The rapid return of bees to an early restored NCC property
Bombus (Photo by Sheila R. Colla)
I started working on a Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) property in the South Walsingham area of Norfolk County in 2007. It is a unique 400-acre (160-hectare) property. Historically, 150 acres (60 hectares) of the property were used to grow...
Off to see the swans! My day out in the field with the National office's birdwatching enthusiasts
Amy Wu, Helen Kim, Rosemary Park, Suzzette Chin (Photo by NCC)
After many cold and wet days of a long winter we woke up to a very sunny Sunday on March 30. A group of "wannabe" lady bird watchers from the National office piled in to one car and drove to Port Rowan to see the swans. None of our job...
Earth Day should be every day
Jefferson salamander (Photo by Leo Kenney, Vernal Pool Association)
Earth Day is April 22, 2014. This is the day that we show how much we appreciate the Earth by going green. That includes recycling, reusing materials and reducing the uses of some things. Have you noticed how much garbage is blowing around now...
Urban farming: Bringing communities back to nature
Cherry picking (Photo by Malgiosa Halliop)
As employees of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), something we are often encouraged to do is unplug, unwind and spend some time outside, exploring and connecting to the abundant natural spaces we are fortunate enough to have across the...
Pushing up green: A photographic study
Large-format camera lens (Photo by Wikimedia Commons, Image Gallery of the Agricultural Research Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture))
Silver maple seedlings emerge from a swamp in Grey County, Ontario. This species is a common component of treed swamps in the deciduous forest of eastern Canada but very rare beyond New Brunswick. Flowers in the spring mature into seeds quickly...
Sharing great science from the Great Lakes
Sunset over Wilson Island, Lake Superior, Ontario (Photo by Michelle Derosier, Thunderstone Pictures)
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and The Nature Conservancy (U.S.) recently published a paper in the journal Environmental Practice that analyzes the results of the recently completed biodiversity conservation strategies in context of the...
What is Alice Munro reading these days? My review of The Once and Future Great Lakes
Waves crash on the northwestern Lake Superior Coast, Ontario (Photo by John Anderson)
The Great Lakes come by their name honestly — at 244,106 square kilometres, spanning across eight states and one province, lapping the shores of approximately 35,000 islands, these five lakes have shaped the natural and cultural history of...
Any bird you can spot, I can spot better: My backyard bird bonanza
Chickadee at feeder (Photo by Kaitlyn Finnegan)
As I washed dishes at my kitchen sink I saw a flicker out of the corner of my eye. By the time I looked up, my backyard and the high wooden birdfeeder filled with sunflower seeds were both perfectly still and empty. I looked back to the sink and a...
From wasteland to wonderland: Why we need wetlands, before it’s too late
Sunset at Minesing Wetlands, ON (Photo by Ethan Meleg)
I sometimes think I need to find a support group for people that are haunted by ecological guilt. To be honest, I mostly feel pretty good about my past as an environmental consultant before joining the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). People...
My 2013 Christmas Bird Count story: Why I've become a regular CBC participant
Snowy owl (Photo by Chris Moncrieff)
There is a very cohesive feeling that comes with participating in a Christmas Bird Count. For more than 100 years, citizens across the Americas have been coming together between December 14 and January 5 to spy, spot, listen for, photograph and...
