Learning to listen: Bringing students closer to nature
A teacher conducts a lesson in the forest (Photo by the Nature Office for the International Day of Forest Kindergarten)
Children and young students face a world that competes for and demands their attention every second of every day. Teachers face an even more daunting task, as they work to hold their students’ attention while educating and nourishing their...
#NatureForAll... Forever
Exploring Musquash Estuary (photo by Mike Dembeck)
On International Day of Friendship, July 30, 2019, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is celebrating its involvement with #NatureForAll, a global initiative encouraging people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to connect with nature. NCC...
In the absence of nature
Child playing in nature (Photo by Cathy Shaluk)
I've become very familiar with the concept of cabin fever while at university. It is the week of final exams and I have studied for days, either at the library or at my dorm. Sitting among all the papers and study notes, I begin to feel antsy...
Common ground conservation
Downtown Vancouver (Photo by Adam Hunter/NCC staff)
We’re currently running one of the world’s biggest experiments. You’re part of it, and I’m part of it. For the first time in the history of modern humans, we’ve attempted to detach ourselves, and our children, from...
Earth Day 2018: Buddies, boundaries and nearby nature
Red trillium (Photo by Sherry Nigro)
Earth Day is a good time to think about the future. How do we ensure our children grow up healthy and happy? Research suggests that the answer is right outside our back door: help them connect with nature. Benefits of time in nature Spending...
Tips on how to squeeze in time for nature
Skating at –41 C (Photo by Gayle Roodman/NCC staff)
We all lead busy lives, full of work and family commitments, errands and to-do lists that, over the course of a day, seem to magically grow longer. It’s easy to become consumed by it all, but there’s nothing like a little nature to...
Greenspace makes for great headspace
Hikers in Happy Valley Forest, ON (Photo by NCC)
The natural world has always been my fall-back position. Whenever life got too busy, scary or stressful or even when it was at its most fulfilling, I seemed to want, in fact to need, to find some green space to process it all, for a while. As a...
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...
The biggest nature lesson I learned from kids
Children walking in the woods, Bunchberry Meadows Conservation Area, AB (Photo by Kyle Marquardt)
Years ago I worked at an overnight summer camp as its nature director. My main role was to teach and help campers discover the beauty of Mother Nature. I was given very few guidelines, other than it was highly recommended that I take the campers...
Why our pedestrian trails are more important than ever
Trail building with the cubs (Photo by Bill Wilson)
I believe that pedestrian hiking trails are more important for the welfare of our communities than ever before. I’d like to elaborate on why this is so. I’d also like to express why it so very important for more volunteers to support...
