What do you want to be when you grow up?

Today’s blog comes from Hope Freeman, Discovery leader at Grundy Lake Provincial Park

Maybe it sounds cliché, but I truly love my job.

Ontario Parks has provided me with the opportunity to help protect our province’s unique biodiversity while learning and growing as a professional.

One of the best parts? Working in an inclusive environment that focuses on maintaining a good work-life balance.

Wondering how I got here?

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How to tap a maple tree

This blog comes from Cathy Entwhistle, a Senior Park Interpreter at Bronte Creek Provincial Park

It’s that time of year again, when the sweet sounds of spring fill Bronte Creek: the twittering of returning songbirds, the laughter of visitors strolling through the woods, and the plink! plink! plink! of sugar maple sap dripping into a maple bucket.

A visit to the Maple Syrup Festival walks you through the full history and process of making Canada’s favourite sweet syrup. With a few simple steps and tools, you can bring that history home with you.

**Please do not tap trees within provincial parks. Removing any natural object from a park is prohibited, and you could face a fine.

Here’s how to make your own delicious maple syrup:

Continue reading How to tap a maple tree

Bronte Creek’s maple candy wars

Today’s blog post was written by Jessica Stillman, Discovery Program project coordinator and maple syrup aficionado at Bronte Creek Provincial Park.

Maple season is upon us!

Trees have been tapped, sap is boiling, and Bronte Creek’s annual Maple Syrup Festival is underway, which means the biggest annual debate has also begun…

…which is the better form of maple candy: taffy or sugar?

Continue reading Bronte Creek’s maple candy wars

6 reasons to visit the Bronte Creek Maple Syrup Festival this March

Ontario Parks has some pretty cool events every year and Bronte Creek Provincial Park’s legendary Maple Syrup Festival is right up there on the cool-o-meter.

Yes, folks: fresh Ontario maple syrup will be flowing over pancakes, bacon, and more as visitors get set to celebrate an annual spring tradition.

Fresh air, maple taffy, and loads of fun await visitors of all ages!

Here are 6 reasons to pull on your long johns and get sappy this March:

Continue reading 6 reasons to visit the Bronte Creek Maple Syrup Festival this March

Where to snowshoe in Ontario Parks

Remember to always check the Snow Report before you go to ensure conditions are favourable for snowshoeing.

Nature looks completely different under a glittering blanket of snow. Why not strap on some snowshoes and experience Ontario Parks in a whole new way this winter?

Check out some winter parks with top-notch snowshoeing opportunities:

Continue reading Where to snowshoe in Ontario Parks

The summer job that lasted seven years

Today’s blog was written by Adrian Petry, Public Historian and Visitor Services Coordinator for St. Catharines Museum & Welland Canals Centre. Adrian can occasionally be found volunteering at historical events at Bronte Creek Provincial Park, where he was a former senior Discovery staff member.

When I think back to my younger entering-the-workforce self, I recognize skills and abilities that would eventually get me to working in public history and interpretation in a traditional museum setting.

But how we got from 18-year-old Adrian to *clears throat* today’s Adrian is thanks in part to the careful polishing of those skills and abilities through seven seasons with Ontario Parks.

If you’re reading this and considering a summer (or seven summers) in our wonderful parks system, don’t just think to the next few months.

Think about where you’ll be in the next *clears throat again* years.

Continue reading The summer job that lasted seven years

The best day trips (if you live in Toronto)

Living in Toronto can make nature feel a million miles away.

This is especially true in the winter, when the closeness of the buildings, the busy streets, and the slush limit the best that winter has to offer – tranquility, wide-open spaces, and room to play.

In truth, however, the natural world is never too far away. Several provincial parks are open all winter and offer easy day visits for city-dwellers.

We’ve partnered with our road-trip loving friends at Subaru Canada to share some of the top parks near Toronto you need to check out:

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It’s Take Me Outside Day!

Written by Discovery Program Project Coordinator Jessica Stillman.

Teachers, did you know you can help your students be more engaged and enthusiastic in all areas of their learning by taking them outside?

Studies show that students who experience nature as part of the educational process score higher on tests in reading, writing, and math and have demonstrated better listening skills.

Not that you need any more reasons to get outside, but here are four more reasons to take your class outside for Take Me Outside Day:

Continue reading It’s Take Me Outside Day!