Four ways I’m making 2016 a year for nature

American tree sparrow (Photo by NCC)
Ah, January! Time for a new year, a fresh start and a list of resolutions to be forgotten by February. Not so in 2016! This year, I’ve decided on a resolution that will not only be beneficial for my physical and mental well-being, but also...
A natural take on Black Friday

Crow (Photo by Linda Tanner, Wikimedia Commons)
Learn more about a few of our Canadian species and share these tweets to show others how natural #BlackFriday can be! ...
Conservation's a work of art

Montmorency Falls, 1853, Cornelius Krieghoff (1815-1872) (Photo from Wiki Commons)
Art is all about interpretation. That’s what I love about it. Two people could look at the same painting and see completely different things. As both an artist and nature lover, I have always been drawn to impressionist representations of...
The Hunger Games' new Tributes (of nature)

Grizzly bear (Painting by David Arrigo) represents one of the several Canadian animals you can sponsor this holiday season.
Welcome to the Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC’s) Hunger Games! This year there are six tributes battling it out for Canada’s pledges. In honour of the underground District, here are 13 tweetable facts about NCC’s annual...
Why nature conservation matters to me: A downtowner’s perspective

Author Michael Paskewitz at Cheakamus Lake, BC (Photo courtesy of Michael Paskewitz)
As someone who was born and raised in big cities, people sometimes ask me why I care at all about nature conservation. Some people think it’s odd when someone who did not grow up with nature in their backyard ends up with a passion for...
The symbiosis of fashion and nature

Models dressed in fake fur as as their hemlines were soaked by the melting catwalk (Photo from Wiki Commons)
With Fashion Week coming to Toronto, Canadian designers from across the country will showcase their ready-to-wear fashions on the runways. This term, ”ready-to-wear,” means what you see on the runway can be worn in day-to-day life: in...
The biggest nature lesson I learned from kids

Children walking in the woods, Bunchberry Meadows Conservation Area, AB (Photo by Kyle Marquardt)
Years ago I worked at an overnight summer camp as its nature director. My main role was to teach and help campers discover the beauty of Mother Nature. I was given very few guidelines, other than it was highly recommended that I take the campers...
Bombs away...Seed bombs, that is!

Volunteer throwing seed bombs into experimental test plot at Conservation Volunteers event in Alberta. (Photo by NCC)
Do you have a patch of hard–to-reach garden space? What about an exposed piece of earth that you’d like to restore to native vegetation? Or perhaps you are simply looking for an enjoyable, hands-on activity for you and your family to...
Habitat mosaic: Finding Toronto’s wild side

Prairie rose (Photo by Karol Dabbs)
“The spring has sprung, the grass is rizz. I wonder where them birdies is?” ~ Winnie the Pooh Of course spring is just around the bend (officially one day away, if you’re counting) and with it, the city’s fauna will...
Urban gardens and conservation

Flowerbed (Photo by Bengt Nyman, Wikimedia Commons)
Usually when you hear about land conservation, it usually refers to the conservation of places that are still “wild” — meaning they haven’t undergone any large-scale urbanization. However, we often forget about urban...