Raincoast Conservation Foundation (Raincoast) is a team of conservationists and scientists empowered by research to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of coastal British Columbia. We use rigorous, peer-reviewed science and community engagement to further our conservation objectives. We call this approach informed advocacy. As a charitable, non-profit conservation science organization that operates a research lab at the University of Victoria, a land trust, a conservation genetics lab, and a research/sailing vessel, we are unique in Canada. Our organizational mandate is Investigate. Infor ..read more

My name is Taylor Wilson, and I am the Species at Risk and Biodiversity Team Lead at Coastal Action located in Nova Scotia, Canada. Coastal Action, established in December 1993, is a charitable, research-based organization that addresses environmental concerns in Atlantic Canada, mainly within the Kespukwitk (South Shore) region of Nova Scotia. Our goal is to promote the restoration, enhancement, and conservation of our environment through research, education, action, and community engagement for future generations. Coastal Action is currently tackling many environmental issues that fall unde ..read more

In 1973, I spent time travelling and working in Australia and New Zealand, and I remember sitting under a gumtree and hearing a Kookaburra laugh—just like in the old Girl Guides song! It was my first time being enchanted by birds. When I returned home to Calgary, I signed up to learn more at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary on June 15, 1975. The instructor was a teacher and naturalist, and he was so passionate about birding. We were out birding and there was a flitter in the woods and a flap of wings, and he said “there goes a starling, eventually you’ll be able to tell just by the shape when th ..read more

When we think of creating protected areas, we often think of preserving the great wilderness spaces where (to borrow Samuel Goldwyn’s line) the hand of man has never set foot. Mountain ranges, vast forests, endless prairie grassland… that’s what we need to protect. But the reality is that most Canadians live in urban or “peri-urban” areas, and these inhabitants need nature as much as anybody. Municipalities (especially in southern Canada) are actually home to some of the greatest biodiversity in the country. Yet urban and peri-urban conservation spaces are poorly represented in Canada’s inven ..read more

“Nature is part of our enduring values.” Both our families had been visiting the Happy Valley Forest since 1950, and our parents both bought property here. We met at a skating party on New Year’s Eve 1963, in the corner of the property where we still live today. We’ve been recording birds and other wildlife sightings as volunteers every day since. Birds make every visit outside the chance for a spark of magic. Ann’s father was a devoted birder and I remember him joking about “pishing in the woods” to attract birds. It’s a rare day that goes by that we don’t have a pish in the woods. You asked ..read more

The polar bear is one of the world’s most recognizable species and one that most people would love to see in the wild. Thank you to Andrew E. Derocher, Professor, Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta, for this blog. Inuktitut – nanuq / nanuk; Cree – wapusk / wabusk (Photo: Andrew E. Derocher) The maritime or sea bear, also known in other languages as the ice or white bear, is the largest member of the bear family but also the one that lives the most remote from most humans. Some grizzly bears in coastal areas (where they feed on salmon) get close to the size of polar ..read more

Thank you to our Nature Network partner, Saturna Island Marine Research & Education Society (SIMRES), for sharing this informative blog. Whales of the Salish Sea The Salish Sea, nestled in the inland waters of the Pacific Northwest, is a marine ecosystem rich in biodiversity. Its name recognizes the Indigenous peoples from more than 40 First Nations who speak the many different Coast Salish languages and were the first to live in and care for the area. It spans the inland waters south of Campbell River between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, to Puget Sound in the St ..read more

Nature lover, sustainability expert, tap dancer—all these phrases describe our newest Pimlott Award Winner, Julie Gelfand. For 35 years, Julie has been a champion of the environment in both the public and private sectors, and has had great success in bringing people together across the  sectors. She has served as the federal Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Vice President of Sustainability with the Mining Association of Canada, and Vice President of Environment and Social Responsibility for the Rio Tinto Iron Ore Company of Canada. She is currently Vice-Chair ..read more

Some of our award winners  have worked directly with us, and some with our partners, but all have proven themselves to be forces of nature, for nature! Conservation Partner Award Nature Canada is proud to recognize  Bird Friendly Peterborough and Bird Friendly City of Kawartha Lakes as the joint 2023 winner of the Conservation Partner Award. Their regular birding workshops, hikes, and window decal retrofits have been a big hit in the community and helped raise awareness about bird conservation across the Peterborough and Kawartha Lakes region. The successful launch of the Blue Heron ..read more

Thank you to our Nature Network partner, Nature Alberta, for sharing this month’s blog. Dr. Lu Carbyn, Past President and current Vice-President of Nature Alberta, one of 1,200 member organizations in Nature Canada’s Nature Network. He is a retired research scientist from the Canadian Wildlife Service. One of his six books, The Buffalo Wolf, won the Canadian National Geographic Society’s Best Wildlife Book of the Year award in 2004. He is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta. Wolves are the largest member of the dog family – known scientifically as Canids. They have a v ..read more