When you think back to your childhood, what are some of your best memories? Likely a lot of them involved playing and exploring in the outdoors. Unfortunately, many children today don’t get this opportunity. Kids are often kept indoors by electronics and other distractions. They miss out on the developmental benefits of outdoor play. This … Continue reading Learning in the forest at MacGregor Point
Today’s post comes from Discovery and Marketing Specialist Dave Sproule. Migrating birds are already arriving along the edges of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, and many southern parks have birding events and festivals. But for most of the migrants, these parks are just a rest stop after crossing those big stretches of water. Their destination may … Continue reading The boreal forest: Ontario’s songbird nursery
Today’s post comes from Natural Heritage Education and Marketing Specialist Dave Sproule. A trip out to Misery Bay Provincial Park on lovely Manitoulin Island is always a treat. To go during the spring migration is doubly so.
Everyone knows that Moose are brown, even if they’ve never seen one in person. Big and brown. Even Bullwinkle, the famous cartoon Moose is brown. Moose calves can be very light-coloured when they are very young — even a bright cinnamon colour, but they always turn brown as they get older. Always. There is a … Continue reading The White Moose Forest
Welcome to the September installment of “IBAs in provincial parks,” brought to you by Ontario IBA Coordinator Amanda Bichel of Bird Studies Canada. Break out the champagne! We don’t often add new IBAs to the Canadian family of sites, so when we do, it’s a special occasion. The all-new Frontenac Forests Important Bird and Biodiversity … Continue reading IBAs of Ontario Parks: the Frontenac Forests IBA
Welcome to the August installment of “IBAs in provincial parks,” brought to you by Ontario IBA Coordinator Amanda Bichel of Bird Studies Canada. Summer is a perfect time to talk about Turkey Point Provincial Park and the Norfolk Forest Complex IBA! These forests are known for supporting a rich breeding bird community, as well as an … Continue reading IBAs of Ontario Parks: Turkey Point and the Norfolk Forest Complex IBA
Ever wondered how wildfires are handled in parks? Assistant Superintendent Anne Young recounts a recent training exercise completed in her park. It’s 9:30 am. Thick smoke hangs in the air. The MNRF Fire Base in Dryden has contacted Aaron Provincial Park to advise that there is a wildfire east of the park. The fire has … Continue reading How do provincial parks prepare for forest fires?
Today’s post comes from Nick Lacombe, fisheries biologist at Algonquin Provincial Park. For me, springtime in Algonquin means trout fishing. Many others share this feeling, as about 70% of backcountry campers fish for trout during their spring trips. Lakes containing Brook and Lake Trout are found throughout the Algonquin backcountry, with the best lakes often … Continue reading Help us maintain the Algonquin trout fishing tradition
Biodiversity is a big word for the variety of life on Earth. Biodiversity is you — and every other living thing on the planet. We see biodiversity every day, but it’s more than bugs and animals and trees. It’s about how everything is connected. If we lose one piece of biodiversity, the rest is affected.
Today’s post comes from Cara Freitag, a park naturalist at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park. One of the most interesting stories that a small, shrubby, low-growing plant can tell is that of Sleeping Giant’s arctic disjunct species. They survived a journey of over 850 km: that’s almost infinity for small plants like the Encrusted Saxifrage. Travelling … Continue reading Orphaned by the Ice Age
