Sparrows, sparrows, everywhere!

Harris's sparrow (Photo by Mhairi McFarlane/NCC staff)
I must admit to having a bit of a soft spot for sparrows. Often overlooked by people, and underappreciated by many, written off as “just” sparrows by birders, or “just” a brown bird by people in general, I think they do...
Native plants look different across Canada

My garden has come a long way in two years! (Photo by Jaimee Morozoff/NCC staff)
As my colleague Wendy mentioned in her blog post, native plant gardening is full of trials and tribulations. Depending on where you live in Canada, sometimes the “typical” native plant looks quite different. Across the Prairie...
Healthy forests are gifts that keep on giving

A forested path (Photo by Mariam Qureshi)
Have you ever been in the forest and felt a sense of peace? If so, then you know the importance of the forest to human health. But the forest is more than just a place to get away from it all; it is a vital ecosystem. A healthy forest provides...
Close encounter with a barred owl

Barred owl at night (Photo by Quincin Chan/NCC staff)
This blog was written by Damien Cheung (with the help of his mom, Quincin Chan). I went to Arrowhead Provincial Park in Ontario for the Fire and Ice Night event with my family on a weekend in January and stayed in a cabin in the park. We had...
Hop into the new year with these Canadian lagomorphs

Eastern cottontail (Photo by Alain Mochon, CC BY-NC 4.0)
Rabbits are one of the most easily observed species in my suburban neighbourhood. Even during winter here in southern Ontario, you can find hints of their presence. My two young kids gleefully alerted me to a set of eastern cottontail tracks...
Reciprocity in our relations

Group of Conservation Volunteers at the Red Deer Fence Pull event (Photo by NCC)
When we think about the relationships we have in our lives, it is easy to think about our family and friends. These are people who we can talk to and who we associate with love and happiness. When you think about the relationships in your life,...
Deep in a thousand-hectare woods: Protecting the magic of Happy Valley Forest

Aerial view of Happy Valley Forest, ON (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
One day it rained red in Happy Valley Forest, and I was there to see it. This was not the red rain of cast-off maple leaves in the fall. This rain painted the tree branches in the spring. And I have witnesses. This is how it went down. It was...
A memorable dance at dawn

Sharp-tailed grouse on The Yarrow (Photo by Brian Keating)
The sharp-tailed grouse dance at The Yarrow is one of many spellbinding natural displays observable at this special place. I’ve been lucky enough to visit The Yarrow, or the Fischer Ranch as it was previously known, more than a dozen times...
Trials and tribulations of native plant gardening

Oblique streaktail on my wild nodding onion plant (Photo by Wendy Ho/NCC staff)
A few years ago when my Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) colleague Jaimee was still residing in Alberta, we had a fun email exchange on the topic of native plant gardening. She has since moved to Nova Scotia, where she has a new array of native...
Gaining a new perspective: Learning about Two-Eyed Seeing on a Medicine Trail walk

Grandmother Buffalo leading the Medicine Trail walk (Photo by NCC)
On Wednesday, June 22, the day after National Indigenous Peoples Day, a team of interpreters from the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Johnson’s Mills Shorebird and Interpretive Centre headed to the Fort Folly First Nation...