Celebrating Canadian species: Bald eagle

Bald eagle (Photo by Keith Mombour)
It wasn’t the first time I’d seen a bald eagle. It wasn’t even the first time I’d seen a bald eagle that winter, but it was by far the most emotional. I had recently relocated from Montreal to Victoria, and the constant...
Restoring the dunes of James Island, BC

Volunteers at the Broom Bash event on James Island, BC (Photo by Ann MacDonald)
“Covenant,” from the French word "convenir," means to come together. And this fall, 11 of us did just that as Conservation Volunteers with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). We spent a sunbaked autumn day yanking gorse and Scotch...
Communications from the coast: Three days of travel as a student videographer

Getting a close up of the old-growth forest at the Gullchucks Estuary conservation area (Photo by NCC)
From May to August of this year, I worked in Victoria as the Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC’s) communications intern in British Columbia. I’m a writing student at the University of Victoria, and film is one of my areas of...
A walk in the woods: Columbia forest region

Measuring trees on the Midgeley Conservation Area (Photo by Steve Ogle)
To walk through the forests of the Columbia forest region is, to me, a huge privilege. This is for two reasons: one, the Columbia forest region is home to home a number of Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) properties, including NCC’s...
A walk in the woods: Montane forest

Skaha Bluffs, BC (Photo by NCC)
I grew up in Williams Lake, British Columbia; it's a place known for ranching, logging, milling and mining. It’s also known for wide, open spaces, forests as far as the eye can see, sparkling lakes and wild rivers. My parents, who hailed...
Man Nature Poem: The Tragically Hip's connection to the Canadian outdoors

The Tragically Hip in Kelowna, BC, 2015 (Photo by Aven Hoffarth)
One of my earliest memories of music came from the speakers of my dad’s 1969 Beaumont convertible with the top down. I remember sitting in the back seat, my hair blowing through the wind, and my sister sitting shotgun beside my dad. Blaring...
Partners in conservation: The Nature Conservancy of Canada and Parks Canada

Wood Buffalo National Park, Alberta & Northwest Territories (Photo by Parks Canada)
Canada’s Parks Day takes place on the third Saturday of July each year, at all national parks from coast to coast to coast. It serves as a reminder of our country’s beautiful natural landscapes. As Canada’s leading national...
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...
Something's Fishy: Picking on pike

Northern pike (Photo by Dirk Godlinski)
There is a special day in every fisherman and -woman’s life where they reel in a fish that gives them a one-way ticket into the big players' club. Freshwater anglers across Canada dream of encountering these beasts, some adult species...
The rocky intertidal: Starring Pisaster ochraceus

The sea star team (from left to right: Maggie Cascadden, Marianna DiMauro, Chloe Boyle, Aimee McGowan, Mike Huck) (Photo by Anne Salomon)
Between ocean and land exists a remarkable place unlike any other in the world: the intertidal zone, where marine ecosystems are both exposed to air at low tide and under water during high tide. This unique space where land and sea meet is...