Getting rid of the garlic
Invasive garlic mustard can take over forests, harming native understory species (Photo by NCC)
Garlic mustard might sound tasty, and it is, but it’s also an alien invader that the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is battling on Pelee Island in southwestern Ontario. Pelee Island is home to the elusive gray fox. NCC is working here...
Conservation 101 for urbanites
Garbage clean up at Percival River, PEI (Photo by Sean Landsman)
As a born and raised city dweller, I tend to jump at opportunities that allow me to experience the great outdoors — in all its glory. Connecting with nature has always been an important part of my life, from simple walks in the park to...
From hot and buggy, to warm and fuzzy: Inspiration abounds at Conservation Volunteers events
Volunteers at the annual dog-strangling vine seedpod collection event (Photo by NCC)
In my five years working at the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), I’ve led countless Conservation Volunteers (CV) events. Working together, volunteers and I have pulled invasive species, planted trees, stabilized riverbanks and counted...
Why take the time?
Bioblitz in action at Dundurn, NCC's newest property in Saskatchewan (Photo by Meghan Mickelson)
A first-timer’s experience with volunteering for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC): It was a Saturday morning in June — cloudy and windy, as most prairie days are. My partner and I loaded up our gear and head off to pick up a...
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...
I’m never leaving the Maitland!
Maitland River, ON (Photo by NCC)
Growing up in southwestern Ontario, I had heard tales of the Maitland River near Goderich, and Ontario’s west coast along Lake Huron. However, it wasn’t until I started working with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) that I began...
Heard it from a Scout: How we can take a LEAP for the environment
Hiking allows you to explore nature and get moving! (Photo courtesy Scouts Canada)
No matter who we are, where we live or what we do, we interact with the environment daily. For children, nature is often a playground. For some adults, it can be a place of silent refuge. Regardless of one’s relationship with the outdoors,...
My first month as an intern
NCC's 2018 Alberta Conservation Interns group shot (Photo by NCC)
Birds, barbed wire and brome, oh my! The first month of my internship with the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Conservation Volunteers (CV) program in the Alberta Region has been busier than I ever could have imagined. From...
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...
Why I spent Mother’s Day 200 miles away from my daughter
Kayla Burak with her daughter (Photo courtesy of Kayla Burak)
It was Mother’s Day weekend and I was hundreds of kilometres from my daughter, my back was sore, my hands hurt, but I was happy. I spent the day helping a group of Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) staff and Conservation Volunteers plant...
