© Lora Denis
Single-use plastics—such as straws, plastic bags, and bottles—are meant to be used once and then immediately discarded. Many of us are already aware of the issue, as images of freshwater turtles with plastic around their necks or plastic littered on Lake Ontario’s shores are powerful, visual mediums that demonstrate the single-use plastic problem plaguing the ...
Malcolm Bluff Shores Nature Reserve © Gabriella Zagorski
Cabin fever and social distancing measures have caused a higher than usual interest among Ontarians to get back to nature. In a recent survey, more than 3,000 Canadians responded that they have spent more time interacting with nature since the pandemic began. However, sudden floods of crowds in some parks and hotspots have brought concerns ...
October 22, 2020–Melina Damian
Greenbelt and Greenway•Habitat•Land-use planning•Ontario Nature•Protected Places
Trinity Bellwoods Park © Amber Dawn Pullin CC BY-ND 2.0
Trees in and around urban areas maintain healthy communities. Trees not only provide the oxygen we breathe, they also play a vital role in climate change mitigation and adaptation, air pollution removal and energy conservation. But what if these benefits were purposely funneled to benefit only some communities? A report from the City of Toronto estimates ...
The chestnut-sided warbler’s song sounds like he’s “pleased-pleased-pleased-to-meetcha!” – I explained to a group of children at one of Ontario Nature’s many outdoor summer events last year. While running Ontario Nature’s summer outreach program in Thunder Bay, I saw a gap in children’s knowledge of local species, especially birds. Although I felt heartened at their stories about giant walleye or bears at their camp, I was shocked at how little ...
Cootes Paradise © girlguyed CC BY-NC 2.0
Although we are uncertain as to the origin of COVID-19, it is conceivable that transmission of a virus from a single bat may have resulted in a series of events that has brought human activity on Earth to a grinding halt. As the world is gripped with the COVID-19 pandemic, attention is drawn to the ...