Terminarch: Making music out of birdsong
Sage thrasher (Photo by Dick Cannings)
One of the best things about composing music for the concert hall is that inspiration can come from just about anywhere. My latest work, Terminarch, is a 10-minute piece for a quartet of percussionists based on the birdsong of 12 endangered...
Rooting myself in restoration
All smiles after a full day in the field at the Napanee Plain Alvar Nature Reserve, cutting back sumac and prickly ash to improve the habitat quality for eastern loggerhead shrike. (Photo by Samantha Ceci)
My career in the field of ecosystem restoration has begun to sprout, thanks to the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). It all began with an email last year, where I inquired about volunteering for NCC. I was interested in shifting gears in my...
Nature therapy (part one): Nature-based art is about more than just art
Leaf printing. (Photo by Sage Yathon)
In a world full of change and unknowns, we can find ourselves looking for inspiration and positive outlets. There is one thing that is constant and can heal us: nature. Building and maintaining a relationship with nature can have many positive...
A breezy hike at Buffalo Pound
Buffalo Pound property, SK (Photo by Bill Armstrong)
What a delight it was to watch a wary coyote cross the trail in front of me, sizing me up before continuing on its way into a nearby coulee. This encounter may not seem like much, but after three months of staying at home to help stop the spread...
Celebrating and conserving all-Canadian wildlife
Eastern wolf (Photo by Rebecca Rogge, iNaturalist)
Every nation plays an important role in stopping wildlife extinction. Here in Canada, we have an estimated 80,000 known wild species. They range from pygmy shrew to polar bear, and from stellate sedge to Sitka spruce. Canada plays a critical role...
Something’s Fishy: Crossing into a new world
Me playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons during Ontario's stay-at-home order. (Photo courtesy of Raechel Bonomo/NCC staff)
COVID-19 has taken a lot of things away from Canadians. Our physical connections to nature and to each other have taken a back seat when it comes to limiting the spread of the virus. With group hikes, outdoor volunteer events and social gatherings...
Grasslands: Climate change’s unsuspecting heroes
Napanee Plain Alvar Nature Reserve, ON (Photo by Vincent Luk & Evermaven)
Carbon is the backbone of life on Earth. It makes up everything we do, everything we eat, and it even makes us up. Carbon is stored in different reservoirs, which broadly include land, water and the atmosphere. Carbon cycles from one reservoir to...
Backpack Essentials: Don’t let the ticks bite!
Backpack Essentials (Image by NCC)
This blog post is part of the Backpack Essentials series, a series that explores the items that Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) staff carry with them when heading outside. It is inspired by the quarterly Nature Conservancy of Canada Magazine...
Giving back to the land
Boggy River in the summer (Photo by NCC)
One of the most rewarding parts of my job as natural area manager with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is working with landowners who want to donate their land to us. It is humbling to know that they support NCC’s vision —...
Our connection to nature
Kids in nature (Photo by NCC)
“Go outside and play.” I can still hear my grandmother saying these words to me when I was a little kid. I bet you’ve heard this a few times yourself. Maybe you’ve even said it to your own kids. The truth is, “go...
