Ain’t no mountain high enough
Hikers in Happy Valley Forest, ON (Photo by NCC)
So, you’re the master of hiking up hills in the Greater Toronto Area, are you? You take the stairs over the escalator at the shopping mall. You’ve conquered the stair climber at your local gym. Perhaps you’ve even climbed the CN...
Alternative ways to celebrate: Popping the traditional balloon
Balloons can end up on nature reserves. (Photo by NCC)
Let me take you on a journey. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has some stunning conservation properties on Manitoulin and Cockburn Island, which I’m lucky enough to be responsible for. Field work on the Tasker Wilderness Shore...
A thank you letter to NCC
Leigh Gustafson (Photo by Brendan Kelly Photography)
For as long as I can remember, I have loved animals. I used to spend my spare time sprawled in the grass with a pencil in hand, drawing pictures of my favourite animals from my Dad’s Mammals of North America atlas. I incessantly dreamed of...
Hiking the big one
Big Trout Bay, Lake Superior, ON (Photo by Costal Productions)
My dental training and career as a research scientist have allowed me to live, work, hike, bike and paddle in fascinating ecosystems around the world, including Asia, New Guinea, Europe, Africa and the Americas. After retirement, I was fortunate...
A break from the screen: NCC’s 2019 National office field trip
2019 National office field trip participants (Photo by NCC)
On May 24, approximately 70 Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) staff from the National office in Toronto, and some who were in town that day, visited our MacMillan Nature Reserve property in Vaughan, Ontario, for our annual staff field trip. The...
Zebra and quagga mussels: Tiny but terrifying invaders
Zebra mussels (Photo by Michael Massimi, Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program/Bugwood.org)
As motivated and concerned members of the community, there are countless opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint, protect habitat and conserve biodiversity. Invasive species are just one piece of the puzzle, and the good news is that...
Getting a fresh perspective
Fresh Perspectives photo exhibit at 10C in Guelph, ON (Photo by NCC)
Pictures can capture the beauty of the world around us, evoke memories and feelings, and allow us to see nature in a different way. If taking and seeing photos of nature can do this for adults, imagine what it can do for children. Encouraging...
Volunteering abroad for nature
Clearing reed bed vegetation (Photo courtesy of Megan Quinn/NCC staff)
I don’t vacation very well. The problem with loving my job as a conservation biologist is that I have a hard time taking a holiday (and even when I do, I usually keep an eye on my work email inbox). So when I had the volunteer opportunity to...
Have no fear: Rational thinking is here
Milk snake (Photo by Jenna Siu/NCC staff)
I was recently hanging out with my four-year-old niece and talking about different animals. She asked me, “What’s your favourite animal?” I replied, “Butterflies and snakes.” At the word snakes, I could see her squirm...
Paddling through the “Everglades of the North”
Kayaking through the canopy in the Minesing Wetlands, ON (Photo by NCC)
It’s a foggy spring morning, quiet and still, not a whisper of wind in the air, and you’re paddling through a forest of silver maple, hackberry and bur oak trees. The canopy above is perfectly reflected in the glass-like water, which...
