Exploring Canada on four wheels
Chris Perrin in Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, BC, 2006. (Photo courtesy Chris Perrin)
I first visited British Columbia in 2006. My brother, our mutual friend and I decided to make an early summer road trip from Montreal to Tofino and back — all in two weeks. There wasn’t any particular reason for the trip other than a...
Nature through the eyes of young Canadians
Students from John Norquay Public School, Nature Days Vancouver (Photo by HSBC Bank Canada)
When I set out to research young Canadians’ views of nature and their childhood experiences within nature, I had no idea that the results would be only the beginning of a larger conversation about the difference between attitude and...
Capturing the beauty in urban nature
Salmon fry swimming among old tree routes. (Photo by Fernando Lessa)
I first found out about the rich Burnaby Watershed in British Columbia while taking a city bus. Being new to Vancouver, I had no idea how close nature was to the city. Due to amazing conservation work from passionate people and volunteers, nature...
The prolific nature of the hummingbird
An Anna's hummingbird on one of her nests. (Photo by Eric Pittman)
I had no idea how many nests a hummingbird could build in a year. In fact, I hardly thought about hummingbirds at all until Sweetiebird entered our lives. Sweetiebird revealed herself to us by fluttering out of the pear tree in our backyard every...
Hidden gems in the Darkwoods
Devil's Hole Lake (Photo by John Anonby)
In the Nelson Range of the southern Selkirk Mountains in eastern British Columbia lies a large area of great natural variety and beauty, much of which has been set aside to protect and manage its ancient forests and habitat for rare caribou herds...
Women in conservation: Hillary Page
Hillary Page, director of conservation, BC Region (Photo by NCC)
In honour of International Women’s Day (March 8), we’re celebrating eight female conservationists at the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) who are working to create a stronger future for Canada’s landscapes.Starting high school...
Almost missing nature's boat
Volunteers at the Broom Bash event on James Island, BC (Photo by Ann MacDonald)
The alarm went off much too early that early winter morning. My body was heavy with sleep, covered in a sea of cozy blankets and it hurt to open my gluey eyes. I was tempted to silence the disturbance. The forecast was calling for rain and it was...
Former TLC lands are in good hands
Talking Mountain Ranch, BC (Photo courtesy TLC)
Habitat conservation, simply put, is about protecting nature. But like most things worth doing, great conservation can be challenging and complex. In the fall of 2015, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) announced it had accepted...
The hummingbird's igloo
Sweetiebird, an Anna's hummingbird, in her igloo. (Photo by Eric Pittman)
I always thought of hummingbirds as warm-weather birds. So I was surprised to see an Anna's hummingbird building a nest in early February. I was even more surprised because it was its sixth nest in a year, built in our yard. I live in Victoria,...
Why Canada matters on World Wetlands Day
Wetlands in the Marion Creek Benchlands, British Columbia (Photo by Tim Ennis/NCC)
While other nations have picked wetland wildlife, such as Finland’s whooper swan or Pakistan’s Indus crocodile, to represent their country, Canada is the only country in the world that has selected a wetland engineer as its national...
