Atlantic Salmon: Lake Ontario’s ghost fish
Atlantic salmon jumping in Humber River (Photo by Tom Moffatt/ASF)
The Atlantic salmon is usually associated with Canada’s east coast, where declining populations of the species have inspired conservation efforts by the Nature Conservancy of Canada, as well as Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Historically,...
A Maritimer celebrating 15 years at NCC – in Alberta
Waterton Springs interpretive trail (Photo by NCC)
This year I celebrated 15 years of working for the Atlantic Region of the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). To mark the occasion, I visited a completely different NCC Region: Alberta. Ah, the mountains! Seeing the difference in landscape, land...
Something's Fishy: The legendary lamprey
The Lamprey, 2. The Pride, 1866 (Illustration by Robert Hamilton)
Anyone who knows me could tell you I’m really into folklore. Fairy tales, spooky stories and legendary accounts of people, places and mystical things have intrigued me for as long as I can remember. I'm also really into fish. So if there is...
Archaeology research on NCC lands in Port Joli, Nova Scotia
Port Joli on a clear summer day. (Photo by Matthew Betts/Canadian Museum of History)
In May of 1604, Samuel de Champlain sailed down Nova Scotia’s southern coast and mapped all he encountered. Early in his voyage, he came across a harbour so beautiful that he named it Port Joli. Of course, he did not know that the indigenous...
It’s nice to be on a little island: Reflections from the NCC 2015 Sandy Point cleanup
The shores of Sandy Point. (Photo by Kim Olson)
It’s nice to be on a little island. That was one sentiment shared by a Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) Conservation Volunteer at the annual Sandy Point cleanup; one that seemed to be shared by the dozen volunteers who joined that day. We...
What's in a salt marsh?
Wilson Lake and Lobster Bay, NS (Photo by Anthony Crawford)
My field work for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) often takes me through a number of different habitats, including salt marshes. Some are big, some are small, most are just right. One of these salt marshes is located in Yarmouth County,...
Labrador tea, growing wild in the Big Land
Not much colour in the Labrador tea, but amazing flavour. (Photo by Paul Smith/ Special to The Telegram)
I returned yesterday from Labrador, the Big Land, so vast and magnificent, with waterways that may never have floated a trout fly. There are not many places like Labrador left on our planet. We need to stay on our toes to protect it, us folks who...
Mudflats of New Brunswick
Flying over the vast mudflats at Johnson’s Mills, NB (Photo by NCC)
Brown. Flat. Smelly? A mudflat may not seem exciting at first glance. Even to those who grew up around the Bay of Fundy and are familiar with mudflats stretching as far as the eye can see, they may at first appear lifeless. But this couldn’t...
The unloved bog
Grass pink in the bog at Escuminac, NB. (Photo by Claire Elliott)
Bogs are the unloved wetland. People like marshes because they’re full of ducks and frogs, and swamps can be fascinating for those who love alligators and turtles. But bogs are commonly viewed as swallowers of machinery and unwary hikers, or...
Connecting with nature: Early morning sun on water
Large-format camera lens (Photo by Wikimedia Commons, Image Gallery of the Agricultural Research Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture))
Early morning and water: two of my favourite photography elements... Come meet me me this weekend at the Halifax Saltscapes East Coast Expo. I'd love to chat about the Nature Conservancy of Canada, photography and opportunities to...
