Conserving Canada's natural capital

Lusicich, Crowsnest Pass, AB (Photo by NCC)
It might be hard to imagine that there's a close connection between my job as an economist at TD and my passion for the great outdoors — camping, hiking and canoeing being among my favourite pursuits. But there is. Over the past two years,...
Something's Fishy: Ghosts of fishes past

A 60-day-old American paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) fry (Photo from Wiki Commons)
They’re there, lurking the depths of Canadian lakes and rivers, unseen by humans or other fishes. Ghosts of fishes extirpated or extinct from waters across Canada haunt other species and scientists alike. Their absence leaves an impression...
Tailing biologists on a local "bat blitz" near Osoyoos

The big ears, strong bite and honey-coloured downy fur make this rare male pallid bat distinctive. (Photo by Richard McGuire)
It’s Sunday afternoon and I have a date with a large group of biologists conducting a bat blitz at the Sage and Sparrow Conservation area [in BC's Okanagan region]. The forecast is calling for a severe thunderstorm, but I have no way to...
Call of the wild: Up close and personal with screech owls in Fernie, BC

Western screech-owl (Photo by US Fish & Wildlife Service)
There is nothing more incredible than witnessing a whole family of owls interacting and communicating with one another. This is what I discovered after an intimate and humbling experience with a family of screech-owls in the Elk Valley this past...
Restoring an endangered tree species in the mountains of British Columbia

Whitebark pine needles and cones (Photo by Richard Sniezko)
In British Columbia, the majority of species at risk are found in low elevation areas where most private property is held. Most conservation properties held by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) are also found in these low elevation zones to...