It’s dark, damp, dripping. Workers with sore backs descend staggering depths to reach their claustrophobic destination. Dangerous, dirty, sweaty; one heavily geared man carries precious cargo, a brightly coloured, charming bird. Yes, it’s a Canary in a coal mine. Canaries were used in mining as recently as the 1980s. These …
Winter Birds of the Couchiching Region
Both spring, and summer are enjoyable times of year for birding in the Couchiching area. From pine-oak barrens of Matchedash, and the shrublands of Carden Alvar, to moist maple forests around Awenda and Oro Moraine, the region provides a wide variety of habitat types, allowing birders to observe a large …
Carden Challenge participants raise $30K & count hundreds of species!
Beautiful blue skies and warm weather greeted the 74 people who took part in the 19th annual Carden Challenge. It was fun being together in celebration of this landscape and the species who call it home. All together, participants raised an impressive $30,000 for alvar stewardship efforts. Thank you to …
Rare 400-acre opportunity + a rare sighting
It was June 5, 2022 and I was testing my car along Alvar Road, listening for birds that I could add to my square for the Breeding Bird Atlas project. A distance along the road, I heard a Hermit Thrush singing very near the road. The Hermit Thrush song may …
Thank you! The 18th Carden Challenge
14 teams and 66 participants searched for as many species as possible from Friday, May 27 at 6:00pm to Saturday, May 28 at 6:00pm, while raising money to help the Conservancy protect the Carden Alvar. All together they counted 247 species and raised over $33,000 for alvar conservation efforts! See …
Notes from the Field: Fall 2021
While most of our Community Science monitoring activities have finished until next spring, the work of Land Stewards and Maintenance teams never stops. This fall, Val Holt and Laurie Stanford picked up the mantle of stewarding Church Woods for the very active group of volunteers living around this popular nature …
Re-defining Ecological Perspectives: An Indigenous-Led Bioblitz.
Join Gary Pritchard of Curve Lake First Nation and principal consultant, 4 Directions of Conservation. On the shores of the Black River in Treaty Territory 20 and Williams Treaties, Gary will teach us about decolonizing conservation and learning to value all of our relations. All life deserves a space on …
Notes from the Field: Summer 2021
Monarch Monitoring Begins: Canadian Conservation Corps Interns Ryan and Claire, along with staff member Aiesha – have spent numerous days mapping out milkweed habitats and setting up new monarch monitoring sites at two Conservancy Nature Reserves. The new protocols for this pilot project are currently being tested in the field …
Notes from the Field: Spring 2021
Annual chemical control of Dog Strangling Vine in Carden is necessary to protect this globally-unique alvar. The spraying program has been successful and each year less and less chemical application is necessary. Great care is taken to spot spray and only the minimal amount of chemical is needed to kill …
Notes from the Field – Spring 2020
Windstorms and power outages are the perfect excuse to make impromptu monitoring visits. There could be downed trees blocking trails, and you also never know what creatures are around. Each visit to a Conservancy nature reserve holds a surprise, and on this day it was a dozen Hooded Merganser …