Everywhere and all-around: Fence mapping in Alberta
Beaver damming activity, Collins Property, AB. (Photo by NCC)
It was a dry and hot, mid-July day in Red Deer, Alberta. Ashleigh and I, Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) interns and participants in the Canadian Conservation Corps program, were heading to the Collins property. It was a wet spring, and the...
Appreciating insects this World Animal Month
Eastern black carpenter ant (Photo by Wally Simpson, CC BY-NC 4.0)
October is World Animal Month, a time for us to reflect on the important roles that animals play in our lives. Animals are an integral part of human existence, and this month gives us a chance to appreciate their presence and create solutions for...
Recognition and Reconciliation: The pathway forward is Indigenous-led conservation
Sunset at Hay Bay, Ontario (Photo by Ethan Meleg)
Friday, September 30 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. This day is intended to provide an opportunity for people to recognize and commemorate the legacy of residential schools. This day has also been observed as Orange Shirt Day since...
SFI Conference Green Mentor Program sets the right example
For many mentees, the 2022 SFI/PLT Annual Conference wasn’t just a chance to meet their mentor in person, but to also hear them speak in conference sessions. (Photo by NCC)
In June 2022, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and its award-winning educational program Project Learning Tree (PLT) came together in Madison, Wisconsin, for a joint conference. The annual conference’s theme was...
Leaves like a familiar face
The breathtaking Backus Woods in Ontario. One of the best examples of Carolinian old-growth forest in the country. (Photo by Ann Tipper and Zach Melnick)
When you think of wild spaces filled with tall, deciduous hardwood trees tilting in warm winds, frost-free days late into the fall, an abundance of reptiles and amphibians shifting between swamps and marshes, and words like sassafras, Kentucky...
Seeking nature
Backus Woods (Photo by Neil Osborne)
As a Torontonian, my interactions with nature tend to be few due to living downtown. However, Toronto has a few urban nature parks that are just further away and require some planning to get to. This has led me to travel across the city and region...
A prescription for forest health
Plantation rows in Southern Norfolk Sand Plain, ON (Photo by NCC)
When you think of a healthy, thriving forest, do you think of a straight lines of trees, all the same size, all the same species? Probably not. While tree plantations can be economically important and can provide significant ecological benefits...
A "knot" so regular day in the garden
The back-garden (photo by Luca Brunato)
Back in late spring of 2020, I went back to my hometown of Niagara-on-the-Lake to help my father with the garden. This is an annual practice where I come over, and we spend the entire day weeding, pruning, shaping and landscaping our garden areas...
Prairie perceptions: Learning from landowners
Property in southeast Saskatchewan with a conservation easement with NCC (Photo by Jason Bantle)
This summer I was hired as a conservation intern assigned to help Marla, the stewardship coordinator in southeast Saskatchewan. Together, Marla and I travelled to the properties in southeast Saskatchewan that the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC)...
Four months of working for nature: The story of an NCC summer intern
Asquith, SK (Photo by NCC)
My name is Mahla, and the “H” in the middle of my name is pronounced, which is a challenge for most people in Canada, including my Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) colleagues. My colleagues' effort to learn the pronunciation of my...
