water during high tide. This unique space where land and sea meet is...
The Traills at Rice Lake
A view of the former home of Canadian author Catharine Parr Traill taken on Friday, September 19, 2014 on Smith Rd. in Lakefield. (Photo by Clifford Skarstedt/Peterborough Examiner/QMI Agency)
Ontarians usually associate Catharine Parr Traill with her book, The Backwoods of Canada. Those backwoods were located near Lakefield where she and her husband Thomas first pioneered on land just to the south of what is now Lakefield College...
Wetlands update from the Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve
First light on the Garry oaks. (Photo by Ren Ferguson)
The morning was a beauty, with mist rising from Quamichan Lake illuminated in the rich sunrise. I was in for a treat. As I walked through the fields past huge Garry oak trees, I saw a fine black-tailed deer buck with shiny antlers and muscles...
The Hunger Games' new Tributes (of nature)
Grizzly bear (Painting by David Arrigo) represents one of the several Canadian animals you can sponsor this holiday season.
Welcome to the Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC’s) Hunger Games! This year there are six tributes battling it out for Canada’s pledges. In honour of the underground District, here are 13 tweetable facts about NCC’s annual...
