This is a journey story about garbage.
It wasn’t a quick journey. It took a plane ride, some paddling in a canoe, portaging, more paddling, another plane ride, and a drive on the highway.
This garbage was left in Algonquin Provincial Park’s remote backcountry, something that, unfortunately, happens far too often.
Continue reading Planes, paddles and portages: a journey of garbage
There are few sounds more haunting than the howl of a pack of wolves in the dead of night. It makes the hair on the back of our necks stand up!
But are these creatures really the “big bad wolves” we remember from bedtime stories?
“Algonquin’s blazing landscape” is a term used to describe the park during the peak of fall colours, when the mid-slope of most Algonquin hillsides along the Highway 60 corridor truly seem ablaze with the bright oranges and reds of Sugar and Red Maples.
Continue reading Algonquin’s second fall colours peak: the golden encore
Algonquin fall colours are breathtaking to behold.
But take a look at this photo; clearly, our secret’s out.
So if you’d like to enjoy the wonder of Algonquin’s autumn, or you’re looking for some solitude, read on.
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.
Continue reading A mouse, a beast, and a ghost: who’s using Pinery’s ecopassage?
Cellphones have changed our lives in many ways. It seems like there’s an app available to cater to our every need, from baking to banking and all things in between.
In Ontario Parks, we generally encourage green time over screen time, however there’s one app we believe every visitor should have on their phone.
Continue reading The cat and the Mudbug: a guide to using iNaturalist
Today’s post comes from David LeGros, a park naturalist with the Ontario Parks Discovery Program.
“I’ve never seen one of those” is among my favorite sentences.
There’s a scary thing that happens the longer you look into nature. The more you find, the more you find out that you don’t know that much. It can be an intimidating feeling, but also, an exciting feeling.
Your mind is about to be blown.
Repeatedly.
Continue reading “What the heck is that?!”: when to #AskanOPNaturalist
Today’s post comes from David LeGros, a Natural Heritage Education Specialist at Algonquin Provincial Park.
I spent most of my youth in rubber boots and obsessed with nature. I was always looking for interesting animals and plants.
There are a few creatures then, just like now, that always inspire me.
Top of my list: the Snapping Turtle.
Today’s post comes from Olivia Pomajba, a summer student at Rondeau Provincial Park.
A turtle hatchling making its way to water reminds us of the perilous journey we all face in life.
The world must seem incredibly vast to these centimetre-long hatchlings, and they face many challenges.
Salamanders are iconic and influential members of northern forest communities. As one of the most abundant vertebrates in eastern North American forests, salamanders are considered “keystone species” because of their disproportionate roles as predators and prey in regulating food webs, nutrient cycling, and contributing to ecosystem resilience-resistance.
In addition to fulfilling key ecological functions, amphibians are our modern-day “canaries in the coal mine,” serving as a measure of environmental health.
Continue reading The Spotted Salamander, harbinger of spring
