Pikas and their islands in the Rockies
American pika (Photo by Allison Haskell)
What’s your favourite animal? It’s a common question for many of us with a fascination for wildlife and a passion for conserving the natural world around us. When I answer that my favourite species is American pika, some people are...
Where are they now? Intern Alumni Spotlight: Victoria Shore
Victoria Shore planting native species while working as an intern at NCC (Photo by NCC)
This blog marks the seventh Intern Alumni Spotlight — a series highlighting some of the individuals who have interned with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) in the past. Last month, Ryan Dudragne was featured as the Intern Alumni...
A cozy nest for a common gartersnake
Common gartersnake (Photo by Hugo Tremblay-CERFO)
You won’t be surprised to hear that my fellow scientists spend a lot of time in the field in the spring and summer (for species inventories, invasive species control, property monitoring, etc.), but when the snow flies and temperatures drop...
Antlers of the East: Tracking the decline of the Atlantic-Gaspésie caribou (part one)
Woodland caribou at the summit of Mont Jacques-Cartier, tallest among the Chic Choc Mountains of Gaspésie National Park, QC. (Photo by Zack Metcalfe)
It was August 18, 2017, when I gained the summit of Mont Jacques-Cartier, an alpine peak of shattered stone and meagre vegetation some 1,270 metres above Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula. Several stones were organized into mounds, marking the...
Carbon and wetlands: So what's the big deal?
Wetlands can support lots of plants and vegetation. (Photo by Amanda Loder)
Wetlands can support a lot of plants and vegetation, which take up carbon from the atmosphere. What's unique about wetlands is that they enable dead plant material and the carbon they contain to be buried in their soils without being released into...
A world without wetlands
Brighton Wetland, Eastern Lake Ontario Coast (Photo by David Coulson)
I live next to a swamp. After 20 years of having this swamp as my neighbour, it’s kind of grown on me. I enjoy the spring flush of marsh marigolds, the annual reawakening of spring peepers, and I still smile when I see a colourful wood duck...
Botanizing by Lake Ontario: An Australian visits the Nature Conservancy of Canada
Left to right: Cheryl Reyes, Jane Gilbert, Amanda Tracey and Kate Cranney at Presqu'ile Provincial Park (Photo by NCC)
We looked suspect at best. Picture this: three cars parked in an isolated part of Presqu’ile Provincial Park. Ten people huddled together against the wind and rain. One woman picking something from the ground, holding it up to the light....
Climate change, fire and their implications for species
Will forest fire hazard signs be over into the red more often because of climate change? (Photo by Aaron H Warren CC BY-ND 2.0)
The role of fire in forest ecosystems Forest fires are powerful and devastating. But they are also necessary for the rejuvenation of some ecosystems. Many plants are well adapted to fire. Some trees have dense bark or shed their lower limbs to...
Ten good news nature conservation stories from 2018: Our collective actions can have a big impact
Lands within the Jim Prentice Wildlife Corridor (Photo by Brent Calver)
Around the world, we are at a crossroads in our relationship with the planet. For the first time in human history our environmental impacts are happening at a scale that is affecting all life on Earth. Our collective experience in solving big,...
Puttin’ the boots to junk at Shoe Lake
Conservation Volunteers at the Shoe Lake West property (Photo by Bill Armstrong)
Sometimes the best way to show your appreciation for critters and their habitat is to clean up what us humans have left lying around. That about sums up the purpose of a late-August Conservation Volunteers (CV) event at a Nature Conservancy of...
