The land is our identity
Treaty 4 territory, Qu'Appelle Valley, SK (Photo by Dane Roy)
Indigenous Peoples have lived on, cared for and maintained relations with the land we now call Canada for thousands of years. Their relationship with the land isn’t just one of sustenance and livelihood; it also encompasses a deep sense of...
Where land meets sky
Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area, SK (Photo by Mark Taylor)
The sky was clear over the vast, windy prairie. In the distance, plains bison could be seen grazing on the native grass that covers the entirety of the Old Man on His Back (OMB) Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area, located in southern...
Volunteering abroad for nature
Clearing reed bed vegetation (Photo courtesy of Megan Quinn/NCC staff)
I don’t vacation very well. The problem with loving my job as a conservation biologist is that I have a hard time taking a holiday (and even when I do, I usually keep an eye on my work email inbox). So when I had the volunteer opportunity to...
Your happy place: Find your own paradise island in the Hochelaga Archipelago
Aerial photo of the Hochelaga Archipelago islands, QC (Photo by ALM Par Avion)
When you think of an island, your mind often travels to a distant oasis, with tall palm trees and saltwater waves crashing onto a white-sand shore. In the midst of the busy-ness of day-to-day life, it’s easy to daydream about a peaceful...
Tune in: Let the birds be your guide at Abraham Lake Nature Reserve
Abraham Lake, NS (Photo by Dan Hutt)
Jim Cameron describes Abraham Lake as a quiet oasis away from civilization. That is, until the silence on the trail that weaves through the property is interrupted by one of the area’s many winged residents. “Standing near the...
Paddling through the “Everglades of the North”
Kayaking through the canopy in the Minesing Wetlands, ON (Photo by NCC)
It’s a foggy spring morning, quiet and still, not a whisper of wind in the air, and you’re paddling through a forest of silver maple, hackberry and bur oak trees. The canopy above is perfectly reflected in the glass-like water, which...
Best places to bird in Ontario: Pelee Island and NCC’s natural areas
The burrowing owl is the bird that really started it all for us on Pelee Island. On a whim back in April 2008, we decided to bird on the island, and, incredibly, found a burrowing owl. (Photo by Mike Burrell)
We had an interesting first visit to Pelee Island back in September 2001, where we “dipped” (missed) a trio of wood storks that had been on the island the entire summer, only to have had them leave the evening before we managed to make...
Alvar explorations of a wandering biologist (part two)
Esme on the alvar in Malham Cove, U.K. (Photo by Esme Batten/NCC staff)
In part one, I explained what alvars are, where they occur and their importance. Now, I talk about my alvar explorations in the U.K. On Boxing Day in 2018, I set off early in the morning from Cornwall, in the southwest end of the U.K., to drive...
A place that’s for the birds: Newfoundland and Labrador’s Codroy Valley is a haven for wildlife and a boon for bird lovers
Grand Codroy Estuary, NL at sunset (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
The saying “for the birds” is often used to state that something or somewhere has little worth or none at all. But when Claudelle Devoe says that the Grand Codroy Estuary in friendly Newfoundland and Labrador is for the birds, she...
Ecotourism in Canada
Ecotourism offers experiences for people to discover and enjoy natural habitats. (Photo by Galyna Andrushko)
As climate change becomes more of a reality, people are beginning to reconsider the ways in which they travel. Ecotourism, as many travellers already know, is a type of tourism that offers experiences for people to discover and enjoy natural...
