Nature's most dedicated dads
Red foxes (Photo by GDallimore/Wikimedia Commons)
Across the world, millions of animal fathers strive to ensure their offspring’s survival. In honour of Father’s Day, learn about 10 of the animal kingdom’s most devoted dads and the fascinating ways they look after their...
Song of Northern Superior
White-throated sparrow (Photo by Wikimedia Commons)
It was a chilly April morning in southern Ontario, so all of the windows in my house were closed. But I could still hear something outside. I quickly pushed open the window and listened. There it was — the cheery song of the white-throated...
10 tweetable facts about turtles
Snapping turtle (Photo by Ryan M. Bolton)
World Turtle Day, May 23, is an annual occasion that American Tortoise Rescue began 17 years ago to honour and promote turtle and tortoise conservation around the world. Sadly, global turtle and tortoise populations are declining because of...
Understanding the buzz of bees
Honey bee (Photo from Bees Matter)
For residents of northern Alberta, the coming of spring is never a guarantee of the mild weather it suggests; but this year we’ve been pleasantly surprised by the seasonal warmth. The bees here have also appreciated the early thaw, with many...
Searching for worms in Ontario’s restored tall grass prairie
Ontario’s largest exotic earthworm, Lumbricus terrestris. (Photo by Heather Cray)
Looking across a beautiful stretch of native tall grass prairie in its full glory, the first thing that might strike you is, well, the grass; big bluestem, switchgrass, Indian grass, all of them might reach up to or above eye level. Then there are...
This man's first sign of spring
Blue-winged olive (Photo by Paul Weamer)
For many, spring can often be hard to pinpoint. A botanist may list countless flowering plants, a birdwatcher may look to the skies in search of spring in the form of returning melodies, while Homo consumeris will notice the piles of winter...
Heard it from a Scout: The business of bees
Female squash bee on a male pumpkin flower (Photo by Margaret Chan)
Everything in our world is connected. So when you get a group of species dying at an extremely rapid rate, such as bees, it not only affects them, but humans and other species too. Pollinators provide a monumental impact on wild plants and crops,...
Saving the planet, one species at a time
Eastern mountain avens (Photo by June Swift)
Save the oceans. Save the rainforest. Save the planet. These are all incredible, daunting, pursuit-worthy goals, but to a student in Nova Scotia, these problems seem very distant. Although we ultimately all feel the effects of environmental...
The wonderful world of sparrows
House sparrow (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)
When asked to picture a sparrow, I think a lot of us, especially city dwellers, think of the common house sparrow. Though ubiquitous across southern Canada, this little sparrow is not actually native to North America. This introduced species hails...
A species' international highway
White-tailed deer (Photo by Lorne)
Humans aren’t the only creatures on Earth that need to get around. Animals in the wild have to travel as well, some to migrate, some to hunt and others to find mates. And that explains the importance of the Frontenac Arch, a...
