In today’s post, Discovery Leader Olivia Bennett discusses turtles’ impact on Grundy Lake Provincial Park — and vice versa!
When I first started working at Grundy Lake, I was talking turtles with our park superintendent when someone asked, “Why do you care so much about turtles here?”
The answer is simple: while the park boasts a healthy turtle population and quality habitat, other areas are not so lucky.
This is only the beginning of why we should all care about turtles.
Ontario is home to more than 250,000 lakes, thousands of kilometres of streams and rivers, and more than 150 species of fish.
There are endless fishing opportunities at Ontario Parks, and dropping a line is a great way to connect with and learn about nature.
From Lake Trout to Brook Trout, Walleye to Northern Pike, we’ve got some of the best recreational fishing opportunities in the world!
But before you head out to hook a big one, let’s talk about some of the dos and don’ts of using live bait in Ontario Parks:
Continue reading The dos and don’ts of using live bait in provincial parks
In today’s post, Ontario Parks Northeast Zone Ecologist Anna Sheppard is asking for your helping hands (actually, eyes. And ears.)
Planning to visit any of these northwestern parks this summer?
If so, and you’re a fan of birds, then I have a favour to ask!
These parks are especially important to the Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas, and the atlas needs your help.
Today’s blog comes to us from Park Naturalist Sarah Lamond at Algonquin Provincial Park.
Picture it: a warm July day at Algonquin.
You’re basking in the day’s rays and exploring an interpretive trail.
It’s all picture perfect until you hear that telltale buzz and feel an all-too-familiar pain on your scalp.
The Deer Flies have arrived.
Swatting at the growing swarm, you look to the sky and wonder: will there be no relief?
And then they arrive. The prehistoric predator. The Deer Fly devourer. The people’s champion.
Dragonflies.
Continue reading The fascinating world of dragonflies and their importance to ecosystems
Planning a trip to Forks of the Credit Provincial Park?
We want to let you know the park may look at bit different from last time because of an exciting grassland restoration project!
In today’s blog, Discovery Project Program Coordinator Jessica Stillman reflects on our mutual relationship with the Great Lakes.
Our human history is reflected in their waters.
The Great Lakes capture our past, influence our present, and inspire our future.
Imagine the stories they could tell.
These bodies of water are called the Great Lakes for a reason: from their size (the largest surface freshwater system on Earth) to their role in our collective history, where do we even begin to share what makes them great?
Did you buy something from our online holiday store last year? In today’s post, Ontario Parks staff talk about some of the vital protection work your purchase helped fund!
Ontario Parks — as part of a bigger provincial effort — has been working hard to assess and repair ecological integrity in many of our inland lake habitats, protecting different species throughout Killarney and other provincial parks.
Continue reading Your purchase helps parks: revitalizing Killarney’s aquatic ecosystems
This article was written by Connor Oke, a marketing intern at Ontario Parks, using information provided by Ed Morris, Ontario Parks’ northeast zone ecologist.
When Killarney Provincial Park was established in 1964, park managers faced a problem: what to do with old fields belonging to former homesteads within the park’s boundaries.
To prevent the spread of weedy species, they decided to plant trees, including White Spruce and Red Pine, and regrow the forests.
Continue reading Enhancing biodiversity in Killarney’s tree plantations
We’ve made the switch from citizen science to community science.
Here at Ontario Parks, we love it when our visitors can get involved in science.
From iNaturalist to Bumblebee Watch, eBird, bioblitzes, and more, volunteers help us to collect important information about our parks.
These efforts help us to understand how plant and animal populations are changing over time, and help us to discover previously unknown populations of rare species. They also allow us to react quickly if someone discovers an invasive species in a new area.
Did you buy something from our online holiday store last year? In today’s post, Monica Fromberger, an ecologist at Darlington Provincial Park, talks about some of the vital protection work your purchase helped fund!
Darlington is hard at work this fall with some ecological integrity projects to preserve habitats for different species throughout the park.
Continue reading Your purchase helps parks: Preserving Darlington’s habitat
