By Dana Buchbinder, Citizen Science Coordinator, Ecospark  Help put Toronto and the GTA on the map to win the title of the wildest city in Canada by taking part in the City Nature Challenge 2023 from April 28 - May 1! The City Nature Challenge is an annual four-day global event where cities across the world compete to see which city can gather the greatest number of wildlife observations, find the most species and engage the most people at the event. EcoSpark is once again proud to be the regional organizer for the city of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area. Last year, Toronto an ..read more

By Philip Harker, Citizen Science Intern, EcoSpark We tend to focus quite a lot on the earth’s flashier organisms: ferocious tigers, adorable axolotls, and towering trees. These organisms capture our imagination and help us to motivate others to protect our biosphere. But these charismatic plants and animals don’t always tell the full story of the ecosystems that they come from. All across the world, ecosystems are highly dependent on the simpler organisms that we tend to take for granted. Today, we explore a diverse, weird, and fascinating (yet often overlooked) group of organisms: algae! F ..read more

By: Danika Strecko, Senior Education Manager, Project Learning Tree Canada The forest is teeming with life – from the tiniest microorganisms and fungi to birds and bears. The interdependence between everything growing and living in forests is truly awe-inspiring. And while one of the best ways to learn about nature is to get outside, we realize that’s not always possible. Perhaps you don’t have easy access to forests or the weather in your neck of the woods (pun intended) isn’t ideal this time of year. That’s why Project Learning Tree Canada developed a fun online learning experience, Forest ..read more

Reprinted with permission from Invasive Species Centre. By: Nicole Szabo, Communication & Event Management Intern, Invasive Species Centre You’ve probably heard this from us before: if you see an invasive species, report it to the web-based mapping system EDDMapS. Reports allow for early detection and response, which can lead to the successful management of an invasive species. But can one person submitting a photo from their phone actually make a difference in preventing the spread of invasives? In 2020, a local recreational paddler was kayaking through the Welland River, a mostly deep an ..read more

By: Andrew Orlando, Habitat Technician, Ontario Streams Known to some as the “King of Fish”, the Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar) has one of the most storied histories across the Atlantic Ocean. Recently however, this history has not been entirely positive. Utilized as a food source for thousands of years, human induced pressures on the fish have only increased over the years to the extent that Atlantic Salmon are now one of the most heavily regulated fish in the world. Believed to have colonized Lake Ontario during the last post-glacial period when the lake was easily accessible by sea, historic ..read more

By: Madison Struba, Training & Outreach Intern, Invasive Species Center Did you know that forests are home to more than 80% of all terrestrial species? Plants, animals, insects, and humans all benefit from the forests ability to stabilize climate, produce oxygen, regulate water, provide habitat, and supply food. Unfortunately, trees throughout Canada’s natural and urban forests are threatened by invasive insects and pathogens. In Ontario, about 40 invasive forest insects and 10 invasive tree diseases already impact and harm the province’s environment, economy, and society. These invasive s ..read more

By Sydney Shepherd, Ontario Piping Plover Conservation Technician, Birds Canada Piping Plover are a small, sandy coloured shorebird that is listed as endangered both federally and provincially. After a 30-year absence, Piping Plover returned to the shores of Ontario in 2007. As invertebrate-eating carnivores and habitat specialists, they are considered an indicator species. Their presence (or absence) sends us signals about the health of their habitats. So, where you see Piping Plover, you know you’re on a healthy beach. Figure 1: Flash (pictured above), is a four-year-old Piping Plover that ..read more

By: Ben Teskey, OFAH Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program Coordinator Picture this: forests, savannas, tall grass prairies, and wetlands full of wildlife; lakes, rivers, and streams teeming with fish.  One of these fish, the Atlantic Salmon, is so abundant you could cross rivers by walking on their backs!  This is the picture early European explorers and settlers described from when they first arrived in the Lake Ontario region in the 17th and 18th centuries.  The air and water were clean, and the ecosystems were healthy, productive, and full of biodiversity.  Capable of rea ..read more

By: Eric Buiter, Ontario Streams In today’s world of constant progression, with pressures from large scale land alterations from agricultural intensification to urbanization, it seems like we humans are always on the go, always moving forward with shovel in hand. It’s no wonder how in a world that’s constantly moving forward, we tend to forget the needs of the non-humans when we build things, such as our infrastructure. Roads and bridges are designed to make our lives easier, but how do our movements affect how wildlife gets around? Our infrastructure may be the problem, but it can also be the ..read more

By Val Masters, Environmental Communications and Social Media Manager, Seeds to Saplings Did you know that anyone can boost biodiversity? It’s easier than you think to get more insects, mammals, and birds in your backyard. How? Just plant a native tree. Seeds to Saplings is an organization whose mission is to help students of all ages grow a native tree, from a tiny acorn all the way to a towering oak. We focus on getting our free online instructions out to classrooms of all levels, so that kids can grow up with their very own oak. Come spring, your acorn will be on its way to becoming a tree ..read more