Why take the time?
A first-timer’s experience with volunteering for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC): It was a Saturday morning in June — cloudy and windy, as most prairie days are. My partner and I loaded up our gear and head off to pick up a...
Plugs for the prairies
Since I was a child, I was fascinated by the way a seed could spring to life inside moist soil. I remember faithfully planting seeds in my mini-greenhouse and marveling at the miracle unfolding before me. This fascination carried on for me in...
I’m never leaving the Maitland!
Maitland River, ON (Photo by NCC)
Growing up in southwestern Ontario, I had heard tales of the Maitland River near Goderich, and Ontario’s west coast along Lake Huron. However, it wasn’t until I started working with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) that I began...
Heard it from a Scout: How we can take a LEAP for the environment
No matter who we are, where we live or what we do, we interact with the environment daily. For children, nature is often a playground. For some adults, it can be a place of silent refuge. Regardless of one’s relationship with the outdoors,...
My first month as an intern
Birds, barbed wire and brome, oh my! The first month of my internship with the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Conservation Volunteers (CV) program in the Alberta Region has been busier than I ever could have imagined. From...
The return of the swamp forest
Imagine, if you will, an abandoned-looking farm in the southern Ontario countryside. You park your car and start walking into the back sections of it. After a while, you find yourself in a thickly grassed and soggy area with a tiny stream running...
5 ways to get involved this Canadian Environment Week
Conservation Volunteers planting Garry oak saplings at CGOP (Photo by NCC)
Since 1971, Canadians have been celebrating the nation’s natural heritage and strides made in environmental protection during Canadian Environment Week. The week-long observance also includes World Environment Day (June 5) and World Oceans...
Why I spent Mother’s Day 200 miles away from my daughter
It was Mother’s Day weekend and I was hundreds of kilometres from my daughter, my back was sore, my hands hurt, but I was happy. I spent the day helping a group of Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) staff and Conservation Volunteers plant...
Home tweet home: Making a bird feeder
One of my favourite memories of my mother is of her sitting on the back porch of our new home, looking out into the backyard. With a cup of tea in hand, the sun lightly dancing on her face, she excitedly whispered to me, “Look! Do you see...
Connect with people and nature through volunteering
For me, spring is a time of new beginnings. As the ground starts to thaw and we begin to shed our winter layers, the rhythm of the season draws us outdoors, where we can breathe in the fresh spring air. Spring bulbs push their way through the cold...
