Ontario Nature Blog

Harold Mitchell Nature Reserve, located in the Niagara Region, is a stunning mature forest containing red maple-hemlock swamp. Eastern hemlock on the property shades the forest floor and the nature reserve’s many vernal pools, providing temperature regulating services, shelter and habitat important to many plants and animals. The hemlock trees here are one of the ...

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Environmental justice advocates are celebrating Bill C-226’s reception of royal assent on June 20, 2024. First introduced by former MP Lenore Zann as, Bill C-226 – now known as the National Strategy of Environmental Racism and Environmental Justice Act – represents the Government of Canada’s commitment to offering “affected communities with the opportunity to participate ...

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In 2022, the worldwide production of plastics reached over 400 million metric tonnes, marking an increase of about 1.6 percent from the previous year. With mounting pressure to find a solution to our plastic addiction, the United Nations Environmental Assembly voted to create the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC). By the end of ...

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Lurking underground in Canada’s boreal forests, zombie fires are the latest concern in an ever-growing list of issues arising from a changing climate. Ever wondered how wildfires start so early in the spring, shortly after all the snow melts? Zombie fires – commonly known as holdover fires or overwintering fires – are often to blame. ...

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Nature advocates have come a long way since the days of “fortress conservation” when nature was thought to be a place where humans aren’t. We now understand that humans have always been a part of nature, and conservation doesn’t work if it comes at the cost of Indigenous rights or local livelihoods. But it seems ...

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