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© Lora Denis
Accessible boardwalk, Petrel Point Nature Reserve © Gabriella Zagorski
My new position with Ontario Nature couldn’t have come at a better time. The opportunity to explore conservation areas, monitor new species and forge new connections has greatly enhanced my appreciation for Ontario’s biodiversity. Each of Ontario Nature’s twenty-six nature reserves is unique; ranging from old growth forests to bogs to alvars. areas, but they sometimes need active and ongoing ...
Giant swallowtail butterfly, Stone Road Alvar Nature Reserve @ JGui2020
Stone Road Alvar Nature Reserve holds a special place in the hearts of Ontario Nature conservation staff and volunteers. Located on the remote Peele Island, this 42-hectare property is home to many rare and region-specific species including 44 provincially rare and 33 regionally rare plant species. The unique alvar habitat has flora adapted to the extreme heat, variations in moisture and rocky ...
As a GIS Analyst, I spend a lot of my time making maps and exploring the Ontario landscape from behind a computer screen. That’s why I jumped at the opportunity to visit the Frontenac Arch and the Eastern Ontario region of the Canadian Shield with our Conservation Technician, Ryan Wolfe, this past fall. We went ...
Shoreline wetlands, Lake Gananoque © Caroline Schultz
In eastern Ontario, an ancient seam of granite known as the Frontenac Arch extends from the Canadian Shield in Algonquin Provincial Park all the way south to the St. Lawrence River, and beyond to the United States and the Adirondack Mountains. This singular belt of rugged bedrock—once part of a great mountain range whose craggy ...
Larry Cornelis, Sydenham River Nature Reserve
26 properties, 3,108 hectares. 7,679 acres. Our Nature Reserve Program has been proudly protecting some of the province’s best remaining examples of imperiled and vulnerable habitats since 1961. Our province-wide nature reserve system safeguards habitat for endangered plants and animals, protects biological diversity, sets benchmarks for scientific research and is helping ensure that wild species ...
Laurel Creek Conservation Area © Carl Hiebert / Grand River Conservation Authority