Call of the wolf
Algonquin canoe trip in 2007. (Photo by Dawn Senyi)
“Did you hear that?” I asked my mother. We were lying on our backs on the rocks that sloped down toward one of Algonquin Park’s hundreds of interior lakes. It was warm for late summer, and the Perseids were putting on quite the...
Celebrating wetland conservation: NAWCA turns 30
Picturesque Cherry Meadows, BC (Photo by Carol Latter)
This month, the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) turns 30. Passed on December 13, 1989, NAWCA is one of the most successful pieces of conservation legislation in U.S. history. Under the Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service...
Magnificent bryozoan
A jelly-like mass submerged in the canal near our garden. (Photo by MaryLin Howard Photography)
It was early October in the beautiful little hamlet of Shrewsbury, Ontario. My husband and I were doing some autumn cleanup in our flower garden, under a large willow tree on the bank of a canal. We noticed that some branches had fallen into the...
First snow at Gillies Grove
Newly planted eastern white pine (Photo by NCC)
There is something magical about the first snowfall of the year. As the coordinator of conservation biology for eastern Ontario with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), I’m lucky that I get to experience all of our beautiful properties...
Life in Ontario's deep south
Hauling out invasive phragmites that were removed on an NCC property. (Photo by NCC)
The ferry landed, and I peered through the window to see an impressive island among the lapsing water of Lake Erie. This was the beginning of my first visit to Pelee Island as a conservation technician interning for the Nature Conservancy of...
Conservation collaboration: How sharing knowledge is shaping the next generation of environmental professionals
Bell at Elbow Lake (Photo by Charles T. Low Photography)
Nature doesn’t work in isolation. Trying to undertake effective conservation science programs without the support of partners would be impossible; the scope is simply too large. Not everyone can be an expert in everything, but if you draw...
Hugging trees
Anwar Knight and I hugging a black oak tree in High Park. (Photo courtesy of Anwar Knight)
I’m walking along a well-beaten dirt path in a favourite forest. The brilliant early fall sunshine streams through the leaves, which are gradually dimming from their vibrant summer green to hues of yellow, gold and the first tinges of red. A...
Having a field day
Crane River Tract, ON (Photo by NCC)
This summer, I spent a few days volunteering with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). My family owns a cottage on the Bruce Peninsula, so we are close to several NCC properties. My dad already knew Esme Batten, NCC’s coordinator of...
Conservation on a budget
Lake Erie Farms (Photo by NCC)
This spring, conservation staff from the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) contributed to a study that looked at the most cost-efficient ways to monitor restoration success in Ontario. So what, you may ask? Let me back up a bit and provide some...
The importance of wetlands
Sunset at Minesing Wetlands, ON (Photo by Ethan Meleg)
In the summer of 2019, I had the pleasure of working as a conservation technician for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). While I was working out of the Norfolk office in southwestern Ontario, I spent a lot of time in restored fields and...
