What's up with the very hungry caterpillars?
Each spongy moth caterpillar can eat one square metre of leaves in one season (Photo by Paul Prior, CC BY 4.0)
If you have young children in your life, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by the late and celebrated children’s author Eric Carle, is probably a familiar read and has been a fan favourite since 1969. This spring and summer though, there is...
The truth about ticks
Adult deer tick (Photo by Scott Bauer/Wikimedia Commons)
Ticks seem to be everywhere these days. They’re on the news, on your social media feed and maybe even on your skin. People, especially those in southern Canada, are dealing with blacklegged ticks (also called deer ticks) with increasing...
The resiliency and significance of cedar
Eastern red cedar (Photo by Onel Guce, CC BY-NC 4.0)
It seems like everywhere I go, I see cedar trees. This isn’t surprising, since Canada’s four species of cedar can be common where they occur. Growing up to 15 metres tall and representing some of the oldest trees in Canada, cedar...
Whitebark pine research in the Darkwoods Conservation Area
The view from the top of Mt. McGregor capturing some of the remote and wild terrain within the Darkwoods Conservation Area. (Photo by Stephanie Jouvet)
The rugged beauty of the Purcell and Selkirk mountain ranges extend far into the distance, as I follow the calmness of Kootenay Lake from its northern reaches, south to where it fades into the marshlands of the Creston Valley Wildlife Management...
Twelve spooky facts about Canadian bats
Townsend's big-eared bat (Photo by Brock Fenton)
There are 18 known bat species in Canada. Although they are subjected to a spooky stigma around Halloween, they’re nothing to be afraid of. Here are 12 things you didn’t know about these not-so-scary mammals: 1. The snooze...
Giants of the forest: My father's discovery of Ontario's tallest white spruce
White spruce bark (Photo by Rob Duval, Wikimedia Commons)
When I was young we lived in Cochrane and Dad worked for the Department of Lands and Forests (now the Ministry of Natural Resources) as a forester. Around 1958 or 1959, he was cruising a lease for Abitibi somewhere in the Hudson’s Bay...
True colours: The science of fall colours
Riding Mountain, MB (Photo by Cathy Shaluk)
Canada’s forests are home to many colourful characters. Throughout the year you’ll see vibrant wildflowers, decorated songbirds and gaudily painted insects and fungi. Each has its moment of glory in the annual forest parade. But the...
Seeing Canada through the trees: How Canadians can lead the world in forest conservation
Whitemouth River Watershed Natural Area, MB (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
Forests define our Canadian geography and identity. One-third of our country is covered with trees, and forests occur in every province and territory. Jobs in forestry employ more than 200,000 Canadians and support many Indigenous and northern...
Are you gonna go their way?
Trail tree in Tar Hallow State Forest, Ohio (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)
A walk through a forest can lead to wonderful adventures and new discoveries, both big and small. In most forests, it’s easy to get lost in the tree’s grandeur — figuratively and quite literally. While some of us may use a...
A throwback to working in Backus Woods
Forest canopy in Backus Woods, ON (Photo by Neil Ever Osborne)
I had the pleasure of working for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) for the summer of 2019 as a conservation technician out of the Norfolk County, Ontario, office. When I first came to Norfolk, I was expecting to see mostly farmland and...
