Are you seeing the whole picture? Using elevation data to help conserve biodiversity
Elevation data showing the Beaver Creek River Valley. Historic data (100-metre resolution) vs. newly available LiDAR data (> one-metre resolution). (Image by NCC)
As a land planner, I am always looking for new ways to learn more about the landscapes in which the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) works. Enter LiDAR (or light detection and ranging), a technology that has been around for decades but...
We can recover Canada’s wildlife: Five examples of species NCC is helping save
Small white lady's-slipper (Photo by Melissa Grantham)
These are tough times for many wildlife species and their habitats. Over three-quarters of Earth’s terrestrial ecosystems (excluding Antarctica) have been directly modified by human activities1 , and most of our shrinking global wilderness...
Manitoba: More than what can be seen from the highway
Tall grass prairie, Manitoba (Photo by NCC)
As you drive through Manitoba along the Trans-Canada Highway, you might get the impression that the province is flat and covered in aspen trees and agricultural lands. But there is much more to Manitoba than what can be seen from the...
The seasons of nature: Witnessing an ever-changing landscape along the Agassiz Interpretive Trail
Agassiz Trail, MB (Photo by NCC)
At the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Agassiz Interpretive Trail in southeast Manitoba, a change of seasons brings a different tune to the landscape. In spring, you may hear sharp-tailed grouse rustling in the forest or...
Connecting with nature, people and snowshoes on Stony Mountain, Manitoba
Snowshoers at Stony Mountain Prairie Preserve, MB (Photo courtesy of Julie Sveinson Pelc/NCC staff)
Winter on Manitoba’s wide open prairies is cold, windy and dark, and it seems to go on forever. It is easy to hibernate indoors all winter, under a warm blanket by the fire, with a good book and warm drink, but I wanted this winter to be...
Adjusting to change
Assiniboine Delta, MB (Photo by Jordan Becker)
“According to Darwin’s Origin of Species, it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the...
Acknowledging change
Growing up on a farm in southwestern Manitoba, some of my clearest memories are of the extreme temperatures I experienced. (Photo courtesy of Steven Anderson)
“Everything changes and nothing stands still.” ~ Heraclitus of Ephesus, as quoted by Plato Growing up on a farm in southwestern Manitoba, some of my clearest memories are of the extreme temperatures I experienced in that lovely...
6 Nature Destinations to visit this winter
Bunchberry Meadows, AB (Photo by Brent Calver)
Winter has made its way across Canada. Long gone are the changing leaves and the fall jackets, the latter now stored away as we bring out parkas better suited for the tough Canadian winters. With landscapes covered in blankets of snow and trees...
Please fence me in
Tim Teetaert and Stephen Gietz installing fences at the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve (Photo by NCC)
If you drove down Manitoba Provincial Road 201 this past summer, you may have seen Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) staffers installing fencing along a portion of NCC land at the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve. You may have even asked...
Travels with Cary
Cary Hamel (Photo by NCC)
I really don’t remember many of the specifics from reading John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley. I’m pretty sure Charley was John’s large, curly-haired poodle, which I guess is somewhat similar to my Manitoba counterpart,...
