Get to know one of Canada’s rarest snakes
Desert nightsnake (Photo by W. Mason CC BY-NC)
Working at the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has taught me many things, including the fact that many people are infatuated with snakes. Whether people are afraid of them, invested in protecting their habitats or enjoy learning about what...
Private land conservation: Another option
One property that I helped monitor this summer stood out from the rest, with its old-growth forest and fern-covered forest floor. (Photo by NCC)
As this past summer’s Nova Scotia conservation engagement intern with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), I was given the opportunity to explore the province from one tip to the other, seeing parts of the province I had never seen...
Living out my passion for conservation
Brock Hussey (Photo by NCC)
I have always had a passion for nature, like many people in the conservation field. Growing up, I was always outside, surrounded by nature, observing the plants and animals around me. It wasn’t often you would find me without my eyes glued...
Traditional Ecological Knowledge leads to better conservation
Gámdas Tlagée (Photo by Haida Laas-Graham Richard)
Incorporating Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) when developing land and water conservation strategies is critical to help counteract climate change in Canada. Collaboration between western-based scientists and Indigenous TEK keepers is not...
Canada’s other rainforest
Wabanaki (Acadian) forest, Chignecto Isthmus, NS (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
The word “rainforest” evokes vivid images of a rich natural world. Many people think of the lush, misty jungles of the Amazon or Congo with thick vegetation. If you live in Canada, you might think about BC’s temperate...
A glimpse of the past: Using historic maps to guide land management
Historic land survey outlining the store house and fort site at NCC’s Fort Ellice property in MB (Photo by Manitoba Archives 2019)
The Prairie provinces, like much of agricultural Canada, look vastly different than they did before European settlement. During the development of Western Canada, forests were cleared, wetlands drained and grasslands plowed in an effort to settle...
Hummingbirds: The forgotten pollinator when it comes to pesticides
Female rufous hummingbird (Photo by Jennifer Kepler CC BY-NC)
When life is leaping forth in its freshest tender green and shrubs are casting their best wine-rich blooms of colour, there comes a humming. Not just from the song of spring rising in the world, but from wing beats — 52 to 62 per...
Making friends with the solitary bees
Blue orchard bee (Photo by Robert Engelhardt)
When you think of bees, your mind probably goes to honey, hives and stingers. But what if I told you that there was a species of bee, native to the Saskatchewan prairies, that didn’t make honey, live in a hive or (usually) sting? Mason bees...
Life as an intern with the Nature Conservancy of Canada
Before the summer ended and we went our separate ways, I caught up with my fellow interns to get an idea of what they do when they leave the office. (Photo by NCC)
As the former communications intern for the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Saskatchewan Region, I spent most of my summer at my desk, while our five other interns spent most of their time in the field. Before the summer ended...
Invasive Species Olympics
Phragmites javelin (Photo by NCC)
The Olympic Games: the spectacle of international competition, where every four years, thousands of athletes from over 200 countries compete in the pinnacle of their sport. Inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, first held in Olympia, Greece, in...
