Latest news with #NatureCanada
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Here's how you can make your garden a safe and biodiverse space for urban wildlife
Biodiversity is essential to mitigating and adapting to climate change, enhancing the resilience of ecosystems and safeguarding the ecological functions that all living beings depend on for survival. There is little doubt that we are at a critical point in the loss of biodiversity in Canada with thousands of species currently in danger of disappearing, while global experts continue to warn about Earth's ongoing sixth mass extinction. As a response to the cascading climate crisis, wildlife habitat gardens have grown in popularity. These are spaces designed to attract and sustain local wildlife, and include efforts such as rewilded meadows, pollinator patches, rain gardens, naturalized lawns and others. Cultivating a garden for biodiversity is not an all-in or nothing task. In fact, there is a wide range of simple actions anyone can take to regenerate and conserve biodiversity right at home. We are currently organizing a biodiversity public literacy campaign at the National Environmental Treasure, a people's trust fund devoted to funding Canadian environmental organizations. Last year, we partnered with Prof. Nina-Marie Lister and the Ecological Design Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University on their Bylaws for Biodiversity research, along with Nature Canada and FLAP Canada, to develop Gardening for Biodiversity resources. Supporting biodiversity in your garden Together, we've created a series of free, fact-based guides to help people learn how to cultivate biodiversity and support for wildlife habitat in private gardens. This series currently includes four comprehensive booklets, each focusing on key aspects of biodiversity gardening: Yard Naturalization: A How-to Guide Myths & Misconceptions: Naturalized Gardens, Ticks, Mice, Rats & Other Pests Bird-Friendly Gardens: Supporting Bird Habitat in Every Season Good Garden Practices: Underrated Practices & Top Plant Picks. While there are plenty of great garden practices out there, these are five easy and impactful ways to boost biodiversity and cultivate a garden safe for urban wildlife, taken directly from our booklets. Use alternatives to pesticides Pesticides in your garden can harm beneficial insects and can be detrimental to the environment, wildlife and human health. Instead of using chemical-based pesticides, try natural alternatives like biopesticides, horticultural oils and insecticidal soaps that can be just as effective. Likewise, attracting predatory insects and wildlife into your garden who will actively feed on the harmful pest is also an effective starting point as this is a process of pest-control that occurs naturally in healthy ecosystems. There are also DIY pesticides, such as sea salt spray, water-vinegar mixtures and coffee grounds. Leave the leaves Decomposing plant litter, like fallen dead leaves, tree bark, needles and twigs, is an important component of maintaining soil health, nutrient cycling and biodiversity. By choosing to leave the leaves in your garden, you will support the variety of species who overwinter in them, from bees and caterpillars, to butterflies, spiders and more. Prioritize pollinator-attractive plants In addition to pollination, insects are beneficial for a variety of other reasons including for pest control, seed dispersal and decomposition. The best way to attract insects largely depends on which insect you are trying to attract. But as a general rule, it is always a good practice to source plants locally and prioritize native species. Next best to native plants are benign ornamentals and non-natives. Cultivating a diverse range of flowers, especially native plants and herbs, promotes a resilient ecosystem. It also helps natives out-compete invasive species and to reverse the downward trends of mass species decline. Read more: Make your garden safe for birds Birds contribute to healthy ecosystems: they pollinate plants, disperse seeds and prey on insects. Unfortunately, North American bird populations are experiencing a rapid decline due to habitat loss, degradation and other global pressures. Aadopting bird-safe gardening practices offers a powerful way to combat these threats and support biodiversity conservation on a local scale. Beyond core habitat elements, additional practices can enhance the garden's appeal to birds. Organic gardening without pesticides or herbicides, keeping cats indoors, removing potential entanglement hazards and using bird-collision prevention markers on reflective surfaces can not only attract birds, but also ensure their safety as well. Advocate for biodiversity Although there's been a growing movement toward more biodiversity-supporting practices, outdated municipal bylaws and enforcement policies continue to limit the potential of habitat gardens. These disputes over the scope and application of bylaws have brought attention to various legal contradictions and outcomes that negatively impact progress on biodiversity recovery, all the while undermining and negating related environmental objectives on private land. By advocating and encouraging your municipal leaders to adopt science-based biodiversity-supportive bylaws, you help to establish the legal frameworks and political agendas that directly impact long-term ecological health and promote sustainable development and the regeneration of biodiversity. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organisation bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Ann Dale, Royal Roads University and Sabrina Careri, Toronto Metropolitan University Read more: The golden oyster mushroom craze unleashed an invasive species – and a worrying new study shows it's harming native fungi Hosepipe ban survival guide: which garden plants to save and which to sacrifice Livestock and lions make uneasy neighbours: how a fence upgrade helped protect domestic and wild animals in Tanzania Ann Dale receives funding from the CRC Secretariat, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Hewlett Foundation. Sabrina Careri does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
CBC
09-07-2025
- General
- CBC
Gatineau selects pileated woodpecker as its official bird
The City of Gatineau, Que., now has an official bird. The pileated woodpecker was among five candidates up for the title, beating out the wood duck, the white-breasted nuthatch, the cedar waxwing and the belted kingfisher. A total of 4,182 residents cast ballots for their favourite feathered friend between May 9 and June 4, and Gatineau city council made the result official at a meeting Tuesday. It's part of the Gatineau's effort to become officially certified as a bird-friendly city under the guidelines set out by the conservation group Nature Canada. The certification aims to recognize and encourage municipalities that protect and promote bird habitats in urban areas. Ted Cheskey, naturalist director for Nature Canada, said the large, red-crested woodpecker chosen by Gatineau is an integral part of the ecosystem and an anchor species for the region's forest ecology. "There's, I think, 34 different species that use the old nest sites of [pileated woodpeckers] for their own nests," Cheskey told CBC's Ottawa Morning. "They're afraid of nothing and they have a great drumming sound that just resonates." A 'hard-working' bird According to a news release from the city, the pileated woodpecker plays an important role in maintaining local biodiversity because the cavities it excavates in its search for food provide shelter for several other animal species. The bird symbolizes the richness and diversity of the city's natural environment, as well as its resourceful human inhabitants, according to the release. "As a hard-working woodworker, it recalls the region's industrial history and the values of perseverance, solidarity and ingenuity that forged the city," the release states. On its website, the Club des ornithologues de l'Outaouais said it worked with the city to assess over 300 breeds for the title, considering such factors as how easy each contender is to identify for novice birders. Cheskey agreed the pileated woodpecker represents the city well. "I think it's a beautiful, popular, audacious bird, pretty common throughout Gatineau and all the forests that are there," he said. Gatineau's woodpecker now joins Montreal's American goldfinch and Val-d'Or's downy woodpecker as official municipal birds.
Winnipeg Free Press
03-06-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Immersive film at Manitoba Museum allows humans to hear like orcas
Manitoba Museum's latest exhibition invites visitors to dive deep into the waters of the Salish Sea and immerse themselves in the world of the endangered southern resident killer whales. The augmented-reality experience Critical Distance is a 15-minute animated film that launches its Canadian tour in Winnipeg for Ocean Week 2025, and will be showing at the Science Gallery until Aug. 31. The film, on tour with Nature Canada in association with the Alliance of Natural History Museums of Canada, makes a strong case for ocean conservation, says Scott Mullenix from Nature Canada. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS A group of participants watch Critical Distance via AR goggles at the Manitoba Museum. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS A group of participants watch Critical Distance via AR goggles at the Manitoba Museum. 'Some people get pretty emotional going through the experience. We want to take that emotion and engagement and turn it into something useful for the orca pod and the ocean that Nature Canada is trying to protect. We thought a great way to do that would be to have visitors understand the different roles they can play,' he says. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Adam May is co-creator of Critical Distance. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Adam May is co-creator of Critical Distance. The immersive short focuses on the J Pod, one of three pods in the acoustic clan who are residents of the waters. The audience follows eight-year-old orca Kiki and her family as they navigate the challenges thrown up by human activity. Sound is vital to the orca whales, who use echolocation to communicate, and sound pollution is threatening the pod's ability to hunt, bond and navigate. The term 'critical distance' refers to the point in space where direct sound, such as an orca's call, is equal in intensity to reverberant or background noise. Placed in the middle of the pod, viewers hear and see the clicks, whistles and calls the members of the pod use to communicate with each other. These vocalizations are typically effective across long distances in a natural ocean environment, but the orcas, who live beneath a busy shipping area, struggle to make themselves heard. 'Some people get pretty emotional going through the experience. We want to take that emotion and engagement and turn it into something useful.'–Scott Mullenix Human activity, especially from boats, ships and underwater construction, has introduced significant noise pollution into marine habitats. This background noise effectively reduces the critical distance, which means orcas have to be much closer to each other before their calls are distinguishable from the surrounding noise. Submerged underwater with Kiki, the contrast in the varying sounds different vessels make become obvious – paddle boats barely make a splash, but motorboats and trawlers jar the quiet, littering the water with their loud vibrations. Sounds are translated into visuals so the audience can see what the orcas hear; it's a simple but effective method to experience the world from an entirely different perspective. After the AR animation, visitors are invited to join the movement to protect Canada's ocean by connecting directly with ocean conservation experts through Nature Canada's Ask the Experts section. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Critical Distance participants are fully immersed in the orca's experience. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Critical Distance participants are fully immersed in the orca's experience. Visitors can ask whatever they want about orcas, threats to the Salish Sea or the ocean in general. Their questions will be sent to experts who include Adam Olsen, lead negotiator and member of Tsartlip First Nation; Julia Laforge, protected areas policy manager at Nature Canada; and Rebecca Brushett, marine planning and engagement co-ordinator at Ecology Action Centre, who will reply with answers. The hope is that the experience will encourage people to lobby for change to protect one of the country's most endangered marine mammals — at last count, there were fewer than 80 southern resident killer whales in the Salish Sea. AV KitchingReporter AV Kitching is an arts and life writer at the Free Press. She has been a journalist for more than two decades and has worked across three continents writing about people, travel, food, and fashion. Read more about AV. Every piece of reporting AV produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CTV News
07-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Saint-Laurent an official bird friendly city
Montreal Watch Saint-Laurent borough mayor Alan DeSouza speaks about his borough being named an official bird-friendly city by Nature Canada.
