Rediscovering food from our own backyards
Me holding a beaked hazelnut (Photo by NCC)
Another week has gone by, and the time has come where I look at my empty cupboards and realize that I cannot put off grocery shopping any longer. Grudgingly, I pack up my reusable bags and head across the street to the grocery store. I browse...
Tails from the Field: Mapping the way to conservation
Using a GPS to find sign coordinates at Fishing Lake, ON (Photo by Nick Tardif)
If you've ever been frustrated when your car’s GPS directed you the wrong way, you know the plight of the conservation biologist. Staff at the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) rely heavily on GPS systems, maps and co-ordinates. And we're...
What the heck is a neotenic salamander?
Lemon-yellow prehistoric-looking creature that I later found out to be a western tiger salamander (Photo by Sherry Nigro)
My dad told me about it during a phone call. A neighbour had discovered some weird, not-seen-here-before creatures in his dugout. Bright yellow ones, dark ones, some with frills around their necks like miniature dinosaurs; these creatures were...
Where are they now? Intern Alumni Spotlight: Eve Desmarais
Eve Desmarais at her office at Environment and Climate Change Canada (Photo courtesy of Eve Desmarais)
This blog is the second in a series of stories highlighting some of the individuals who have interned with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). Follow along as I interview NCC Conservation Intern alumni from across the country, and learn more...
Obituary for a curlew
An Eskimo curlew taxidermy is likely the only way to see this species in the flesh nowadays. (Photo taken at the Royal Ontario Museum by Dan Kraus/NCC staff)
It’s probably unusual to think about writing an obituary for a bird. But the story of the Eskimo curlew recently led me to do just that: Eskimo curlew (Numenius borealis), after a long battle with market hunting and habitat loss, passed...
Producing Nature Talks, the podcast (Audio blog)
Voicing the podcast in my home recording studio (Photo courtesy of Tiffany Cassidy/NCC staff)
This is the story of Tiffany Cassidy, the Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC's) national media relations manager, and the lessons she learned while producing a podcast series called Nature Talks. Listen to the audio blog and view the transcript...
Burning for change
Prescribed burn at NCC's Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area, SK (Photo by NCC)
The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is committed to conserving nature in all its diversity, to create a legacy for future generations. NCC uses the latest conservation science to safeguard Canada’s lands and waters. As a part of this...
Conservation 101 for urbanites
Garbage clean up at Percival River, PEI (Photo by Sean Landsman)
As a born and raised city dweller, I tend to jump at opportunities that allow me to experience the great outdoors — in all its glory. Connecting with nature has always been an important part of my life, from simple walks in the park to...
Something's Fishy: A whirlwind of a problem
Whirling disease can cause a severe spinal deformity in infected fish (Photo by Colorado Parks and Wildlife)
As I spend most of my free time outdoors, I’ve been fortunate enough to see many great examples of Canadian nature. I have watched a family of deer feeding by a stream in Alberta, seen tracks of several elusive mammal species, such as...
Understanding how roads affect wildlife in the Chignecto Isthmus
Documenting roadkill helps me investigate the interactions between wildlife and roads in the Chignecto Isthmus (Photo by NCC)
Whenever I talk to people about my summer field work, I am often initially met with expressions of disgust or sadness. The knee-jerk reactions are not surprising. I work very closely with everyone’s least favourite summer road trip sight:...
