Measuring what matters: Biocapacity and ecological footprint
Participants of the joint Global Footprint Network and York University workshop (Photo courtesy of Martin J. Bunch, PhD)
The most-used measure of a country’s progress is its gross domestic product (GDP) — the value of the goods and services produced over a period of time, such as a year. A huge drawback of GDP, however, is that it does not fully reflect...
Antlers of the East: Tracking the decline of the Atlantic-Gaspésie caribou (part one)
Woodland caribou at the summit of Mont Jacques-Cartier, tallest among the Chic Choc Mountains of Gaspésie National Park, QC. (Photo by Zack Metcalfe)
It was August 18, 2017, when I gained the summit of Mont Jacques-Cartier, an alpine peak of shattered stone and meagre vegetation some 1,270 metres above Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula. Several stones were organized into mounds, marking the...
Carbon and wetlands: So what's the big deal?
Wetlands can support lots of plants and vegetation. (Photo by Amanda Loder)
Wetlands can support a lot of plants and vegetation, which take up carbon from the atmosphere. What's unique about wetlands is that they enable dead plant material and the carbon they contain to be buried in their soils without being released into...
A world without wetlands
Brighton Wetland, Eastern Lake Ontario Coast (Photo by David Coulson)
I live next to a swamp. After 20 years of having this swamp as my neighbour, it’s kind of grown on me. I enjoy the spring flush of marsh marigolds, the annual reawakening of spring peepers, and I still smile when I see a colourful wood duck...
January roundup: Conservation and nature stories from around the world that caught our eye this month
Gray wolf (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
Every day, countless inspiring and informative stories are published about conservation successes or discoveries in nature and wildlife around the world. Here are some that caught our attention in January 2019. Wolves take a snow day Researchers...
The wonder of winter wetlands
NCC intern Cheryl wading into an open water marsh to pull out non-native, invasive European frog-bit. (Photo by NCC)
Last summer I spent a lot of time trekking through beautiful wetlands, both while working at NCC and for leisure. I loved every moment of my time there, whether I was wading out into knee-deep water to hand pull invasive European frog-bit,...
Five facts about grizzly bears that will surprise you
Grizzly bear (Photo by Caroline Henri)
Perhaps no other animal symbolizes the stunning beauty of the Canadian wilderness as much as the grizzly bear. A type of brown bear, grizzly bears occur in the wilderness of western and northern Canada. The species' scientific name, Ursus...
Diving into winter hibernation
Northern map turtle (Photo by D. Gordon and E. Robertson)
It’s official: winter has made its way across Canada, and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Humans layer up to brave the cold, and migratory birds make their way to warmer climates, but turtles have their own way of toughing out the...
Dr. Crayfish, I presume?
Premek Hamr, PhD (a.k.a. Dr. Crayfish) (Photo courtesy of Premek Hamr, PhD)
At the Nature Conservancy of Canada's annual Ontario Region staff meeting last May, a few of us stepped outside to wander the shoreline of Lake Simcoe and admire the sunset. As we rooted around the rocky beach, I took a few photos of plants and...
Ten good news nature conservation stories from 2018: Our collective actions can have a big impact
Lands within the Jim Prentice Wildlife Corridor (Photo by Brent Calver)
Around the world, we are at a crossroads in our relationship with the planet. For the first time in human history our environmental impacts are happening at a scale that is affecting all life on Earth. Our collective experience in solving big,...
