Heard it from a Scout: Discovering the winter night sky
Discover the winter night sky (Photo by Steve Owst CC0)
One of my most relevant memories during my Scouting years happened at a winter camp in E. C. Manning Provincial Park in BC on a frigid February night. Our patrol was made up of a group of eight Scouts, between 11 and 13 years old, camping in a...
10 ways to start 2019 naturally
Snowshoeing is a great way to connect with nature over the holidays (CC0 1.0)
With 2018 come and gone, there’s no better time than now to turn over a new leaf. The beginning of a new year brings new possibilities, and we make resolutions that we hope will stick over the next 365 days. Whether you’re hoping to...
Something’s fishy: Know your limit, fish within it
Ice fishing (CC0 1.0)
One of my favourite winter activities is bundling up and heading out to sit in front of a hole in the ice on a nearby lake for hours on end. While ice fishing isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, some of my most cherished memories are made...
How conservationists spend their holidays
Getting out in nature to find the perfect holiday tree (Photo by NCC)
Staff at the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) come from all corners of the country and love to spend time in nature. Not only are we passionate about protecting nature, several of us think the best way to celebrate the holiday season is to be...
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...
Nature calling
Carys Richards in Waterton, AB (Photo by Carys Richards)
I grew up in the mountains, and it was this landscape that shaped my love and appreciation for nature. I was born in Banff and grew up in Canmore, Alberta — in the heart of the Rockies. My parents were the kind of people who decided when my...
Heard it from a Scout: Turning over a new leaf for forest conservation
Where better to start contributing to forest conservation than within the Scouting community, where youth strive to enjoy, explore and protect nature every day? (Photo by Scouts Canada)
What would a tire swing be without a branch to hang from? How about a summer picnic with no shade, or summer adventuring without camping in comforting forests? Scouts and nature lovers alike understand the feeling of calm and sense of home within...
Nature perspectives through art
Megan Quinn, conservation biology coordinator in Ontario (Photo by Charles T. Low Photography)
I am not an artist by any stretch of the imagination. Don't get me wrong; I do like art. I was the high school student who spent her evenings in the art room, trying to build canvases that didn’t fall apart, and twist wires into the shape of...
We keep hope alive with stories
We keep hope alive with stories (Photo by Holi Ho/CC BY-NC)
“We keep each other alive with our stories. We need to share them, as much as we need to share food.” ~ Barry Lopez I count myself fortunate to have grown up in a home filled with books and stories. Eeyore will always sound, in my...
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...
