Ontario Nature Blog

On October 20, 2024, Ontario’s new Provincial Planning Statement (PPS) officially came into effect. This overhaul of the province’s land use planning framework merges the former PPS (2020) with the Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, effectively dismantling the policy framework that was created to guide sustainable, well-planned growth within one of Ontario’s fastest ...

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Countries from around the world are gathering to address the biodiversity and climate crises at separate global conferences in October and November. Beginning October 21 and lasting until November 11, the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference 16th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP16) to the Convention on Biological Diversity is being held in Cali, ...

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As Canada commits to transitioning away from fossil fuels on the path to achieving net-zero carbon emissions, each province has opted for their own strategies in the name of “green energy”. Ontario’s wealth of so-called critical minerals, which are used in the production of technologies like electric cars, has been touted as the herald of ...

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Maps are a tool used by environmental organizations to tell stories more effectively. They can be used, for example, to visualize data, illustrate environmental issues, reveal trends and monitor environmental injustices. At Ontario Nature, we use maps to track candidate areas for permanent protection, create management plans for our 26 nature reserves, and develop long-term ...

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Fire is an important and long-used management tool to maintain fire-dependent ecosystems such as alvar, including on Pelee Island. Both naturally occurring (e.g., by lightning strikes) and intentionally set, traditional and prescribed burns have been used to revitalize alvar habitat, keeping it open and free of dense shrubbery, and allowing rare plants and animals to ...

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