5 cool facts about skinks

If you’ve ever seen a Five-lined Skink, you know just how neat they are!

The Five-lined Skink, which looks a bit like a salamander, is the only lizard species native to Ontario. And while researchers continue to study skinks, we still don’t know very much about what they do on a day-to-day basis, particularly from September to May when they’re hibernating.

Here are five cool things we DO know about Five-lined Skinks, courtesy of Alistair MacKenzie, Resource Management Supervisor at Pinery Provincial Park.

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A mouse, a beast, and a ghost: who’s using Pinery’s ecopassage?

In today’s post comes from Alistair MacKenzie, Discovery Supervisor at Pinery Provincial Park, shares one of his parks exciting new conservation technologies: ecopassages.

I have a lot to thank my parents for, not the least of which is for introducing me to nature as a young child.

When my family immigrated to Canada, we began exploring Ontario and seeking out opportunities to witness natural phenomena and wild species. Soon, this behaviour led us to Algonquin Provincial Park, and we started making frequent pilgrimages there in all seasons.

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Romantic winter adventures worth travelling for

A cozy cabin in the woods blanketed with snow. A forested trail leading to your very own frosty adventure. Gliding through the woods by skate or ski.

Sound like something out of a fairy tale? It’s not; it’s winter at Ontario Parks!

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Making Pinery more butterfly friendly

In today’s post, summer student Barbara Alber shares a project she completed this year at Pinery Provincial Park.

Butterflies. They’re beautiful, they’re ecologically significant, and they’re one of the only insects that doesn’t make people squirm.

They’re also in trouble.

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Billions travel Ontario’s migration superhighways

Today’s post comes from Brad Steinberg, our Natural Heritage Education and Learning Coordinator. An avid birder, Brad identifies several “migration superhighways” and the role provincial parks play in protecting Canada’s Important Bird Areas. 

Being stuck in traffic sucks. Especially with young kids.

This sentiment recently ran through my head while mired in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto, Ontario. (My conclusion was reinforced when my son loudly announced his urgent need for a bio-break.)

But as frustrating as highways can be; they are vitally important to us, providing a reliable route from one place to another.

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