Staying fit while exploring nature
Hiking along Horseshoe Canyon, AB (Photo by Brett Gilmour)
When I was applying for jobs, I focused on positions that would get me outside and that were in the conservation field. During my job hunt, I applied for a position with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) as a summer conservation technician,...
The melancholy mantra of the mourning dove
Fairy Hill property (Photo by Bill Armstrong)
Your imagination can, at times, completely devour your inhibitions to a point where those thoughts intensify and manifest in your brain. In this moment, you don’t know where reality ends and fantasy begins. Today was such a day. It was a...
Heard it from a Scout: Exploring Alberta trails
Scout troop hiking along trail in a forest (Photo courtesy Scouts Canada)
There are many trails in Alberta to explore in a variety ways, including hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and much more. Trails are in national parks, open-to-the-public conservation areas and all around us. While there are probably hundreds,...
For the bison: A day at Old Man on His Back
Plains bison, Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area, SK (Photo by NCC)
Upon waking up, I look out the window of the interpretive centre at the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area (OMB) in Saskatchewan. I watch the bursting sunrise stretch...
Gaff Point, Nova Scotia - a feast for the senses
New pathway, Gaff Point, NS (Photo by NCC)
Gaff Point is a lush peninsula dangling into the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Nova Scotia. If you look due south from the bottom tip of the point, and if you could actually see far enough, the land on the horizon would be South America. Gaff...
Nature's never boring: Paddling the Rat River
Lisa paddling along the Rat River (Photo by NCC)
Growing up, my interest in the outdoors stemmed from camping trips with my family and backroad Sunday drives, led by my dad, in hopes of finding a secluded fishing hole. Today, I’ve made a little home along the Rat River, a small tributary...
Experimenting with native species in small spaces
Honeybee on butterflyweed (Photo by NCC)
Earlier this summer, a group of Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) Leaders in Conservation visited St. Williams Nursery & Ecology Centre in Norfolk County, Ontario, for a tour of the nursery's impressive facility. With several years of...
Heard it from a Scout: 10 apps to help you explore nature
Exploring nature safely and effectively has never been easier with technology at our fingertips. (Photo courtesy Scouts Canada)
Technology is on the rise, and it seems like people are always saying, “There’s an app for that.” This trend also applies to the nature buffs out there who love learning more about the outdoors! As a fellow nature enthusiast and...
Exploring Canada on four wheels
Chris Perrin in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, BC, 2006. (Photo courtesy Chris Perrin)
I first visited British Columbia in 2006. My brother, our mutual friend and I decided to make an early summer road trip from Montreal to Tofino and back — all in two weeks. There wasn’t any particular reason for the trip other than a...
Trading screens for shovels: NCC national staff lend a hand for nature
NCC National staff joined Ontario field staff for a day of planting and pulling and cutting down invasive species (Photo by NCC)
The sun was shining down on the Barr property in southern Ontario as the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) national staff gathered around Todd Farrell, NCC’s conservation biology coordinator for the Ontario Region. We were learning our...
