Zebra and quagga mussels: Tiny but terrifying invaders
Zebra mussels (Photo by Michael Massimi, Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program/Bugwood.org)
As motivated and concerned members of the community, there are countless opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint, protect habitat and conserve biodiversity. Invasive species are just one piece of the puzzle, and the good news is that...
Support local biodiversity by avoiding invasive plants in your garden
Winged euonymus (Photo by John Ruter/University of Georgia/Bugwood.org)
With gardening season upon us, the warm weather brings hope that your favourite plot of soil will be better than it was last year. At the Invasive Species Centre, we have one request as you mull over your garden plans for 2019: please avoid the...
Beech leaf disease: A new problem for Ontario trees
Early-stage leaf striping (Photo by John Pogacnik, Ohio Department of Natural Resources)
Beech bark disease began ravaging beech trees in Ontario in the late 1990s, after spreading west from Atlantic Canada. But recently, a new beech disease has emerged in the province. Beech leaf disease was first detected in North America in 2012 in...
Three reasons why it’s important to study winter
Me, my husband and dog bundled up during the polar vortex (Photo courtesy of Meghan Duell)
We tend to think of winter in temperate regions as cold, maybe snowy, maybe grey and with short daylight hours. Maybe you hate winter because you dislike feeling cold, having chapped skin, driving on icy roads and...insert weather problem here...
The future of conservation is female (part two)
Esme Batten (Photo by Esme Batten)
In honour of International Women’s Day (March 8), over the course of the month, we are celebrating three young women working for the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Ontario Region. We speak with them to learn more about...
Lending a hand at Bunchberry Meadows
Volunteers bagging thistle flower heads (Photo by NCC)
On August 30, 2018, I attended a Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) Conservation Volunteers event at NCC’s Bunchberry Meadows property in Alberta. This property was purchased as a joint project with the Edmonton & Area Land Trust, an...
Giving gifts in the Napanee Limestone Plain
Friends enjoying some time together while helping open up the landscape (Photo by NCC)
The Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Conservation Volunteers program is a well-established and successful program that engages volunteers across the country. Recently, I hosted our first event in the Napanee Plain, and I have to...
Combating invasive species in a globally rare habitat
Leaders in Conservation in Carden Alvar, ON (Photo by NCC)
On a hot and humid day this past summer, I visited Carden Alvar in Ontario with a group of Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) Leaders in Conservation. We meandered through the forest and stepped onto the limestone plain alvar, which stretched on...
How plastic waste threatens marine organisms
Plastic waste is often seen washed up on shorelines (Photo by Kevin Krejc/Wikimedia Commons)
Ocean plastic pollution has grabbed worldwide attention in quite a short period of time. This is because the impact of plastic waste on marine plants and animals is tremendous. Plastic garbage patches the size of small countries floating on the...
Conservation beyond the cubicle
Conservation Volunteers at the Last Stand at Blind Canyon event. (Photo by NCC)
Despite working for a conservation organization, I spend my workdays in an office, surrounded by cubicle walls, eyes glued to my computer screen and my fingers happily tapping away at my keyboard. So when an opportunity to join one of the Nature...
