Tracking eastern loggerhead shrikes
Eastern loggerhead shrike (Photo by Dave Menke, courtesy of USFWS)
Driving past the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) Napanee Plain Alvar Nature Reserve, north of Napanee, Ontario, you might not notice anything overly special about the site. In fact, if you didn’t stop to have a closer look, you might not...
The last places on Earth: Protecting globally rare habitats in Canada (Part one)
Black oaks on the prairie and savannah, Rice Lake Plains, Ontario (Photo by NCC)
The Rice Lake Plains in Ontario, Roberts Island in Nova Scotia and King Ranch in Alberta all have something incredibly important in common: They are places that the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is working to protect. Each property provides...
Treasure hunting: The quest for queen snakes
Queen snake found on the Saugeen Bruce Peninsula in 2017. When these snakes are observed, not only do we look for signs of snake fungal disease, we also examine them for signs of injury and measure them so we can better understand the number of young versus adults in the population. (Photo by NCC)
Paddling across the lake, fellow staff from the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and I couldn’t contain our excitement. It was the first day of our annual queen snake surveys, and we were all curious about what we might find. I often...
The call of the Carden
Team Pedalling for Nature includes Cameron Curran, Aiesha Aggarwal, Dorthea Hangaard and Susan Blayney. (Photo by NCC)
Just imagine an opportunity to embark on an expedition that immerses you in the depths of wilderness, where you get to learn, explore and engage with nature alongside like-minded people — a whirlwind "safari," if you will. For 24 hours,...
Spotting species in Norfolk Forest
Jenna Siu and Kayla Ellis ready to blitz! (Photo by Amanda Bichel)
It was 11:30 a.m. on an early summer day, and a steady trickle of people were arriving at the Bird Studies Canada (BSC) headquarters in Port Rowan, Ontario. The Norfolk Important Bird and Biodiversity Area BioBlitz was set to start in just a half...
My southern beauty
A tuliptree in fall (Photo by Bernt Solymar)
As I sat on the hillside staring out at hundreds of lilacs, I couldn’t help but notice the giant trees shading out large patches of land. I’d never seen such a large tree in southern Ontario before, and I was fascinated. I had to know...
Celebrating National Forest Week the Conservation Volunteers way
Volunteers heading out to pull invasive garlic mustard at a CV event in Happy Valley Forest (Photo by Miguel Hortiguela)
I grew up near an urban forest in Hamilton, Ontario, on the west side of the mountain. The Niagara Escarpment, recognized by the UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve in 1990, runs through the middle of the city, dividing it into what’s known...
How nature helped me lose 40 pounds
Running in nature (Photo from Masterfile)
Losing weight was and always has been an uphill battle for me. I would have a good week or two, where I would hop on the scale to see it finally go down after counting calories and sweating it out at the gym, only to be defeated in the days...
6 reasons to move into the forest this fall
Ogilvie sunset on forest, BC (Photo by NCC)
Pack your belongings, health-conscious readers, because the evidence is clear: it’s time to live with nature. The benefits of spending time in green spaces are well documented. This year, Canada hosted the United Nations’ World...
Sinkholes, cliffs and ravines – oh my!
Amy exploring a section of karst forest in Cape Breton, NS (Photo by NCC)
As a conservation intern for the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Atlantic Region this summer, I’ve battled mosquitoes and deer flies, bushwhacked through rose bushes and hawthorns, almost lost a rubber boot in an open bog...
