40 years of adventures at Lac du Bois
Ian Barnett surveys the landscape at Frolek Ranch, Lac du Bois, BC (Photo by Brendan Matthews)
In the mid-1990s much of the grasslands and open forests situated near my home in Kamloops, BC were made a provincial park due to the unique flora and fauna present and the need to conserve shrinking native grassland habitat in BC. In 2008, the...
Lichen hotspot discovered on Prince Edward Island
North Enmore nature reserve, PEI (Photo by Troy McMullin)
In the fall of 2014 my colleague, Rachel Deloughery, and I travelled throughout Prince Edward Island in search of lichen. We visited 63 locations that had the potential of being good lichen habitat. Many of the areas were rich with lichens, but...
A return to the land: What my daughter is learning from a childhood in nature
Grace and Pepper enjoying a fresh snowfall (Photo by Elke Meyfarth/NCC staff)
There’s been a lot of buzz in recent years about the importance of giving children the opportunity to connect with nature. I wholeheartedly agree, and I think we need to remember just how important that connection is for ourselves as well....
The ultimate Canadian road trip, by canoe
In the spring of 2015, Canadian Voyageurs will cross the country by canoe (Photo by Canadian Voyageurs)
In the spring of 2015, Gerry, my husband and I will cross Canada by canoe as the Canadian Voyageurs. When people ask us why we are doing it, my first response is always: Because we can! Because life is about adventure! The reasons, though, are...
My favourite day in the field
Winter field trip, Elk Glen, MB (Photo by NCC)
As a biologist with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) in Manitoba my field work is typically over once there is snow on the ground and ice on the ponds. Most of the time things need to be green or moving to do my work. However my last day in...
Powder Islands adventure
Susan Bryan checks the plants on a section of rock pavement (Photo by Mike Bryan)
"I haven’t seen that before. It's a lifer!" You may be thinking birds, but for me the "lifer" was a delicate plant with white blossoms growing in a crack on a bare cliff face. Hoary draba is a member of the mustard family and usually found...
Exploring the remarkable Gervais Property
Channel spring, Gervais property, Ottawa, ON (Photo by Daniel F. Brunton).
You can hear it...The sound of rushing water, like a rapids or a waterfall, right in the middle of the woods where no channel exists. Huh? Until then there had been no immediate outward sign that I was in a remarkable spot, let alone one that is...
Makes me wonder: Nature firsts
Students from John Norquay Public School, Nature Days Vancouver (Photo by HSBC Bank Canada)
When it comes to the natural world, there is something remarkable about first times. On the doorstep of discovery is a story taking form, one that eventually settles into memory and becomes part of who we are and how we come to know the places...
The search for an elusive species
Black purse-web spider (Photo by Rob Craig, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry)
The black purse-web spider is not well known in Ontario. The species has been found occasionally across Southern Ontario, from Windsor to Belleville, including a recent find in Rouge Park in 2012. Interestingly, it belongs to the group of...
Découverte d'une salamandre à quatre orteils sur une propriété nouvelle de CNC
Salamandre à quatre orteils (photo de Brian Gratwicke)
Lors de la retraite d’équipe du Québec du 6 juin par un des sous-groupes formé de Joel Bonin, Julien Poisson, Carine Deland, Caroline Tanguay, Lucie Veillette, Marie-Andrée Tougas-Tellier et Gabrielle...
