All programs are designed to teach participants about nature and are fun, fascinating and engaging. Outdoors, we will encounter wild animals and plants in their natural homes. Some programs can be adapted to take place indoors; they include wildlife artefacts and activities along with some live animals, along with audio-visual presentations. Hover over “programs” on the main menu for a list of school and community programs.
Learn to identify Ontario’s many species of butterflies, and explore their amazing life stories. July 19, 2020. Location: Kortright Centre for Conservation, Kleinburg, Ontario (registration required).
We’ll explore the amazingly diverse world of insects, spiders and other invertebrates. September 27, 2020. Location: Kortright Centre for Conservation, Kleinburg, Ontario (registration required).
In most of Canada, our common back yard snake is the Garter snake. Often mistakenly called Garden snakes, these beautiful reptiles can be found in gardens, on lawns, in fields and forests, and almost every other habitat. They are harmless to humans, but definitely…
In almost every stream and river, and some ponds, we have “miniature lobsters”. Much smaller, but packing muscular pincher claws that they use to catch their prey and defend themselves, crayfish patrol our water systems. During the day, most are usually found under rocks…
Turkey Vultures are AMAZING to watch. Their flight seems effortless; they hardly every flap their wings and use updrafts from cliff areas and sun-heated ground to patrol the skies. They’re on the lookout for dead animals, so they are a valuable part of nature’s…
In southern Ontario, June is the month for Giant Silkmoths to emerge! Since late last summer, all through the winter and most of the spring, they are in the pupa stage of development, wrapped in silken cocoons. Finally, in late spring, the adult moths…
In late spring and summer, look for Tiger beetles as you walk through nature. The Six-spotted Tiger Beetle is like a shining, iridescent jewel – beautiful to us but deadly to small insects and other invertebrates. They are great for gardens since they attack…
After a rather cold three weeks, the Wood Frog eggs have finally hatched! The tiny tadpoles look overstuffed, since they have some leftover yolk in their bodies which means they don’t need to eat for the first few days after hatching. Being a tadpole…
Digging in the backyard garden or flowerbed, you can’t help but unearth a few worms in spring. A closer look reveals that their body is made of sections or segments. Earthworms are are in the phylum (group) Annelida, or segmented worms. Leeches are also…
Around our home the biggest trees are Silver Maples. They are beautiful, with silvery-backed leaves that becomes so colourful in fall, and I’ve even tapped their sap for maple syrup. Their sap only has half the sugar content as sap from sugar maples, so…
It’s early spring in a forest in southern Ontario. Since most of our trees are deciduous, there’s a lot of light hitting the forest floor, and it’s still a month or more until maple, beech, cherry and a few other species spread their leafy…
I went for a walk around my yard today and saw so many incredible signs of this amazing season! Here are some of them. The chipmunks in our back yard are great signs of spring. They are ground squirrels, and are true hibernators. They…
