Finding nature at home
Toronto skyline (Photo by Taxiarchos228, Wikimedia Commons)
Nature and cities can seem like opposing ends of an ecological spectrum. Many see nature in its purist form only in wilderness — where our human influence is minimal, or at least hidden. Cities are the grey places on the map that testify to...
Pines, beetles and bears, oh my! The relationship of bugs, bears and trees in western Canada and the U.S.
Grizzly bear (Photo by Erwin and Peggy Bauer/USFWS)
A Huffington Post article titled “In The American West, A Battle Unfolds Over Bugs, Climate Change And The Fate Of An Iconic Species” recently caught the eye of staff at the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). In it, writer Kate...
What does the fox say? Well, that wasn't really the focus of this study
Gray fox on Pelee Island, ON (Photo by NCC)
I find it quite bizarre how Canadians were overwhelmingly curious about what the fox says this year. As the video went viral over the last few months, I found myself joking with colleagues that any biologist worth their weight has been aware of...
Even rarer than a panda: How the Minnesota Zoo and NCC are collaborating to save one of the world's most endangered butterflies
Poweshiek skipperling, MB (Photo by Erik Runquist, Minnesota Zoo)
Listed as an endangered species in Manitoba in 2012 and nationally as threatened, the Poweshiek skipperling has decreased dramatically throughout North America. In Canada, It is known to only inhabit 17 fields in southeastern Manitoba, primarily...
Of bugs and slugs: Pint-sized citizen scientist discovers a strange blue slug, far from home
Blue-grey taildropper (Photo courtesy of Habitat Acquisition Trust)
My seven-year-old son Malcolm was excited about going on the Slug & Snail Walk at Chase Woods. He loves hiking, and I hadn’t the heart to tell him that there likely wouldn’t be a lot of actual hiking on this field trip. Slugs and...
