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Hugging trees

Anwar Knight and I hugging a black oak tree in High Park.  (Photo courtesy of Anwar Knight)

Anwar Knight and I hugging a black oak tree in High Park. (Photo courtesy of Anwar Knight)

I’m walking along a well-beaten dirt path in a favourite forest. The brilliant early fall sunshine streams through the leaves, which are gradually dimming from their vibrant summer green to hues of yellow, gold and the first tinges of red. A...

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The boreal forests of Wilson Island

Wilson Island, ON (Photo by NCC)

Wilson Island, ON (Photo by NCC)

It was time to do a deep dive into the boreal forests of Wilson Island, near the north shore of Lake Superior. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) acquired these amazing 5,000 acres (2,023 hectares) in 2008, and it was time to conduct an...

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Magic shrubs: How to master live staking

Willow live stakes (Photo by NCC)

Willow live stakes (Photo by NCC)

I remember raising my eyebrows skeptically when my colleagues from the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority told me that we were going to be cutting branches off of shrubs and hammering them into the ground along the Nottawasaga River to...

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Any bird you can spot, I can spot better: My backyard bird bonanza

Chickadee at feeder (Photo by Kaitlyn Finnegan)

Chickadee at feeder (Photo by Kaitlyn Finnegan)

As I washed dishes at my kitchen sink I saw a flicker out of the corner of my eye. By the time I looked up, my backyard and the high wooden birdfeeder filled with sunflower seeds were both perfectly still and empty. I looked back to the sink and a...

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