Mopping up Mortlach with MEC
Volunteers Jeffrey Price and Dylan Gross roll wire and clear the fence line at NCC's Mortlach Conservation Volunteer event, Fall 2014. (Photo by NCC)
The purchase of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) property near Mortlach, Saskatchewan was partly funded by a donation from the Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC). As a member of MEC since the mid-1970s, I wanted to help "mop up" the Mortlach...
A personal prairie legacy: The Tim K. Hodgson Prairie Stewardship Challenge Fund
Tim Hodgson at Horseshoe Dam (Photo courtesy of Tim Hodgson)
Caring for land is personal. Over 10 years ago, I realized native wildlife habitat conservation was the most meaningful thing to which I could contribute my energy, expertise and time. It was 2003, and I was re-evaluating what I was achieving in...
NCC staff's fall fashion lineup
Our lovely CV staff model their fall fashion essentials (by NCC)
Although the summer months are over, our staff members are still hard at work. Conservation Volunteers events continue into the fall; in some provinces they go as late as November. And even though they’re out in the field, our Nature...
Yes, B’y! Adventures in the Grassy Place.
Mountaintop lake, Grassy Place, NL (Photo by NCC)
As conservation planner for the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC's) Nova Scotia and Newfoundland programs, I am fortunate to have visited some truly astonishing places in the Atlantic Region. The latest mission was to reach a 3,880-acre...
Eel-grass: A moment in time
Eel-grass, Port Joli, Nova Scotia (Photo by NCC)
As we bushwhack through dense alder thickets, we hear the drone of a small plane flying back and forth over the Pugwash Estuary. It is a perfect summer day in August with a clear blue sky, perfect for capturing aerial imagery of Pugwash. The...
Sometimes, not knowing the answer makes life a little more interesting
Danielle Horne in the field (Photo by NCC)
I first heard of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) during my undergraduate degree, which I completed a few years ago. NCC’s focus on working with willing landowners and taking a non-advocacy stance was what initially drew me to the...
Land lines on Old Man on his Back
Evening sky at Old Man on His Back Ranch, SK (Photo by Branimir Gjetvaj)
I was walking with fellow volunteers and Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) staff members when someone — I can’t remember who — shouted, “car!” It was an inspired bit of irony, because while my mind was immediately...
Where the roads have no name: Road deactivation on the Darkwoods property
Culvert deactivation, Darkwoods, BC (Photo by NCC)
“Ok pickup truck, you’re good to go,” the crew chief calls over the radio. We cautiously crawl across the active logging site en route to Darkwoods, the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC's) vast conservation area in...
The force of fire on the Rice Lake Plains
Prescribed burn on Hazel Bird property, Rice Lake Plains, ON (Photo by NCC)
Wildfires cause a lot of destruction each summer. There are dramatic videos and pictures in the news every year. So why did the Rice Lake Plains Joint Initiative (RLPJI) partner organizations purposely light several fires this spring? In some...
Sustainability is the new buzzword
Conservation Volunteers cleanup event at the Crowsnest Pass, AB (Photo by NCC)
Sustainability is the new buzzword. You see it everywhere: everything that aims to be green is "sustainable" or "sustainably produced" nowadays. But what does this word, sustainability, mean? According to www.dictionary.com, sustainability is...
