Carbon credit swap

by Allan Britnell Most of us have known for years that trees are good for the environment, particularly because of their ability to sequester greenhouse gases spewed by cars and the... Read Full Article

Bred in the bone

Drawing from his Ugandan heritage, Yuga Juma Onziga, founder of the Environmental Centre for New Canadians, has created a global village in the heart of a big city By Allan Britnell Located... Read Full Article

Backyard harvest

Fresh, tasty produce. Green space. Conserving the soil, water and air. There are lots of great reasons why city farming has become so popular. And you can’t beat the travel time by... Read Full Article

A very surprising discovery

By Allan Britnell Flamborough resident Paul D. Smith has turned the beach-vacation hobby of collecting interesting shells into an innovative biodiversity study. Each year since 2007,... Read Full Article

The conservation brigade

Whether advocating for wildlife, tending nature reserves, or guiding field trips, our 140 member groups form a grassroots network through a shared passion for nature. By Allan Britnell ... Read Full Article

The way of the dodo

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 By Allan Britnell It was fitting that, late in 2010—a 12-month period that the United Nations had dubbed the International Year of Biodiversity—dignitaries... Read Full Article

A royal rebound

By Allan Britnell With its distinctive black, orange and white-speckled patterning, the monarch (Danaus plexippus) is probably the best known of all North American butterflies. It is... Read Full Article

Living fences

By Allan Britnell That good fences make good neighbours is a commonly held truism, but fences can also be good for the environment, particularly when they are made from trees. In southwestern... Read Full Article

Sowing a green legacy

Friday, September 24, 2010 By Allan Britnell In early October (2010), dignitaries gathered at the Wellington County Museum and Archives [www.wcm.on.ca] in Fergus, Ont. for a ceremonial... Read Full Article

Natural Wonders

More than a glorious stretch of the Niagara Escarpment, protecting Malcolm Bluff Shores is a gift for our descendents. By Allan Britnell Photography by Robert McCaw Standing atop the... Read Full Article

Mother Nature wants you

Tips from the pros on how to preserve and protect the wildlife in your neighbourhood By Allan Britnell Illustrations by Marco Cibola The wetlands and mature forest along the shore... Read Full Article

Bigger is better

Wednesday, May 12, 2010 By Allan Britnell It seems we can add smaller birds to the growing list of impacts climate change is already having on the planet’s flora, fauna and habitats.... Read Full Article

Bird watching 2.0

By Allan Britnell While the tools used for bird watching – binoculars, an identification guide and a notepad – have remained relatively unchanged since John James Audubon trekked... Read Full Article

Giving Invasives the Cold Shoulder

Thursday, February 25, 2010 Posted By Allan Britnell Barely six months after the official surrender of Japanese forces ended the Second World War, Winston Churchill gave a speech... Read Full Article

No Bull About this Re-engineering Project

Thursday, February 25, 2010 Posted By Allan Britnell An ambitious Italian effort is underway to re-engineer the auroch, a wild cattle species that’s been considered extinct for nearly... Read Full Article

Bird versus plane

Tuesday January 26, 2010 Posted by Allan Britnell There’s no denying the heroic actions of U.S. Airways pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger when he safely landed his powerless... Read Full Article

The New World Order

Global warming affects everything – there are no isolated instances. From increased frequency and intensity of forest fires in the northwest, to beach and dune erosion along the... Read Full Article

Bringing back the chestnut

By Allan Britnell Reforesting vast swaths of eastern North America with a hybrid version of the American chestnut (Castanea dentata) could lead to a revival of this endangered species,... Read Full Article

The view from up here

by Allan Britnell For three decades aerial photographer Lou Wise has been snapping his unique photographs of southern Ontario’s manipulated, overrun and sometimes buried waterways. Lou... Read Full Article

Year of Biodiversity

Tuesday November 3, 2009 Posted by Allan Britnell While Arthur C. Clarke may have predicted that 2010 will be “the year we make contact,” the United Nations is asking us to take... Read Full Article

Leaping to conclusions

Monday October 19, 2009 Posted by Allan Britnell Earlier this summer you may have read headlines like this one from the BBC proclaiming, “Legless Frogs Mystery Solved.” Good news,... Read Full Article

Vulture Culture

Thursday September 10, 2009 Posted by Allan Britnell While the birth announcement for a slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) is unlikely to elicit the fawning “oohs” and... Read Full Article

Hold the salt

by Allan Britnell We all know that we should reduce the amount of salt in our diet. But we also need to limit the amount that gets into the environment. Unfortunately, Canadian winters... Read Full Article

Bring back the wolf

Monday August 10, 2009 Posted by: Allan Britnell The lush green that carpets the Scottish Highlands has been looking a little threadbare in recent years, and an unchecked population... Read Full Article

Cool science

by Allan Britnell A typical student’s science fair project might analyze local sources of acid rain or show how to grow crystals. Big thinker Daniel Burd, a grade 11 student at Waterloo... Read Full Article

Seeds of Hope

by Allan Britnell Seed bank: a secure repository for storing seeds. But a seed bank is so much more than this. These sorts of repositories are critical to the conservation and preservation... Read Full Article