Your happy place: Find your own paradise island in the Hochelaga Archipelago
Aerial photo of the Hochelaga Archipelago islands, QC (Photo by ALM Par Avion)
When you think of an island, your mind often travels to a distant oasis, with tall palm trees and saltwater waves crashing onto a white-sand shore. In the midst of the busy-ness of day-to-day life, it’s easy to daydream about a peaceful...
Dive into Grand Cayman's pristine waters
Me diving in Grand Cayman (Photo by Rick Lambert)
In April, I went on a week-long scuba diving trip to Grand Cayman with 12 other members of a Toronto-based scuba diving club I belong to. While I had been diving in the Caribbean Sea several times before this trip, this was my first time doing it...
Keep Halifax Wild
Colpitt Lake inside the Halifax Wilderness Park (Photo by Adam Cornick)
The international City Nature Challenge was bigger than ever this year, pitting 159 urban centres in a competition to identify the most diversity of living things, from New York to Hong Kong, Athens to Cape Town. This year was particularly...
Support local biodiversity by avoiding invasive plants in your garden
Winged euonymus (Photo by John Ruter/University of Georgia/Bugwood.org)
With gardening season upon us, the warm weather brings hope that your favourite plot of soil will be better than it was last year. At the Invasive Species Centre, we have one request as you mull over your garden plans for 2019: please avoid the...
Tune in: Let the birds be your guide at Abraham Lake Nature Reserve
Abraham Lake, NS (Photo by Dan Hutt)
Jim Cameron describes Abraham Lake as a quiet oasis away from civilization. That is, until the silence on the trail that weaves through the property is interrupted by one of the area’s many winged residents. “Standing near the...
What do we save? How science and planning are evolving to help make critical conservation decisions
Participants of the Open Standards workshop led by the Conservation Coaches Network (Photo by NCC)
In a world that is rapidly losing wildlife and habitats, conservation has become a science of decision-making. We know there are many places and species in Canada that will not survive unless we take action to protect and restore them. Deciding...
The story behind the carapace platform
Snapping turtle crossing the road (Photo by Olivier Cameron-Trudel)
On World Turtle Day (May 23), I will kick off a third season of carapace.ca. Since its launch across Quebec in 2017, the popularity of this online tool, which allows citizens to report the presence of turtles on roads, has been growing. Every...
International Day of Biological Diversity: A thank you note to Algonquin Park
Joe Lake, Algonquin Provincial Park (Photo by Brett Hodnett/Wikimedia Commons)
Three. That’s how many Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) supporters recently (within the span of a week) shared with me that their current passion for nature and support for our work at NCC was sparked by spending time in Algonquin Park...
Think globally, conserve locally
Blanding's turtle (Photo by Gabrielle Fortin)
At the beginning of May, representatives of 132 governments around the world released a United Nations report that issues a stark warning: the accelerating deterioration of nature is jeopardizing humanity’s collective future. The report is...
Success under pressure: Helping landowners succeed with stewardship in southwestern Ontario
Acadian flycatcher (Photo by Bill Hubick)
The Carolinian ecoregion of Canada makes up one per cent of the country’s total land mass and is limited to southwestern Ontario. Many of the region’s 70 tree species — such as tuliptree, pawpaw and sycamore — are found...
