Meet our board: Freeman Boyd

John Hassell You are a farmer with a PhD in philosophy. I would think that’s a rare combination. How did it come about? Freeman Boyd I was raised on a farm in southwestern Ontario,... Read Full Article

Ontario Nature’s fall birding hot spots

By John Hassell You can learn a lot about the culture of an office by its internal memos. This past June, Ontario Nature’s executive director, Caroline Schultz circulated an all-staff... Read Full Article

Ontario Nature’s Watch List

By John Hassell Last June, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources released an updated version of its Species at Risk in Ontario List, and the numbers are disquieting. Forty-seven... Read Full Article

Meet our board: Peter Gilchrist, Past President

John Hassell What initially got you interested in nature? Peter Gilchrist I grew up as an outdoor boy in Ottawa when the city was just developing, so there were farms and streams to... Read Full Article

Meet our board: Chris Rathgeber

Chris Rathgeber is the secretary/treasurer of Ontario Nature’s board of directors and the chief operating officer of Memofix Hitech Services. John Hassell How did you first become... Read Full Article

A great deal

By John Hassell Congratulations to our partner organization, the Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC), for raising $1 million to secure an additional 114 hectares of Malcolm Bluff Shores,... Read Full Article

Is purple the new grey?

By John Hassell Location, location… colour. While the proper siting of wind turbines is understood to be critically important to reducing their impact on wildlife, it now appears... Read Full Article

Meet our board: Brendon Larson, President

John Hassell You became the president of Ontario Nature’s board at our last annual general meeting. What vision do you have for your term? Brendon Larson We did some soul searching... Read Full Article

The buzz is gone

By John Hassell Around the world, researchers have noted with increasing concern the rapid decline in bumblebees, yet another once common creature now at risk of disappearing altogether.... Read Full Article

John and Mary Theberge: Natural leaders

– As told to John Hassell Until he retired in 2000, John Theberge was a professor with the Faculty of Environmental Studies at the University of Waterloo. John’s co-researcher and... Read Full Article

Rosemary Speirs: Standing up for nature

—As told to John Hassell I have been involved with many Ontario Nature campaigns during my 10 years on the organization’s board of directors. Looking back, I’m proud of the milestones... Read Full Article

Ontario Nature’s biodiversity Watch List

By John Hassell Nearly 200 species of plants and animals in Ontario are classified as at risk meaning that they are in danger of becoming extinct – either locally or globally. In... Read Full Article

J.P. Gladu: northern ambassador

As told to John Hassell I grew up fishing, trapping and hunting, and those traditional activities remain a big part of my life – as they do for many other members of the two other... Read Full Article

Jim Robb: protector of the Rouge

—As told to John Hassell I grew up in Scarborough, at the time a rapidly growing suburb on the outskirts of Toronto. My days were spent exploring Highland Creek, Rouge Valley and... Read Full Article

Good eats

By John Hassell A relative newcomer to farming, Graham Corbett is beginning his third year managing Whole Village Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), a farm located just outside... Read Full Article

The fate of the fox

By John Hassell The diminutive Arctic fox, easily distinguished from other fox species by its snow-white fur in winter, appears to be yet another casualty of the ecological changes... Read Full Article