Garlic: The forbidden fruit? (Part Two)
Garlic (Photo by cyclonebill/Wikimedia Commons)
Part One of this blog was an overview of garlic, and the native variety growing in the Eastern Townships and Outaouais regions in Quebec. In Part Two I present you with a little garlic 101! The minimum threshold for a wild garlic population to...
Garlic: The forbidden fruit? (Part One)
Garlic (Photo by cyclonebill/Wikimedia Commons)
Picture this: the aroma of fresh garlic bread coming out of the oven to accompany your pasta dish. Garlic oil in salad dressing to top off your garden vegetables. A plant of many uses, of many medicinal properties and a kitchen staple, garlic is...
Seeing the forest and the trees
Clayoquot Island Preserve, BC (Photo by NCC)
Canada is a forest nation. About 35 per cent (or roughly 3.48 million square kilometres) of the country is covered by forest. That’s an area larger than the size of India! In fact Canada’s forests are bigger than all but five of the...
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...
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...
Getting down at the Yellow Quill Prairie
The Yellow Quill Prairie Preserve on a sunny day (Photo by Diana Bizecki Robson)
Last week I started my field season by getting down on my hands and knees to collect plants and pollinators at the Yellow Quill Prairie Preserve south of Brandon, which is owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy of Canada. While that may not...
Book review: The Vascular Plants of Bruce Peninsula, by Joe Johnson
The Vascular Plants of Bruce Peninsula (Photo by Bill Moses)
The Vascular Plants of the Bruce Peninsula, by Joe Johnson, is a landmark book in the history of botany on the Bruce Peninsula — a place described as being Ontario’s most well-known botanical destination. The first person to attempt...
Clean your office air with leafy green flair
Office plants (Photo by J. Pilsack, Wikimedia Commons)
On June 8, Canadians will be celebrating Clean Air Day. Part of Canadian Environment Week, Clean Air Day is meant to raise awareness about taking action for cleaner outdoor air. The occasion got me thinking about the quality of indoor air,...
How to be a botanist
One of the most beautiful of Happy Valley blooms is the fringed gentian flower. (Photo by Dr. Henry Barnett)
You may know from my previous posts that I consider myself an amateur botanist and spend time associating with several naturalist and conservation organizations, including the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). I try to share my experience and...
Cracking down on garlic mustard: A delicious and therapeutic experience
Garlic mustard are no match against our staff (Photo by NCC)
On May 12, Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) staff had the opportunity to step away from their desks to crack down on invasive garlic mustard at the Happy Valley Forest. Commanders of the day, Todd Farrell and Mark Stabb, asked us to form pairs...
