Meeting the 30×30 Challenge during challenging times

ICYMI, August 1 kicked off Healthy Parks Healthy People’s 30×30 Challenge!

All you need to do is get outside for 30 minutes for 30 days to experience the many benefits nature provides!

There’s lots of research about how spending time outside is good for us. But how do we get outside safely this summer especially when we’re following public health guidelines and avoiding large gatherings or crowded areas?

Here are five tips on tackling the 30×30 Challenge while staying safe and healthy:

Continue reading Meeting the 30×30 Challenge during challenging times

Quetico bassin’: the fall feedbag advantage

Today’s post comes from James Burns, a conservation officer, and former Quetico Provincial Park interior ranger from 2000-2013.

If I thought more people were going to read this article, I’d almost feel guilty, for a gentleman should not kiss and tell; or in this case, catch and tell. Thankfully I’m no gentleman!

Before anyone gets excited, I’m not talking romance today (though, personally, I find a five-pound small-mouth pretty darn sexy, and I know quite a few other Quetico fisher persons who feel the same way!).

Continue reading Quetico bassin’: the fall feedbag advantage

The great OP retirement tour: Charleston Lake

Buckle up for the ride of a lifetime! Interpreter, David Bree, is about to take us on a journey down memory lane.

After 32 years, the end is near.

Hi, my name is David Bree and I have worked at Ontario Parks as an interpreter (also known as a park naturalist) for over half my life.

As I go through my final year as an Ontario Parks employee, I have embarked on a retirement nostalgia tour of the parks I worked at.

Continue reading The great OP retirement tour: Charleston Lake

Happy World Ranger Day

Ontario Parks staff tackle a huge array of tasks and challenges.

Our days are diverse. You might find us researching rare species, applying First Aid to injured guests, maintaining safe and healthy water systems, building a boardwalk, or welcoming families to a busy campground.

We’re stewards of our province’s most treasured natural resources. We’re educators, instilling a love of nature in new generations of Ontarians.

Internationally, World Ranger Day celebrates their wonderful work protecting our parks, and commemorates park rangers killed or injured in the line of duty in park organizations with high-risk activities.

We’re proud to keep our parks safe and welcoming to visitors, while protecting our amazing natural world.

Take a look at just a few of our everyday heroes:

Continue reading Happy World Ranger Day

Why you should go north to camp this summer

If you’ve been looking on our reservation system lately, you’ll have realized this already – our southern provincial parks are SUPER busy this year!

This summer, the solution to finding your serene camping trip might be to head north.

There, you’ll find not only more space to camp in peace, but also opportunities to explore landscapes unlike anything in southern Ontario.

Continue reading Why you should go north to camp this summer

The remarkable 62-year career of Eddie Ramsay

Well… it had to happen eventually!

Ontario Parks’ longest serving employee has retired after working 62 years at Killbear Provincial Park. 

Eddie started working at the park in 1959 and helped to build the roads and campgrounds before the park officially opened in 1960.

After a full career training countless staff and keeping the maintenance department ticking, Eddie decided to hang up his chainsaw for good last summer.

Hats off to Eddie and we wish him a long and healthy retirement!

When most people think of a career, they might think of working 30, 35, or perhaps even 40 years before enjoying a well-earned retirement.

Eddie Ramsay doesn’t subscribe to that point of view.

Continue reading The remarkable 62-year career of Eddie Ramsay