Canada's splendid sparrow crew
Dark-eyed junco (Photo by Bill Hubick)
Sparrows often don’t get enough credit. Many don’t have flashy plumage like jays, orioles or cardinals, or melodic songs like thrushes or meadowlarks; however, sparrow species are often fairly distinct (once you get to know them) and...
This Groundhog Day, it's all relatives
Groundhog (Photo by Cephas/Wikimedia Commons)
Tomorrow marks Groundhog Day, a North American tradition dating back to 1888. The groundhog, also called the woodchuck, is the largest member of the squirrel family and one of four marmot species that live in Canada. Rather than just focusing on...
A McKenzie Towne Almanac
Inverness Pond, McKenzie Towne (Christine Beevis Trickett/NCC staff)
The slowing down over the past 10–11 months with the COVID-19 pandemic and its related restrictions has meant more time to be in one place and appreciate the nature around me. While where I live — McKenzie Towne, in southern Calgary...
What is a legacy?
Threshing machine, a modern version of one that was used on the family farm back in the day (Photo by Ben Franske)
It wasn’t until I became a grandparent that I started pondering the question, “What is my legacy?” Separating the wheat from the chaff took a great deal of time and thought. It was while reviewing my past experiences that led me...
Lessons learned from volunteers
Group of volunteers after a clean up at the Jim Prentice property 2019 (Photo by David Thomas)
In a typical year, around the time of International Volunteer Day (this year, December 5), I would be wrapping up our final volunteer events for the year and switching gears to planning for the next year. But as we all know, this year has been...
Stopping habitat loss is the key to saving Canada’s endangered species
Evening grosbeak (Photo by Anna Tchoulik)
Canada has been losing and saving species for a long time. Since European settlement, over 100 species have been lost here. These include plants and animals that are extinct and extirpated and species that are considered historic (no one has seen...
Twelve spooky facts about Canadian bats
Townsend's big-eared bat (Photo by Brock Fenton)
There are 18 known bat species in Canada. Although they are subjected to a spooky stigma around Halloween, they’re nothing to be afraid of. Here are 12 things you didn’t know about these not-so-scary mammals: 1. The snooze...
The upside of the downside
Families riding along the Bow Valley Parkway (Photo by Gayle Roodman/NCC staff)
I have a confession: I really dislike like the word “staycation.” There’s something about this particular portmanteau that makes me shudder a wee bit every time I hear someone say it. And with COVID-19 wreaking havoc on...
The joys of capturing memories with watercolour painting
Nature was the balm we’d needed after months of physical distancing and pandemic-related uncertainties (Photo by Christine Beevis Trickett/NCC staff)
In the last few years, I’ve grown to love the joys of landscape watercolour painting as a way to capture time spent in nature, usually on annual canoe trips with my dad. Unfortunately, this year’s pandemic meant I couldn’t travel...
Emblems of Canada: tree edition
Red maple (Photo by Jean Isaacs)
Trees have played a significant cultural role in the lives of many Canadians; they are engrained in our national identity. Take the Canadian flag, for instance. It features a single, prominent red maple leaf in the centre, which speaks to the...
