Weaving beads, inspired by trees
Beading outdoors is where I'm most at peace. Here, I'm beading while camping at Bon Echo Provincial Park, Ontario. (Photo by Chase Wastesicoot)
Beading is more than a hobby to me, it’s how I connect to my culture and to the land. My traditional name is Mein-gun kwe, and I identify as Mohawk and European. My family is wolf clan from Tyendinaga territory, but I was born and raised on...
Pushing petals: Exploring Canadian botanical art
Summer has turned to fall, as the pandemic blurs the days. If you are able, please stay at home. But remember that you can still go outside and enjoy some nature, while maintaining a safe distance from others. Plants can provide a nature-based...
Invasive, shrimp-sucking parasite continues northward Pacific expansion
By Josh Silberg and Natalie van Hoose Researchers have identified an invasive, blood-sucking parasite on mud shrimp in the waters of British Columbia’s Calvert Island. The discovery represents the northernmost record of the parasite on the...
Seeing Canada through the trees: How Canadians can lead the world in forest conservation
Whitemouth River Watershed Natural Area, MB (Photo by Mike Dembeck)
Forests define our Canadian geography and identity. One-third of our country is covered with trees, and forests occur in every province and territory. Jobs in forestry employ more than 200,000 Canadians and support many Indigenous and northern...
Are you gonna go their way?
A walk through a forest can lead to wonderful adventures and new discoveries, both big and small. In most forests, it’s easy to get lost in the tree’s grandeur — figuratively and quite literally. While some of us may use a...
A throwback to working in Backus Woods
Forest canopy in Backus Woods, ON (Photo by Neil Ever Osborne)
I had the pleasure of working for the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) for the summer of 2019 as a conservation technician out of the Norfolk County, Ontario, office. When I first came to Norfolk, I was expecting to see mostly farmland and...
Emblems of Canada: tree edition
Red maple (Photo by Jean Isaacs)
Trees have played a significant cultural role in the lives of many Canadians; they are engrained in our national identity. Take the Canadian flag, for instance. It features a single, prominent red maple leaf in the centre, which speaks to the...
What the knowledge of how trees communicate means for forest conservation
Japanese people are generally familiar with shinrin-yoku or forest bathing — the practice of being immersed in a forest. In Germany, the concept is referred to as Waldsehligkeit, a feeling of profound well-being that comes from being...
Tackling invasive European common reed
The highs and lows of monitoring the large-scale suppression of Phragmites australis spp. australis My field crew and I are covered in scratches. I’m a PhD student studying the recovery of native vegetation after invasive species control,...
Murder hornets: What’s all the buzz about?
If you’ve been following the news this summer, you’re sure to have seen mention of murder hornets. After isolated discoveries of this invasive species in British Columbia and Washington state, news about the Asian giant hornet has...
