During the warm spell November 10th, Joelle and Aiesha did a night time visit to Adams Nature Reserve to see if any salamanders were out and about. Sure enough, they found one lonely Eastern Red-backed salamander under the first board they checked! Normally salamander monitoring ends before the first frost …
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 …
Notes From the Field – Summer 2019
During a recent Salamander Monitoring visit to Church Woods with Kim Trudeau & family, they encountered two Eastern Red-backed Salamanders. This terrestrial species of salamander can live for up to 25 years and requires a damp environment to survive. This is because they need to breathe through their skin as they …
Notes from the Field – Summer 2019
Photo: Kim Trudeau
Volunteers receive Freshwater Hero award!
Volunteers Meagan Coughlin & Jamie Ross are veterans of the Conservancy’s Water Quality Monitoring Program Freshwater Future, a cross-border organization working to protect the Great Lakes, has awarded The Couchiching Conservancy the 2019 Freshwater Hero award for their, “innovative and progressive approaches to land and water conservation and stewardship.” “Whether it’s …
Welcome to our New Summer Staff
Join us in welcoming our three summer staff! Toby Rowland (pictured on the right) began work today as our new Citizen Science Field Technician. This is a summer contract through Canada Summer Jobs. Toby has a B.Sc. from Trent University in Ecological Restoration. He has tracked Blanding’s Turtles using radio telemetry …
Notes From The Field – Spring 2019
Kim Trudeau and family discovered the Couchiching Conservancy through time spent at Church Woods. This winter and spring Kim took our Species at Risk, Invasive Species, and Vernal Pool workshops. Now she and her family are putting her new knowledge to work monitoring the Vernal Pools and salamanders of Church Woods. …
Notes From The Field – Fall 2018
On Sunday December 2nd from 1:30 to 4 pm, we’re going to take over the basement of the St. Paul’s Centre and hold an event for all of our monitoring teams (including General Property Monitoring, Water Monitoring, Whip-poor-will surveys, and Reptile & Amphibian monitors). *Please RSVP* Contact Dorthea by phone (705) 326-1620 …
Notes from the Field – Summer 2018
Sign vandalism continues to be the biggest management issue at our newest acquisition, the Ron Reid Nature Reserve, as some of the hunters in the area let us know of their presence. While we are not anti-hunting, we do believe that having protected areas for wildlife is important, and therefore …
New discoveries at Grant Wetland
Our water monitoring project is growing and moving into town this year. Every time we add a new site we learn so much we wish we had done it sooner. We console ourselves with the adage: The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.