Reciprocity in our relations
Group of Conservation Volunteers at the Red Deer Fence Pull event (Photo by NCC)
When we think about the relationships we have in our lives, it is easy to think about our family and friends. These are people who we can talk to and who we associate with love and happiness. When you think about the relationships in your life,...
Prairie perceptions: Learning from landowners
Property in southeast Saskatchewan with a conservation easement with NCC (Photo by Jason Bantle)
This summer I was hired as a conservation intern assigned to help Marla, the stewardship coordinator in southeast Saskatchewan. Together, Marla and I travelled to the properties in southeast Saskatchewan that the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC)...
Gaining a new perspective: Learning about Two-Eyed Seeing on a Medicine Trail walk
Grandmother Buffalo leading the Medicine Trail walk (Photo by NCC)
On Wednesday, June 22, the day after National Indigenous Peoples Day, a team of interpreters from the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Johnson’s Mills Shorebird and Interpretive Centre headed to the Fort Folly First Nation...
A day in the life of a field biologist
Field technician Breanne Kenner with a successful catch! (Photo by NCC)
There are numerous findings in the world of science, and conservation biology specifically, that would not be possible without field work. As part of my conservation internship with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), I have been given the...
The pine needle game
Play a game of Guess Who? with pine needles from four species (Painted by Mena Wallace)
Trees are a wonderous thing. Most of the time we barely notice them amid the scurry of our busy days, but every now and then you encounter a showstopper. I’m always on the lookout for a new tree to discover because species identification is...
When tiny things make your heart sing
Selfie of Logan and Breanna hiking in Waterton National Park, AB (Photo courtesy of Breanna Silversides)
In the winter of 2017, I saw an advertisement for the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Conservation Internship Program. I was in the middle of law school and had planned to return to the summer job that I had worked at and loved...
Wallowing: More than scratching an itch for plains bison
Bison at Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area (Photo by Jason Bantle)
Have you ever had an itch that you just couldn’t scratch? Needed to cool down on a hot summer day in the Prairies? Want a new way to show off to the ladies? If you answered yes to any of these questions, have you tried simply rolling around...
The ants that herd aphids
Oleander aphids (Photo by cory_silas_sheffield, CC BY-NC 4.0)
On July 21, 2021, I was carrying out annual conservation monitoring at the Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area (OMB), when I came across an unusual sight: much of the silver sagebrush that covers the property was covered...
Learning new things in familiar places
Forest canopy in Backus Woods, ON (Photo by Neil Ever Osborne)
To most people, warmer weather means soaking up the sun at the beach, making a northern weekend getaway to a picturesque cottage, or spending time with friends and family around the campfire or barbeque. While this applies to those of us in the...
Mouse-ear hawkweed: Friend or foe?
Mouse-ear hawkweed flower (Photo by mhalsted, CC BY-NC 4.0)
A species is considered invasive or alien when it is located outside its natural distribution and threatens humans and/or the environment. There aren’t a lot of clear answers about the impact of certain invasive species and the problem is...
