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...
Celebrating our Conservation Volunteers
Volunteer with tray of seedlings at Goulding West property, Ontario (Photo by Neil Ever Osborne)
Every December 5, on International Volunteer Day, the United Nations recognizes volunteers worldwide for their efforts and celebrates the impact they are making toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals —17 global goals set by the...
What happens to invasive species in the winter?
Second-year garlic mustard plant (Photo courtesy Invasive Species Centre)
With winter arriving in Canada, the scenery of fully leafed plants and active wildlife transitions to quiet, snowy winters. With this change in seasons, invasive species may become out of sight and out of mind. But they always seem to come back...
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...
November roundup: Conservation and nature stories that caught our eye this month
Otter making an astonished face (Photo © Harry Walker / Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2019)
Every day, countless inspiring and informative stories are published about conservation successes or discoveries in nature and wildlife around the world. Here are some that caught our attention in November 2019. Smile! You’re on...
Life in Ontario's deep south
Hauling out invasive phragmites that were removed on an NCC property. (Photo by NCC)
The ferry landed, and I peered through the window to see an impressive island among the lapsing water of Lake Erie. This was the beginning of my first visit to Pelee Island as a conservation technician interning for the Nature Conservancy of...
Something’s Fishy: Catching up on 57 years of conservation
Dr. J. Bruce Falls, Richard Pough, Aird Lewis and Dave Fowle, first exploratory meeting for the Nature Conservancy of Canada, 1961
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) got its start in the early 1960s with four naturalists who were inspired to protect the natural world around them. Based in Ontario, this plucky band of naturalists launched a program to take direct, private...
A Christmas wish…in a salt marsh, in May
NCC Conservation Biologist Allison Patrick on a couch in the Long Marsh. (Photo by NCC)
As conservation interns with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), our work involved exploring some of New Brunswick’s most beautiful natural areas. We wanted to share with you our most intriguing find of the 2019 field season. Related...
Conservation collaboration: How sharing knowledge is shaping the next generation of environmental professionals
Bell at Elbow Lake (Photo by Charles T. Low Photography)
Nature doesn’t work in isolation. Trying to undertake effective conservation science programs without the support of partners would be impossible; the scope is simply too large. Not everyone can be an expert in everything, but if you draw...
Wideview revisited
Fence lined with vinyl clips stretch across the prairie at NCC's Wideview property in Saskatchewan. (Photo by Bill Armstrong)
I experienced an unexpected moment of satisfaction at the beginning of a recent Conservation Volunteers (CV) event at Wideview, a Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) property in Saskatchewan. As the truck I was riding in topped another rise in this...
