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Three takeaways from a communications internship in conservation
Big Valley planting site (Photo by NCC)
It’s hard to believe that the summer of 2021 went by so quickly. I was hired as a communications and engagement intern with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) in the spring, working alongside Saskatchewan staff, to tell stories of...
Mouse-ear hawkweed: Friend or foe?
Mouse-ear hawkweed flower (Photo by mhalsted, CC BY-NC 4.0)
A species is considered invasive or alien when it is located outside its natural distribution and threatens humans and/or the environment. There aren’t a lot of clear answers about the impact of certain invasive species and the problem is...
The greatest tool in tackling climate change needs our help: nature
Green Mountains, Sutton, Quebec (by Mark Tomalty)
As we mark National Forest Week, (September 19–25), let’s consider what our forests provide. The short answer is: much more than we realize. The roots of trees, from BC’s hulking cedars to PEI’s flaking black birches, reach...
What’s that stuff on my tree? A guide to Manitoba’s lichens
Lichen on tree (Photo courtesy of Manitoba Museum)
If you’re an observant person, you may have noticed colourful things growing on Manitoba’s trees and rocks. Although some of these organisms are mosses (especially near the base), they are more likely to be lichens. Bright orange...
Going paperless: Introducing a new data collection tool
NCC intern and volunteers conducting a tree survey at Upper North Saskatchewan River Basin (Photo by NCC)
Over the past few years, the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) Saskatchewan Region has used pen and paper to complete their rangeland health assessments. Rangeland health assessments are score-based sheets that are used to monitor...
Discoveries in little-known fungi: Adventures in looking at lichens
Opegrapha parmeliiperda, cross section of one fruiting body showing four-celled spores developing inside spore sacs; blue colour result of treatment with potassium hydroxide followed by Lugol’s iodine solution. (Photo courtesy of Kendra Driscoll)
I used to think that scientists understood the basics about most living things on Earth, that new species were all discovered long ago by people like Linnaeus and Darwin. Maybe you could find new species in the most remote corners of the planet,...
