The Nature Conservancy of Canada's first project in Ontario was the conservation of Cavan Swamp in 1969, a type of wetland supporting numerous orchid species, muskrat, beaver and waterfowl. Since then we have completed more than 130 projects that protect more than 42,000 acres (17,000 hectares) of this province's most ecologically significant land and water. Today, the Ontario Region continues to work with our partners to conserve Ontario's natural heritage.
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Trading the office for conservation work
Braving dark, cloudy skies, recently Nature Conservancy of Canada staff abandoned their computers and headed for the field.
A living fossil makes a comeback
What native Ontario species has rough, plated skin and has survived for over 200 million years? At first guess, you might be thinking of a type of dinosaur, but in that case, you’d be wrong. Lake sturgeon, nature’s own living fossil, is the answer.
Get happy: get outside!
This spring and summer, get out and volunteer with us, or take a trip to one of NCC's conservation masterpieces and experience what's unique in Ontario. Take a walk through an old-growth forest or visit a wetland and take a quiet paddle as you look for great blue herons. Whatever you choose to do this year, be sure to get outside!
The McMichael Tree Project
Come out and enjoy art and nature as the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) partners with the McMichael Canadian Art Collection to promote The McMichael Tree Project. This project celebrates the artistic, cultural and natural aspects of the tree, with two breathtaking exhibitions, a variety of programs and special installations.
Who cooks for you? That is the question...
In early spring 2011, I set out to the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Maurice property, located on the Penetang Peninsula on Georgian Bay. I was extremely eager to start the field season, especially after what felt like the world’s latest start to spring in my lifetime. I’d been studying my trees, my flowers, my mammals, my snakes, my frog calls and, most especially, my bird songs – I was ready to take on anything nature had to show me!
Picnicking with a bear on the Frontenac Arch
This past July in Eastern Ontario was hot and humid. On one particularly sweltering day my field partner, Brenda, and I set off from Ottawa in our little rental car to survey NCC’s Goodfellow property on the Frontenac Arch.
It’s a tadpole! No, it’s a turtle! No, it’s....?
It was a warm, sunny July day on the northern Bruce Peninsula with a gentle breeze coming off the lake. Tanya Pulfer (a conservation biologist in NCC's Ontario Region), Joe Crowley (an Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources herpetology species at risk specialist) and I had spent the better part of the week searching for massasauga rattlesnakes on NCC properties.
A slithery surprise!
Southwestern Ontario field staff got quite a surprise this past November, on a property located on Pelee Island — Canada’s most southerly, inhabited point. Mhairi McFarlane and Jill Crosthwaite were working at figuring out which plants grow where and were documenting changes in soil depth. Intent on our work, we were walking with our heads down, taking fieldnotes, GPS waypoints, and looking at plants. When suddenly...
Announcing NCC's Regional Vice President in Ontario, James Duncan
NCC is proud to announce the promotion of James Duncan to the position of Regional Vice President of the Ontario Region.
Saving wildlife in distress
As the communications coordinator for the Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC's) Ontario Region, I get to write about so many good news conservation stories across the province. And I am constantly amazed by the lengths people will go to protect nature. Ted and Andrea's story is no exception.
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Nature Conservancy of Canada protects habitat on south shore of Manitoulin Island
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), along with the Government of Canada, is pleased to announce the conservation of a 1,205-acre (488-hectare) property on the southern shore of Manitoulin Island.
Nature Conservancy of Canada protects 610 acres in the Frontenac Arch region
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and the Government of Canada are pleased to announce the protection of a substantial tract of prime land in Ontario’s Frontenac Arch region, north of Kingston.
Hazel Bird Nature Reserve: A legacy for the birds
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and the government of Canada are pleased to announce the conservation of the Hazel Bird Nature Reserve in central Ontario's Rice Lake Plains.
The Acquisition of 544 Acres Along Gauley Bay Shore Protects Globally Rare Hill's Thistle in Ontario
NCC today announced the successful addition of 544 acres (220 hectares) of wetland, forest and shoreline habitat along Gauley Bay that conserves habitat for globally rare Hill's Thistle.
Canard Valley Conservation Area Grows Thanks To Public-Private Partnership
NCC, the Essex Region Conservation Authority, Government of Canada and Province of Ontario celebrated the successful addition of 77 acres (31 hectares) of land to Canard Valley Conservation Area.
Happy Canada Day
In celebration of the many gifts from Canadians who care about our natural heritage, and in time for Canada Day, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) announces the conservation of almost 2,700 acres (1,092 hectares) of the internationally important Turkey Point Marsh, located on the northern shore of Lake Erie.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada Commends the Province of Ontario's Biodiversity Strategy
The Nature Conservancy of Canada, Canada?s leading non-profit land conservation organization, congratulated the Premier of Ontario and his government for their updated strategy recognizing the critical need to protect the province?s natural biodiversity. NCC was pleased to see the Province take a lead role in the development of Ontario?s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2011, as well as to be involved with its development.
North Bear Alvar Gives a Boost to Conserved Land on Carden Alvar
Earth Day is looming, and just in time, the Nature Conservancy of Canada is pleased to announce the conservation of North Bear Alvar, just east of Orillia. Conserved in partnership with the Couchiching Conservancy, the Government of Ontario, the Government of Canada, and with generous donations from individuals, this project adds another 787 acres (318 hectares) to the growing network of conservation lands on the Carden Alvar.
Internationally Important Wetland Conserved in Southern Ontario
More than 2,600 acres (1,091 hectares) of internationally important wetland habitat at Turkey Point Marsh have been conserved thanks to a private-public partnership initiative.
Protecting Wildlife Pathways; Giving Species Space to Move
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) today officially announced the conservation of 590 acres (239 hectares) in an area known as the Frontenac Arch. The Arch provides a critical ecological connection between the Algonquin Highlands region of Ontario and the Adirondack Mountains of New York State; the Freeman property represents a key success in maintaining that corridor.
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Carden Alvar Natural Area
Located northeast of Lake Simcoe, the Carden Alvar Natural Area is an outstanding example of globally threatened alvar habitat combining alvar grasslands, shrublands, forests and wetlands and is critical to the survival of globally rare communities and the endangered eastern loggerhead shrike.
Rice Lake Plains Natural Area
The Rice Lake Plains, one of the most intriguing areas on the Oak Ridges Moraine, is an area of roughly 100,000 acres (40,470 hectares) located at the eastern end of the moraine, southeast of Peterborough
Frontenac Arch Natural Area
The Frontenac Arch, also called the Frontenac Axis, is a 50-kilometre-long extension of exposed Precambrian rock that runs through southeastern Ontario and upstate New York from Westport, north of Kingston, to the Thousand Islands.
Northwestern Lake Superior Coast Natural Area
The northwestern shores of Lake Superior are a unique landscape and a key area for Great Lakes biodiversity as well as part of the Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area.
Western Lake Erie Islands Natural Area
The nine Canadian islands support some of the most biologically diverse natural features in Canada, and contain a high density of rare species in Ontario
Southern Manitoulin Island Coast Natural Area
The Southern Manitoulin Island Coast Natural Area is globally significant for its pristine Great Lakes shorelines and rare habitats, which support several species at risk, such as lakeside daisy and Hill's thistle.
Happy Valley Forest
The Happy Valley Forest is one of the largest remaining intact upland deciduous forest on Canada's Oak Ridges Moraine.
Minesing Wetlands
Minesing Wetlands, located 20 kilometres west of Barrie, is recognized as an Internationally Significant Ramsar wetland, a Provincially Significant Wetland and a Provincially Significant Life Science Area of Natural and Scientific Interest.
Lower Maitland River Valley Natural Area
The Lower Maitland River Valley Natural Area is part of the Eastern Great Lakes Lowland Forests region, which occurs as a narrow band stretching from the central shores of Lake Huron in Ontario, across the north shore of Lake Ontario and along the St. Lawrence River corridor into Quebec and northern New York State.
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Backus Woods and the Weston Family Trail
In 2010, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), with the support of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, successfully conserved Backus Woods, a spectacular older-growth Carolinian forest.
North Bear Alvar
Situated just east of Orillia in central Ontario, North Bear Alvar is a 787-acre (318-hectare) expanse of globally rare alvar habitat and an important part of the Nature Conservancy of Canada?s growing network of conservation lands on the Carden Alvar.
Scheck Nature Reserve
The Scheck Nature Reserve near Newburgh, Ontario spans more than 175 acres (70 hectares) of globally rare habitat that is of critical importance for the endangered eastern loggerhead shrike, an unusual songbird dependent on open grasslands.
Wilson Island
Amazing sand beaches, stunning sunsets and the calming sounds of waves lapping on a forested shoreline: these are just some of the spectacular features of Wilson Island.
Elbow Lake
The Nature Conservancy of Canada is working to protect an 1,100-acre (445-hectare) property at Elbow Lake ? Ontario's Gift to Canadians for 2008. The land is in the very heart of one of the critical acquisition zones identified in the Frontenac Arch Natural Area Conservation Plan.
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Menzel Centennial Park, Napanee Plain, ON
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Carden Alvar, ON
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Frontenac Arch, ON
