A walk in the woods: Montane forest
Skaha Bluffs, BC (Photo by NCC)
I grew up in Williams Lake, British Columbia; it's a place known for ranching, logging, milling and mining. It’s also known for wide, open spaces, forests as far as the eye can see, sparkling lakes and wild rivers. My parents, who hailed...
A UNESCO site in the heart of southwestern Ontario
Backus Woods, Ontario (Photo by NCC)
Backus Woods added to the core of the Long Point World Biosphere Reserve In the heart of the Southern Norfolk Sand Plain Natural Area in southwestern Ontario is a spectacular ancient Carolinian forest: Backus Woods, secured by the Nature...
From prairie to forest: My journey to a new natural area
Tall grass prairie (Photo by Jenna Siu/NCC)
I spent many of my formative years as a field biologist in the Carolinian region of Ontario, which includes Norfolk and the surrounding counties. The fragmented landscape is largely agricultural with bits of restored tallgrass prairie and...
Seeing the forest and the trees
Clayoquot Island Preserve, BC (Photo by NCC)
Canada is a forest nation. About 35 per cent (or roughly 3.48 million square kilometres) of the country is covered by forest. That’s an area larger than the size of India! In fact Canada’s forests are bigger than all but five of the...
A walk in the woods: Wabanaki (Acadian) old-growth forest
Wabanaki (Acadian) forest, Chignecto Isthmus, NS (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
If you’re at all like me, coming across big, old trees while exploring the woods is always a thrill. Over the past four years, as conservation biologist with the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Atlantic Region, I’ve...
NCC staff share their Natural Happy Places (Part One)
NCC's BC regional staff at Kumdis River Conservation Area (Photo by NCC)
At the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) we have staff members from across the country, each bringing a unique perspective to conservation nationally and in their home province. From forests to coastlines, like every Canadian, NCC staff have...
Poems for Trees: Wilson Island
Wilson Island's cobble shores, Ontario (Photo by Michelle Derosier, Thunderstone Pictures)
In August 2011 I visited the Wilson Island Archipelago with Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) staff Brenda Van Sleeuwen and former NCCer Laura Mousseau, along with Pays Plat First Nation seasonal employees Gary Bouchard and Andrew Wynne. Our goal...
A whoosh in the night
Common nighthawk resting on its nest (Photo by NCC)
Wandering through the forests, grasslands, and alvars of the Bruce Peninsula at dusk brings a certain calm to the soul; a type of peace that is seldom found in the bustle of a city at night. The forests are abuzz with the sounds of nocturnal...
Nature Days: Healthy children in healthy spaces
Students from Adrienne Clarkson Public School spend a day exploring NCC's Goldie Feldman Nature Reserve in Ontario (Photo by Sandy Nicholson Photography)
In recent years, a number of reports have suggested that screen time has taken a serious toll on children’s mental and physical well-being. But when kids ditch their screens to get their hands dirty in nature, amazing things can...
NCC's new Happy Valley Forest Hike Series
Participants listen in as Todd Farrell talks about the plants in Happy Valley Forest (Photo by Evelyn Senyi)
City, meet nature “How far do you think we are from Dundas Square?” It’s an odd question that Todd Farrell, coordinator of conservation biology in central Ontario for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), poses to a group of...
