Family fun in winter: Show your love for nature this Valentine's Day and Family Day
Out for a snowshoe in Gatineau Parc, QC (Photo by DJ)
Imagine never having to hibernate again. Instead of watching endless movies, you could be out enjoying nature. Instead of spending countless hours on the computer or playing video games all weekend, you could be out getting fresh air and having...
Canadian conservationists, worldwide
Joel White (Photo by Bertil Kinnby)
We nature lovers get many opportunities to support our environment on home turf and abroad. During my research at a marine biology conference in Plymouth, U.K., I met Joel White (30), a native of British Columbia, who moved 6,440 kilometres away...
Ode to a nature commute – part 2, winter
Nearly frozen over Bow River with downtown Calgary in background. (Photo by Gayle Roodman/NCC staff)
This is part two of a four-part series on bike commuting through nature. Read part one – fall here. What kind of wingnut would bike commute in the dead of winter, you ask? Well, this one does, and I’ll tell you why. I find winter...
7 physical activity resolutions…just in time for colder weather!
Snowman on frozen lake (Photo by Peritap, Wikimedia Commons)
There are so many ways to be active while enjoying winter and all it has to offer. Don’t let the dark evenings and chilly weather stop you! Commit to keeping up your healthy, active lifestyle with these tips and ideas. Resolve to make...
Human-created noise pollution impacts wildlife
A bat hanging upside down (Photo by Unsplash)
Just as noise pollution negatively impacts human health, it also affects wildlife. It can interfere with animal communication, hinder their foraging abilities and impact where they live. A recent study published in Biology Letters found that...
Getting wetland conservation right will help solve many issues
Forested wetlands in summer (Photo by Mary Gartshore)
Earlier this winter I watched as a record amount of January rain filled the swamp at the back of our property outside of Guelph Ontario. With the ground still locked in a hard freeze, there weren’t a lot of places to hold this deluge. This...
Exploring the boreal forest with an interactive story map
Canada warbler (Photo by Gerald Deboer)
Imagine taking a flight across Canada’s vast and breathtaking boreal region, which stretches across approximately 60 per cent of the country. Now take a step back from this picture of grandeur to focus on the littlest bird residents flitting...
Hold the salt, please: The hidden cost of keeping the roads clear
Winter road treatment using salt brine (Photo by Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)
On a brisk Toronto winter morning, my breath hangs in the air as I walk my dog to a nearby park. Our route may seem meandering, but it’s designed with purpose: finding the salt-free sidewalks. I’m grateful that the roads and sidewalks...
Weston Family Conservation Science Fellowship Program
Sundial lupine in the oak savannah (Photo by NCC)
It’s a sunny June day with only a slight whisper of wind in the trees. I am walking slowly through an oak savannah with Angela Demarse, a master's of science candidate at the University of Guelph in Ryan Norris’s lab. We are in search...
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;...
