Are you ready for the Northwest Wilderness Quest?
Do you dream of paddling the vast wilderness of Northwestern Ontario, gliding past moose, caribou and wolves? Can you hear the gentle sound of your paddle smoothly caressing endless lakes and rivers, drops of water slowly tumbling off the tip of your blade? Does the scent of pine and spruce forests invite fond memories of past backcountry canoe trips and inspire dreams of future adventures?
Just picture it. This is the Northwest Wilderness Quest.
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The IBAs of Polar Bear Provincial Park
This installment of our 2017 blog series IBAs in provincial parks — brought to you by Ontario IBA Coordinator Amanda Bichel of Bird Studies Canada — is very “cool.”
Welcome to our year-long blog series! For our inaugural spotlight, we are staying in the winter spirit and focusing on Ontario’s far north. That’s right: our worlds collide up there in a big way.
Introducing our newest provincial park: Brockville Long Swamp Fen
World Wetlands Day is the perfect opportunity to introduce our newest provincial park: Brockville Long Swamp Fen!
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What’s in a weir?
Neys Provincial Park recently removed an obsolete weir as part of its work to restore and maintain ecological integrity. Superintendent Allison Dennis has the story…
The term “weir” piqued my curiosity following my first review of the Neys Provincial Park Management Plan.
Turns out that a weir is a barrier constructed across the width of a river or stream which raises the water level on the upstream side to a specified height. Unlike a dam, which redirects excess water using spillways, a weir allows excess water to flow over the top of the structure and continue downstream.
So what does this have to do with a provincial park?
Kakabeka Falls inspires student art
Big thanks to the students of Valley Central Public School, especially Sara Miller (grade 7) and Trenten Scott (grade 8), for writing this post about their recent trip to Kakabeka Falls.
In September, students from the Valley Central School Learning Academies visited Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park for some outdoor learning.
The main intention of the trip was to plant trees in case the Emerald Ash Borer spreads into their forests. However the students also took the time to sketch landscapes, rock formations, trees, and — of course — the beautiful falls themselves.
The year of high water at Presqu’ile
Today’s post comes from Natural Heritage Education Leader David Bree at Presqu’ile Provincial Park.
It was a wet year for provincial parks in 2017.
If you visited Lake Ontario this spring, you know water levels reached record highs. By early May, the lake was 10 cm higher than the highest it had ever been since records started in 1918. This is also a full metre higher than average.
The damage this caused has been well-documented. At Presqu’ile Provincial Park, we had flooded facilities, lost land to erosion, and had to close for four weeks in June to prevent more damage to our soggy landscape.
The flood was certainly an inconvenience to us, but what effect did it have on the nature and wildlife of the park?
Howling hikes ring in the new year
Expect some serious howling this December 31 — the howling hikes are returning for another year!
This Bronte Creek Provincial Park tradition is a particular favourite for park staff as it combines winter fun, night hiking, howling, and enthusiastic families.
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Why Lake Ontario is the land of fishy dreams
Today’s post comes from year-round multispecies angler and writer Ashley Rae of SheLovesToFish.com.
There’s a certain magic about any day spent on the water.
For me, this is especially true when I set out on Lake Ontario. It is without a doubt one of my favourite bodies of water to fish.
It’s vast, beautiful, deep, and fun to figure out. Best of all? It grows some massive fish. What’s not to love?
Due to its size, the wind can pick up quickly on Lake O. Lake Ontario deserves our respect, and I appreciate any opportunity to get out there exploring.
Continue reading Why Lake Ontario is the land of fishy dreams
Maintaining the Missinaibi
The Missinaibi River is one of the longest and most famous canoe routes in the Hudson Bay watershed – 500 km of whitewater river, from the Arctic watershed divide down to James Bay.
This summer, our Northeastern Resource Stewardship Crew traveled 185 km of that river working to maintain Missinaibi Provincial Park‘s backcountry.
Check out this video of their travels: