Don’t trust lady’s-slippers (if you’re a bee)
This honeybee was tricked into pollinating this yellow lady’s-slipper. (Photo by Steven Anderson/NCC staff)
Before I began working at the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), I spent six years studying the pollination of two species of lady’s-slipper orchids in Manitoba and the northern U.S. While I no longer spend all of my time thinking about...
Hummingbirds: The forgotten pollinator when it comes to pesticides
Female rufous hummingbird (Photo by Jennifer Kepler CC BY-NC)
When life is leaping forth in its freshest tender green and shrubs are casting their best wine-rich blooms of colour, there comes a humming. Not just from the song of spring rising in the world, but from wing beats — 52 to 62 per...
Making friends with the solitary bees
Blue orchard bee (Photo by Robert Engelhardt)
When you think of bees, your mind probably goes to honey, hives and stingers. But what if I told you that there was a species of bee, native to the Saskatchewan prairies, that didn’t make honey, live in a hive or (usually) sting? Mason bees...
Monarch migration
Monarch (Photo by NCC)
Fall is fast approaching. As the days grow shorter and temperatures drop, it’s time for monarchs to migrate south for the winter. These iconic bright-orange butterflies will soon be replaced by pumpkins and turning leaves. Monarchs spend...
Wildlife crossings: Opening the way for the good of wildlife
Wildlife crossings make roads safer. (Photo by Wikimedia Commons)
Whether in the form of bridges or tunnels, wildlife crossings make roads safer by protecting humans and animals from collisions while helping maintain the connectivity of natural environments. “Things are not always what they seem: the deer...
Point counts at Wideview: 10,000 steps by 7 a.m.
Wideview, SK (Photo by NCC)
3 a.m.: Why am I awake this early? The only other creatures awake right now are the birds. Oh, right. The birds are exactly why I’m awake this early. It’s time for point counts at the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s)...
Something’s Fishy: Dace of shade
Redside dace (Photo by K. Schmidt)
Fine, I’ll say it: as a redhead, I have an affinity for red-coloured species. It’s an unspoken alliance we gingers have — walking, swimming or climbing through a world where we might stand out from the crowd based on our...
The shorebirds’ favourite rest stop
Piping plover (Photo by Sean Landsman)
Over the last 20 years, several conservation organizations, including the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), have supported the operation of the Chaplin Nature Centre, located just outside of the town of Chaplin in southern...
Connecting with shorebirds at a unique Conservation Volunteers event
Naomi Derksen (Photo by Bill Armstrong)
While attending the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) shorebird tour Conservation Volunteers (CV) event in June, I met first-time CV Naomi Derksen. Naomi found her way to the event through a roundabout internet route. She was...
Meadows for Monarchs
Meadows for Monarchs event participants (Photo by NCC)
If you thought you saw more monarchs flitting about last summer and fall, you were right. Monarch Watch reported that 2018 was a good year for the iconic orange and black butterfly, thanks to a combination of aggressive conservation efforts in...
