Natural Continuities: Connecting to nature through photography

Looking out over a pond at the MacMillan Nature Preserve. (Photo by Sara Schiavello)
This month, our class from Mr. Senisi’s Grade 12 photography class at St. Jean de Brebeuf Catholic High School in Woodbridge, Ontario, hosted a photography exhibit called Natural Continuities: A Photography Exhibit in Honour of Lyn...
Saving our planet: 10 good news conservation stories from 2016
The choices we make about our planet in the next decade are going to impact nature and the well-being of people for generations to come. Both nature and human well-being face some big challenges. Biodiversity continues to be threatened by habitat...
If you wanna be happy, plant trees

Todd Farrell teaches volunteers how to plant trees at Happy Valley Forest, ON (Photo by Mimi Chan)
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time was in fall 2016.” ~ my take on a familiar proverb On this special day, I joined a group of dedicated Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) Conservation Volunteers at...
A walk in the woods: Acadian old-growth forest

Acadian forest, Chignecto Isthmus, NS (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
If you’re at all like me, coming across big, old trees while exploring the woods is always a thrill. Over the past four years, as conservation biologist with the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Atlantic Region, I’ve...
Life in freshwater country: How helping water helps Canada (Part Two)

Bow Lake, AB (Photo by Sarah Boon)
In Part One of this blog I presented an overview of Canada's freshwater resources and the need to protect them for people and nature. Here I will further explain how today’s problems need new solutions. Over the last year the Nature...
Life in freshwater country: How helping water helps Canada (Part One)

Elbow Lake, Frontenac Arch, ON (Photo by NCC)
If you are Canadian, either by chance or by choice, you probably have a story about water. It might be learning to paddle a canoe, pulling your first fish from the water or standing on the dock on the May 24 weekend with friends, challenging each...
rare team collects seeds for conservation

rare team partners with NCC to collect native grasses seeds, Central Big Creek Property, Norfolk County (Photo by Carleigh Pope)
Staff from the rare Charitable Research Reserve (rare) were very excited to join hands with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) for another joint initiative to maintain a healthy natural environment in Ontario. Founded in 2001, rare is a more...
How to set a river free

Just add water. Newly opened natural bypass channel! (Photo by NCC)
Perseverance is stubbornness with a purpose. It’s what river lovers need to remove a dam, and set a river free. Luckily for a beautiful trout stream that feeds into the Noisy River near Creemore, Ontario, the Nature Conservancy Canada (NCC)...
Fence fighting at Fairy Hill

Fairy Hill, an NCC property in Saskatchewan. (Photo by Gail F. Chin)
I have been photographing in this area called Fairy Hill, which is a Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) property, for more than five years. Fairy Hill is 36 kilometres north of Regina on Highway 6. It is one of the most beautiful places in...
Bending Willow Creek: Meandering through Minesing

Volunteers at NCC's River Bends on the Mend CV event. (Photo by Miguel Hortiguela)
It was the summer of 1982 and I'd just finished my first of three years in the Fish and Wildlife Technology program at Sir Sandford Fleming College (since re-branded as Fleming College) in Lindsay, Ontario. I'd been offered a summer job with the...