Out in the woods at Nebo
Pond at Nebo (Photo by Bill Armstrong)
Having experienced several Conservation Volunteers (CV) events on Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) properties over several years, spending part of a day at the end of September on the 178-hectare (439-acre) Nebo property in Saskatchewan was a...
Wideview revisited
Fence lined with vinyl clips stretch across the prairie at NCC's Wideview property in Saskatchewan. (Photo by Bill Armstrong)
I experienced an unexpected moment of satisfaction at the beginning of a recent Conservation Volunteers (CV) event at Wideview, a Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) property in Saskatchewan. As the truck I was riding in topped another rise in this...
My first de-fencing lesson
Conservation Volunteer removing wire (Photo by NCC)
As a self-proclaimed explorer, I believe that Canada’s biggest charm lies in its beautiful landscapes and vibrant natural expanses. Just two weeks after moving to Calgary from Mumbai, India, I was looking online for a way to experience the...
Meadows for Monarchs
Meadows for Monarchs event participants (Photo by NCC)
If you thought you saw more monarchs flitting about last summer and fall, you were right. Monarch Watch reported that 2018 was a good year for the iconic orange and black butterfly, thanks to a combination of aggressive conservation efforts in...
Volunteer to learn
A lesson on vernal pools by Jenna Siu (Photo by Daniel Abdelmassih)
On September 29, 2018, I participated in my first Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) Conservation Volunteers event. We planted 175 early succession native trees (i.e., trees typically found in young forests) in Happy Valley Forest to help take...
The best defence is an eco-fence!
Conservation Volunteers, NCC staff and Bruce Peninsula National park staff (Photo by NCC)
Ontario’s Saugeen Bruce Peninsula is well known for its unique biodiversity and natural beauty. As budding naturalists with a particular interest in reptiles and amphibians, my husband and I jumped at the chance to participate in the Nature...
The blitz of the burdock brigade
Conservation Volunteers with bags of invasive common burdock. (Photo by NCC)
Thanks to the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), I can now cross off my bucket list my long-nurtured desire to hack away at invasive burdock plants with a machete. In truth, I’d never entertained the idea before signing up as a Conservation...
Taking the creep out of creeping Jenny
Conservation Volunteers at Westmeath Freshwater Cave tackling creeping Jenny (Photo by Cheryl Spotswood)
On July 26, 2018, 14 Conservation Volunteers (CV) journeyed to the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Westmeath Freshwater Caves property, which is part of the longest underwater cave system in Canada, to remove creeping Jenny. The Westmeath...
Plugs for the prairies
Team hike to the planting area (Photo by Robert Britton)
Since I was a child, I was fascinated by the way a seed could spring to life inside moist soil. I remember faithfully planting seeds in my mini-greenhouse and marveling at the miracle unfolding before me. This fascination carried on for me in...
The return of the swamp forest
Conservation Volunteers planting trees at Minesing Wetlands, ON (Photo by Robert Britton)
Imagine, if you will, an abandoned-looking farm in the southern Ontario countryside. You park your car and start walking into the back sections of it. After a while, you find yourself in a thickly grassed and soggy area with a tiny stream running...
