Stanley the stowaway
Stanely on a branch (Photo by Andrea Moreau)
It was past midnight, and I was just wrapping up my school work for the day when I saw it: a tiny brown lizard, only slightly larger than my thumb nail. The lizard was so small (and I was so tired) that I had to do a doubletake; but there it was,...
No easy task: Ayla Peacock on battling invasive species in the Crown of the Continent
Getting to Conservation Volunteers site often involves a scenic hike through the land. Blind Canyon, AB (Photo by NCC)
I’m lucky enough to work in within the Crown of the Continent, a region straddling the continental divide in the Rocky Mountains that covers corners of Montana, Alberta and British Columbia. This unique landscape features magnificent and...
Fighting phragmites on Georgian Bay
NCC staff and volunteers working to control phragmites on Georgian Bay, ON (Photo by Sara Meyer/NCC staff)
When I started with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) in the spring of 2022, I had limited knowledge of the invasive species called phragmites (phrag, as many in the conservation circle call it), and also known as common reed, the immense...
Tree girdling
Scotch pine girdling (Photo by Chirathi Wijekulathilake/NCC staff)
I am a conservation intern at the Nature Conservancy Canada (NCC) in Newfoundland and Labrador, and in this role I often have family and friends asking me what NCC is, what their role is in the conservation community, and most commonly, what my...
Conservation notes from another northern nation
Sparsely vegetated volcanic landscape east of Lake Myvatn, North Iceland, with geothermal steam in background (Photo by Paula Noel/NCC staff)
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to travel in Iceland this fall, a country that, despite its relatively mild climate, is situated further north than Iqaluit! Thanks to the warming influence of the Gulf Stream current, Iceland temperatures...
A "knot" so regular day in the garden
The back-garden (photo by Luca Brunato)
Back in late spring of 2020, I went back to my hometown of Niagara-on-the-Lake to help my father with the garden. This is an annual practice where I come over, and we spend the entire day weeding, pruning, shaping and landscaping our garden areas...
Tracing the roots of invasive species
A murmuration of starlings (Photo by John Holmes, Wikimedia Commons)
In the media world of conservation, there seems to be no shortage of news on invasive species — plants, animals and organisms that were introduced (accidentally or deliberately) to an area outside of their native range and where their...
What happens to invasive species in the winter?
Second-year garlic mustard plant (Photo courtesy Invasive Species Centre)
With the change in seasons, invasive species may become out of sight and out of mind. But they always seem to come back every year. So where do they go in winter? Researchers are working to answer this question by investigating how invasive...
Mouse-ear hawkweed: Friend or foe?
Mouse-ear hawkweed flower (Photo by mhalsted, CC BY-NC 4.0)
A species is considered invasive or alien when it is located outside its natural distribution and threatens humans and/or the environment. There aren’t a lot of clear answers about the impact of certain invasive species and the problem is...
Keep your coffee mug covered: How spongy moths put a lid on my camping trip
A caterpillar crawling on my pants (Photo by Jensen Edwards/NCC staff)
As a west-coaster, I’ve come to relish the soothing splats of raindrops on my tent — so long as, of course, I am dry and warm inside. That sound, that damp smell that steams up from rainforest ferns, they awaken in me memories of...
