Lessons learned from Mother Goose: How I learned to appreciate Canada geese through three seasons of careful observation
Canada goose (Photo by Denise Harris)
Sometimes we don’t know what we have until we lose it, and that is exactly how I feel about Canada geese this spring. This year, I have discovered the territorial a flock of Canada geese who conveniently bred in my urban backyard for the...
Learning to listen to the land
The band in action with our throat-singing friends Lynda Brown and Heidi Langille (Photo by Dan Roy)
What does “tracing one warm line” mean to you? You may recognize the phrase from the classic Canadian folk song, Stan Rogers’ “Northwest Passage.” It describes a journey into a mythological northern homeland that we...
A hidden gem in the city of Vaughan
Mark showing the group the geographical features of the area (Photo by NCC)
We’re seeing more reports in the media of nature’s benefits to our health and well-being and the need for communities to reconnect with nature. Private land conservation is at the core of the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s...
There's nothing
Barr Island south shore (Photo by Gary Bouchard)
Last night was probably my final night for this blessedly long season on the Big Lake. I was there in a monitoring capacity; my contract with the Nature Conservancy of Canada brings me out each field season (since 2012), to assess visitor...
Giving time for growth: Why volunteering to help nature is vital to our happiness
Volunteering at a local community garden (Photo by Micheline Khan)
National Volunteer Week (NVW), which takes place April 10-16 this year, celebrates millions of volunteers across Canada and recognizes them for their efforts. As NVW nears, I have been thinking about my personal motivation for volunteering over...
Paradise for daytrippers and stargazers
Star trails over Butala Homestead in OMB at dawn, SK (Photo by Alan Dyer)
Imagine plains so vast and wide that the night sky is flooded with stars and the Milky Way as far as the eye can see. There is one Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) property renowned for its rolling grasslands and nightscape: Old Man on His Back...
Look up more
Old Man on His Back, SK, has just been named Canada's second Dark Sky Preserve (Photo by Alan Dyer)
I love the dark. I am that person that perpetually goes around the room and turns off all the lights, so that you, slightly annoyed at the lack of visibility, have to go around and turn them all on again. I’m that person that wears...
Sand dunes that want to be free
Asquith North 3 starts off pretty unassuming, a fairly flat piece of dry grassland, but a somewhat stunted forest of aspen and shrubs hides a transitioning to dramatic sand dunes frozen in place (Photo by NCC)
Asquith North 3, a Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) property that abuts Crown land, is one of my favourite places to visit. That’s a little weird for a NCC staffer in Saskatchewan to say because it really isn't good burrowing owl habitat,...
A race for survival, and a photo finish
Ella enjoying the sunrise along the Beaver River trail (Photo by Mark Stabb/NCC staff)
Nature lovers are spoiled by the phenomenal wildlife footage circulating on various media these days. But you don’t have to be a cinematographer to capture real-life wildlife “foot”-age of your own. This little photo essay shows...
Owl angels in the snow
Have you ever seen an owl's snow angel? (Photo by Jaimee Dupont/NCC staff)
My hometown is a small, lovely and isolated boreal mining town in northern Manitoba. On a recent trip back to visit family, my husband and I were out for an evening walk when we stopped alongside the edge of town to marvel at the silence. That...
