Volunteers build resiliency
Volunteers at NCC's River Bends on the Mend CV event. (Photo by Miguel Hortiguela)
Every December 5, on International Volunteer Day, the United Nations recognizes volunteers worldwide for their efforts and celebrates the impact that volunteerism is making toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals — a collection of...
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...
Clowns of the sea: the Atlantic puffin
Atlantic puffins (Photo by Laurel Bernard)
The summer of 1999 was a unique one for me. I spent three months living on a small 23-acre (9.5 hectare) island 16 kilometres away from the nearest land. Machias Seal Island in New Brunswick was home to two full-time lighthouse keepers, three...
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...
Cozy one-bedroom bird house available for a low price
A bird box (Photo by NCC)
This spring, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) held a Conservation Volunteers event at NCC’s Edenwold property to install bird boxes. In typical Saskatchewan fashion, it had been 30 C all week, but as soon as the field day came, the...
The best defence is an eco-fence!
Conservation Volunteers, NCC staff and Bruce Peninsula National park staff (Photo by NCC)
Ontario’s Saugeen Bruce Peninsula is well known for its unique biodiversity and natural beauty. As budding naturalists with a particular interest in reptiles and amphibians, my husband and I jumped at the chance to participate in the Nature...
National Appreciation Week for Animal and Rescue Shelters
Me volunteering at the Funds for Animals Wildlife Center in Ramona, California. (Photo by the Humane Society of the United States)
As an animal lover, my social media feed tends to be filled with animal-related posts. It consists of heartwarming stories, such as animal rescues, adoption stories, species reintroductions, etc. If you also have a soft spot for animals,...
Vinyl siding and the greater sage-grouse (really!)
Greater sage-grouse (Photo by Gordon Sherman © Audubon Canyon Ranch)
I expect that most of us are aware of the hazards that office towers and other large buildings in urban areas pose to birds. Buildings are not much of a problem in rural Saskatchewan, but fences are. Those barely visible wires can be hazardous to...
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...
The blitz of the burdock brigade
Conservation Volunteers with bags of invasive common burdock. (Photo by NCC)
Thanks to the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), I can now cross off my bucket list my long-nurtured desire to hack away at invasive burdock plants with a machete. In truth, I’d never entertained the idea before signing up as a Conservation...
