Who needs a gym membership when you have the outdoors?
Outdoor exercise has a stronger effect on blood pressure and mood than indoor exercise. Stress is relieved within minutes of exposure to nature as measured by muscle tension, blood pressure, and brain activity.
To put it simply, time spent outside is good for you! Let’s take a look at a few fun outdoor activities that can improve your health.
Continue reading Five outdoor activities to improve your health
We’re doing it!
We’re helping more and more turtles in our provincial parks with the support of our incredible donors.
Over the past several months, we have collected donations for our Turtle Protection Projects across Ontario.
We are thrilled to report that many of these projects are well underway. Our park staff are working hard to protect and monitor nesting turtles and their hatchlings.
In today’s post, Anna Winge-Breen shares her journey from childhood visitor to Algonquin Provincial Park Discovery Ranger.
We all have at least one childhood experience, so crisp and profound that it has become nearly inseparable from our identity.
A memory that is so deep in your heart, thinking of it brings you right back to a feeling of excitement so exuberant it could be felt only by a child.
For me, this memory is my summers spent in Algonquin.
Last year, Ontario’s protected areas experienced record-breaking demand.
Ontario Parks received 11 million visits, and Parks Canada reported over 2 million visits.
That’s 13 million visits to Ontario’s provincial and national parks in one year. That’s roughly equivalent to the population of Ontario!
Continue reading #ForTheLoveOfParks: 5 ways to help keep parks clean and safe this year
Today’s post comes from Victoria Reimer, Bronte Creek Provincial Park’s Green Jobs summer student and friend to birds everywhere.
If you asked me what a Green Jobs student was before I started, I wouldn’t have known myself.
Now, after being in the role, I can tell you it’s a wonderful opportunity to become intimately connected to your park. Every day, my job challenges me, but it also gives me so many opportunities to learn.
Hey parks lovers!
Are you ready to hit the road and collect park crests? Continue reading Complete your park crest collection
Today’s post comes from Meg Bethune, an assistant naturalist at Killbear Provincial Park.
Campfires are an iconic part of any camping trip. Whether you’re toasting marshmallows and spider weenies, or just chatting with friends, the memories made in the flickering glow of the fire are ones we hold dear to our hearts.
So what happens when a fire ban hinders one of our favourite camping traditions?
Today’s post comes from Mat St-Jules, a park interpreter at Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park.
The sights of the Mattawa River keep drawing me back.
I find incredible beauty in a scraggly cedar clinging to sheer rock or in the gleaming coat of a river otter standing on a sandbar. But, of course, these marvels don’t stand on their own.
Below the wildlife and past the trees is the foundation of this land: the geology it all rests on.
In this month’s featured constellations, we will discuss the Summer Triangle and the constellations of Lyra, Cygnus, Aquila, and Scorpius.
Continue reading Featured constellations: the birds of summer
We tried to catch some fog, but just mist!
This month’s FREE digital download comes from Rushing River Provincial Park.
Throughout 2021, we’re sharing a free downloadable graphic for you to use as wallpaper for your favourite devices. We’ve specially sized these images for your computers, tablets, smartphones and Facebook covers.
