Experiencing Canada’s prairie grasslands for the first time
Tall grass prairie in Manitoba (Photo by Jessica Sánchez-Jasso)
Colourful, surprising and full of life, grasslands of the Canadian Prairies are one of a kind. My first visit there deepened my passion for biology and reminded me why I fell in love with this field. From my earliest memories, I can recall...
OECMs are one of the keys to saving biodiversity
Wetland (Photo by NCC)
The conservation world is no stranger to acronyms. From global events like the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (or COP15), to how we reference areas where Indigenous-led conservation is at the forefront (Indigenous Protected and...
So you’ve acquired a property. Now what? (part two)
Invasive dog-strangling vine (Photo by NCC)
In my previous blog, I defined the term baseline inventory, described the behind-the-scenes planning stages, and laid out how we classify vegetation communities on the ground. Read on to find out what other important data we collect in the field,...
So you’ve acquired a property. Now what? (part one)
Is this what you think of when you hear conservation biology? ( Photo by Mike Dembeck)
New things are exciting. In my first few years as the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s coordinator, conservation biology for eastern Ontario, I couldn’t figure out why my favourite property kept changing. At first, it was the Emma Young...
Cultivating climate change solutions
Springbank clover has an edible root (Photo by catchang, CC BY-NC 4.0)
In the face of a changing climate and biodiversity loss, more and more we are looking to nature-based solutions. Lo and behold, the answer to these problems may be hidden just under our feet – deep within the roots of Indigenous...
Private land conservation: Another option
One property that I helped monitor this summer stood out from the rest, with its old-growth forest and fern-covered forest floor. (Photo by NCC)
As this past summer’s Nova Scotia conservation engagement intern with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), I was given the opportunity to explore the province from one tip to the other, seeing parts of the province I had never seen...
Tiny house, smaller footprint
This year, my family tested our bond and squeezed into a “tiny house” for the long weekend. (Photo by Maia Herriot)
In celebration of Family Day this year, my family tested our bond and squeezed into a “tiny house” for the long weekend. According to Tiny Home Builders, the tiny house movement is “the architectural and social movement that...
Traditional Ecological Knowledge leads to better conservation
Gámdas Tlagée (Photo by Haida Laas-Graham Richard)
Incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) when developing land and water conservation strategies is critical to help counteract climate change in Canada. Collaboration between western-based scientists and Indigenous TEK keepers is not...
Bring on the alternative lawns!
A cottontail among a red clover and black medic clover patch (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
Weeds: What are they? Unwanted, non-traditional turf? But what if there was something more to all those pesky patches of plants? For some, there’s nothing more satisfying than a healthy lawn full of lush, green grass. For others, like...
Happy Father’s Day to the ultimate bird nerd
Me as a child with my father (Photo courtesy of Maia Herriot)
There is an infamous home video of my older sister learning to ride a bike. My dad is coaching her while my mom records the milestone on a rented camcorder. When the video begins, my dad is slowly pushing my sister along, holding on to the back of...
