Like a rock, elm that is
Short, gnarly side branches all the way up the tree (Photo by Bill Moses)
My interest in botany came late in life. To compensate, I have restricted my primary interest to approximately 175 species of native woody plants of Grey and Bruce Counties. I try to give each one of them equal status and attention. Building on...
Dissecting the dandelion
Dandelion (Photo by Yinan Chen, Wikimedia Commons)
This past summer I found myself in an unexpected scenario: on a wild foraging expedition in the heart of a concrete jungle, in my own backyard. The middle of a backyard, from house to gravel alleyway, is not the first place that comes to mind when...
Stories from stewards of the land: The Cuzen property (Part Two)
Closeup photograph of the pinnae of a sterile frond of the cinnamon fern (Photo by Derek Ramsey, Wikimedia Commons)
In Part One I described how I got intertwined with the Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC's) work and my experience at the Cuzen property (the sole property within the Galbraith stewardship project at present). A special part of the Cuzen...
Stories from stewards of the land: The Cuzen property (Part One)
Periwinkle (Photo by Wikimedia Commons)
I have had many positive interactions with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) over the years. It is surely one of my favourite nature groups to volunteer with. You see, I have no formal educational background in botany or environmental studies...
Invasive species and the steward's role
Phragmites (Photo by Wikimedia Commons)
More and more land is being conserved these days by various conservation groups. This is a good thing, but coming with that is a responsibility to protect and manage that land. Unless there are local offices, the most efficient way to carry out...
rare team collects seeds for conservation
rare team partners with NCC to collect native grasses seeds, Central Big Creek Property, Norfolk County (Photo by Carleigh Pope)
Staff from the rare Charitable Research Reserve (rare) were very excited to join hands with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) for another joint initiative to maintain a healthy natural environment in Ontario. Founded in 2001, rare is a more...
Ferns and mosses of the Happy Valley Forest
The Christmas fern, green against dead leaves in the fall (Photo by Dr. Henry Barnett)
The Happy Valley Forest is home to a large number of common and uncommon ferns (my daughter Ann Love has records of 18 fern species in this forest area). The Christmas fern is very common in the forest and at its edges. It retains its green...
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...
What's in a salt marsh?
Wilson Lake and Lobster Bay, NS (Photo by Anthony Crawford)
My field work for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) often takes me through a number of different habitats, including salt marshes. Some are big, some are small, most are just right. One of these salt marshes is located in Yarmouth County,...
Labrador tea, growing wild in the Big Land
Not much colour in the Labrador tea, but amazing flavour. (Photo by Paul Smith/ Special to The Telegram)
I returned yesterday from Labrador, the Big Land, so vast and magnificent, with waterways that may never have floated a trout fly. There are not many places like Labrador left on our planet. We need to stay on our toes to protect it, us folks who...
