Navigating a course for Canada's Marine Protected Areas on World Oceans Day
Rocks and ocean as seen on the Dr. Bill Freedman Nature Reserve (Photo by NCC)
Oceans and coasts are a key part of Canada’s environment, economy and identity, and yet most of us are unaware of how they are protected, and why conserving them is critical. Precious resources rich in life Salt water touches every...
How the Great White North can change the world: Canada's role in global biodiversity conservation
Powder Islands, Lake Superior, ON (Photo by Alan Auld)
I still remember a time when thinking about conservation made me feel disappointed in Canada. During my undergraduate years at the University of Waterloo in the early 1990s, I learned about the pioneering work of Norman Myers and read subsequent...
Overlooked plants and new discoveries: Moss and liverwort surveys in Manitoba
New liverworts to Manitoba on decaying log (Photo by Richard Caners)
As part of updating the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Natural Area Conservation Plan for the Whitemouth River Watershed in southeastern Manitoba, I spent a day assisting Royal Alberta Museum botany curator and good friend Dr....
Heard it from a Scout: The business of bees
Female squash bee on a male pumpkin flower (Photo by Margaret Chan)
Everything in our world is connected. So when you get a group of species dying at an extremely rapid rate, such as bees, it not only affects them, but humans and other species too. Pollinators provide a monumental impact on wild plants and crops,...
Canada's role in preventing species extinctions
Greater sage-grouse (Photo by Gordon Sherman © Audubon Canyon Ranch)
One of the most powerful tools of nature conservation in the 21st century is our ability to put the protection of Canadian species into a global context. By documenting Canadian species that are not just rare in Canada, but rare everywhere, we can...
Saving the planet, one species at a time
Eastern mountain avens (Photo by June Swift)
Save the oceans. Save the rainforest. Save the planet. These are all incredible, daunting, pursuit-worthy goals, but to a student in Nova Scotia, these problems seem very distant. Although we ultimately all feel the effects of environmental...
Women in conservation: Mhairi McFarlane
Mhairi McFarlane with leucospora (Photo by NCC)
In honour of International Women’s Day (March 8), we’re celebrating eight female conservationists at the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) who are working to create a stronger future for Canada’s landscapes.For Mhairi McFarlane,...
After the clear-cut: A tale of resilience
Sun rising over the aspen forest (Photo by Emma Christensen)
When I think “clear-cut,” I automatically think habitat loss. I don’t think I’m alone in this. Pictures of ravaged swaths of cleared forest, punctuated by the upturned root systems of old-growth conifers, have been...
Women in conservation: Julie Vasseur
Julie Vasseur (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
In honour of International Women’s Day (March 8), we’re celebrating eight female conservationists at the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) who are working to create a stronger future for Canada’s landscapes. Julie...
Pricing the priceless: How the economics of natural capital can help us all better value nature
Walking through Emma Young forest, ON (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
Putting a price tag on nature is challenging. Some people don’t believe it can be done. Some people hate the idea of it. Most will have no idea what it means. But there are new and emerging approaches to help us put a price on the services...
