Happy Pi Day! The importance of 3.14 in nature
Pi pie (Photo by Wikimedia Commons, Paul Smith)
March 14: it has many of us sharing photos of pies, Π and pies with Π on them. But our fascination with the number 3.14 goes beyond a good excuse to eat baked goods. The mystery and wonder of pi is evident everywhere around us, including in...
Beginner's guide to winter tree identification
White ash bud and twig (Photo by Quinten Wiergersma, CC BY 4.0)
Many trees are easier to identify without their leaves. When you’re out for a winter hike, it may seem that there aren’t many clues to identifying the trees around you. Because trees are sporting bare branches, you might think they...
Finding hope for the planet in an old sweater
My sweater became a symbol of my increased awareness of environmental issues. (Photo courtesy of Christine Beevis Trickett/NCC staff)
During the pandemic, many of us have spent several months at home. To pass the time, some of us have started tackling projects that have been on our to-do lists for months, even years. For me, that meant cleaning out our spare rooms, which led to...
The joys of capturing memories with watercolour painting
Nature was the balm we’d needed after months of physical distancing and pandemic-related uncertainties (Photo by Christine Beevis Trickett/NCC staff)
In the last few years, I’ve grown to love the joys of landscape watercolour painting as a way to capture time spent in nature, usually on annual canoe trips with my dad. Unfortunately, this year’s pandemic meant I couldn’t travel...
This holiday, take time to enjoy the winter wonderland
Winter hiking on the Niagara Escarpment (photo by Al Thompson)
With winter storms battering the country from coast to coast and the mercury dropping, it's easy to want to huddle inside by the fireplace. But most of us find that we're happier when we get outside. For my husband and me, some of our happiest...
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...
Creative conservation challenge: Your 2015 nature year in review
Grizzly bear (Photo by Caroline Henri)
Each day, we’re surrounded by Canada’s beautiful living, breathing nature. But how often do we take the time to stop and think about all of the wonderful natural encounters we’ve had, or natural landscapes we’ve been...
This New Year's, I'm going all natural with my resolutions
Vancouver Celebration of Lights (Photo by Ranveig, Wikimedia Commons)
I'll admit it: I'm not a fan of making New Year's resolutions, partly because they're so easy to forget or to break once life gets busy. But resolutions are that much easier to keep when they're good for you, AND you feel good about them. This...
The Maryland Biodiversity Project: Mobilizing community to build a better picture of local biodiversity
Wildlife photographer and naturalist Bill Hubick holds up an eastern ribbon snake (Photo courtesy of Bill Hubick)
A few years ago, photographer Bill Hubick generously donated the use of his photos on www.bilhubick.com in Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) publications. Since then, his images have been shared in NCC print publications and web pages across the...
#YYC Earth Day cleanup: What we found may surprise you
Earth rise (Photo by NASA, Wikimedia Commons)
In some ways, every day is Earth Day when you work at the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) — our very mandate means that we are constantly thinking, planning for and even working in some of the planet's most beautiful landscapes. So...
