Bringing communities together: The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup

Hauling foam, a buoy and other marine debris during a 2016 Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup. (Photo courtesy of Rachel Schoeler)
As an avid open water swimmer, I learned to respect our waterways while fighting through the smack and splash of ocean waves during long training swims. I fell in love with our waterways during calm, quiet morning swims out on the lake. And I...
NCC's Pelee Island fox squad on a mission to clean up Ontario's deep south

Gray fox pup (Photo by Ken Canning)
Making homes for Ontario’s rare and elusive gray fox takes a lot of work. In the fall of 2017, the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Pelee Island fox squad travelled to the island in the province’s deep south to do...
Emerald in the rough

Hine's emerald dragonfly at Minesing Wetlands, ON (Photo by Chris Evans)
Deep in the heart of the Minesing Wetlands, southern Ontario’s third-largest wetland system, lives a mysterious creature. It is thought to inhabit only 50 distinct locations in the entire world, most of which are concentrated around the...
The value of volunteers

Conservation Volunteers selfie (Photo by NCC)
How do you measure the value of a volunteer? At the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), volunteers contribute their time, skills and passion toward our mission of conserving natural landscapes. They help us save money and achieve more with less....
Conservation, the cowboy way

Waldron shareholders at the King Ranch (Photo by Karol Dabbs)
I was raised within a ranching family. I grew up in southern Alberta, fixing fences in the summer heat and feeding livestock in the winter. I’ve been riding horses since I was three years old, was a member of my local 4-H club and I read the...
Nature Conservancy of Canada: Canada’s Agriculture Day is a time to celebrate environmentally sustainable agriculture

On Canada’s Agriculture Day, I want to talk about environmentally sustainable agriculture. As a professional agrologist working for a conservation agency, my perspective on how the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) operates often includes...
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...
A walk in the woods: A homegrown love for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence forest region

Emma Young Forest by Bill Hubick
I grew up in Cantley, Quebec, in a charming house near a sugar maple forest with a lot of space to play and to explore nature. That area is situated in the southern region of Quebec and is part of the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence forest region....
My time with Canada's nature

A leisurely walk with NCC colleagues (Photo by Clement Wong)
Canada is the place where I was born, but I moved to Hong Kong at a young age for the long-term. This summer, I had a valuable chance to come back to my hometown and volunteer with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) to help with stewardship...
Why Canada’s prairies are the world’s most endangered ecosystem

Rolling prairie at Old Man on His Back Prairie and Heritage Conservation Area, SK (Photo by Branimir Gjetvaj)
Updated November 7, 2018 Ask any Canadian kid to name the world’s most endangered ecosystem, and chances are you’ll hear one of the following answers: 1) rainforests; 2) coral reefs; 3) leave me alone. Ignoring the last answer,...