Perfectly perfect perfection...not!
Seeding the field in one of the few not so “slurpy” spots. (Photo by NCC)
Imagine the perfect day in the field. A day where the sky is clear and blue. The sun is warm, but not too warm. A cool breeze wisps across your face, leaving you feeling refreshed and comfortable. The birds are singing, and the butterflies are...
Digging badgers: A close encounter
A badger at its burrow. (Photo by J. Sayers, Ontario Badger Project)
“A badger? On my property? There are no badgers here!” is often the response I got from landowners in southern Ontario during my short stint as a field technician for the Ontario Badger Project. American badgers are difficult to spot;...
Way up in the trees
NCC staff carefully balancing their steps on the canopy boardwalk at Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve (Photo by NCC)
The Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC's) Ontario regional staff visited the Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve in October 2019 as part of a staff conference focused on shared learning and team building. And what better way to bond with...
The flight of the monarch inspires an international relay run
Monarch (Photo by NCC)
This is the story of the Monarch Ultra: an international relay run involving 46 ultra runners who ran along the monarch’s migratory route from Peterborough, Ontario, to Macheros, Mexico, this past fall. I yearned to understand the...
The most enchanting lump of snow
Snowy owl (Photo by ThinkStock)
As the end of the year approaches, we, the editorial staff at the Nature Conservancy of Canada, search high and low for species’ close encounter stories from our colleagues across the country. As I anxiously waited for submissions, I had...
Hide and seek in the city: Exploring Toronto's plants...with my phone
Using a smartphone to identify nature (Photo by Pixabay)
Having been on the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) editorial team for a few years, I’ve read countless stories from field staff and guest bloggers of various expertise. My job has nurtured my curiosity for animals and made...
Call of the wolf
Algonquin canoe trip in 2007. (Photo by Dawn Senyi)
“Did you hear that?” I asked my mother. We were lying on our backs on the rocks that sloped down toward one of Algonquin Park’s hundreds of interior lakes. It was warm for late summer, and the Perseids were putting on quite the...
Celebrating wetland conservation: NAWCA turns 30
Picturesque Cherry Meadows, BC (Photo by Carol Latter)
This month, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) turns 30. Passed on December 13, 1989, NAWCA is one of the most successful pieces of conservation legislation in U.S. history. Under the Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service...
Magnificent bryozoan
A jelly-like mass submerged in the canal near our garden. (Photo by MaryLin Howard Photography)
It was early October in the beautiful little hamlet of Shrewsbury, Ontario. My husband and I were doing some autumn cleanup in our flower garden, under a large willow tree on the bank of a canal. We noticed that some branches had fallen into the...
First snow at Gillies Grove
Newly planted eastern white pine (Photo by NCC)
There is something magical about the first snowfall of the year. As the coordinator of conservation biology for eastern Ontario with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), I’m lucky that I get to experience all of our beautiful properties...
