Today’s post comes from our friends at the Invasive Species Centre.
Ontario is home to wonderful lakes, rivers, and streams. Unfortunately, some of these waterways are home to aquatic invasive species such as Zebra or Quagga Mussels.
These species can be spread from one waterbody to another through watercraft that have not been properly cleaned, drained, and dried between uses.
Continue reading Be an invasive species fighter! Clean, drain, dry your boat
Today’s post comes from Nick Lacombe, fisheries biologist at Algonquin Provincial Park.
For me, springtime in Algonquin means trout fishing.
Many others share this feeling, as about 70% of backcountry campers fish for trout during their spring trips. Lakes containing Brook and Lake Trout are found throughout the Algonquin backcountry, with the best lakes often being more challenging to reach.
Fellow anglers, we need your help to protect Algonquin’s trout populations.
Starting on the opening day of trout season (April 27, 2024), angler survey packages will be available at all operating Algonquin offices.
Do your part and complete an angler survey.
*Always check the Ontario Fishing Regulations for the area you’re fishing in.
Continue reading Help us maintain the Algonquin trout fishing tradition
Today’s post comes from Program Development Intern Vincent La Tassa at the Invasive Species Centre.
Ontario is home to a significant number of majestic oak trees, many of which take root in our provincial parks.
They provide us with shade, beauty, and a sense of connection with nature. The sprawling canopies of these mighty oaks offer a serene backdrop to our adventures.
However, there is a silent threat to oak trees.
Read on so we can work together to prevent it from spreading:
Continue reading What YOU need to know to keep oak wilt out of Ontario Parks!
Biodiversity is a big word for the variety of life on Earth.
Biodiversity is you — and every other living thing on the planet.
We see biodiversity every day, but it’s more than bugs and animals and trees. It’s about how everything is connected. If we lose one piece of biodiversity, the rest is affected.
Park-lovers are natural explorers, and we love our visitors’ passion for adventure.
Sometimes, we see our visitors create their own shortcuts by cutting through sensitive habitat. This is otherwise known as creating a social trail.
Social trails can have a wide range of damaging effects on protected areas, and we’d like to ask our visitors to always stay on designated trails.
Continue reading Why social trails are damaging to provincial parks
Today’s blog comes to us from Park Naturalist Sarah Lamond at Algonquin Provincial Park.
Picture it: a warm July day at Algonquin.
You’re basking in the day’s rays and exploring an interpretive trail.
It’s all picture perfect until you hear that telltale buzz and feel an all-too-familiar pain on your scalp.
The Deer Flies have arrived.
Swatting at the growing swarm, you look to the sky and wonder: will there be no relief?
And then they arrive. The prehistoric predator. The Deer Fly devourer. The people’s champion.
Dragonflies.
Continue reading The fascinating world of dragonflies and their importance to ecosystems
We know a lot of our visitors are interested in exploring our parks, and maybe taking a piece of it home with them.
We’ve noticed an increase in popularity of foraging, but remember: foraging for any plant or fungal species is prohibited in provincial parks. Continue reading The effects of foraging at Ontario Parks
Today’s post comes from Ashley Hanas, a bat technician with the Friends of Pinery Park.
Bats are the only true flying mammal.
There are currently over 1,400 species and bats encompass 20% of the mammalian species on earth (meaning 1 in 5 mammals are bats!).
Bats are essential to the health of our environment, providing indispensable ecosystem and economic services in the form of prolific insect pest control, pollination of plants, and dispersal of seeds.
Their droppings, or guano, are rich in phosphorus and nitrogen, making it a highly effective fertilizer.
Despite the numerous benefits bats provide us, their reputations are marred by negative misconceptions.
Today’s post comes from Alexander Renaud, former Discovery program lead at Emily Provincial Park.
A few summers ago, our Discovery staff at Emily Provincial Park wanted to do something BIG to help the park.
Previous years have seen the instillation of turtle nest protection boxes, the collection of species data through a BioBlitz, and the design and creation of a new trail system.
We decided upon creating a pollinator garden!
Continue reading The story behind Emily Provincial Park’s pollinator garden
You’ve recently unwrapped the latest iphone or a shiny new digital camera, perhaps an SLR with some fancy lenses.
Now you have itchy shutter fingers. You’re ready to point your camera at something spectacular and capture a beautiful memory forever. But where to go?
Not to brag, but Ontario Parks are beautiful, iconic places. Covering nearly 10% of the province and protecting some of Ontario’s most rare and scenic habitats, our parks are home to a variety of wildlife, from fascinating insects to enormous moose.
Basically, they’re a photographer’s dreamscape.
We’re animal lovers too. We know how exhilarating wildlife encounters can be. We understand how badly you want that perfect photo.
But before you hit the road, ask yourself: is taking the perfect photograph worth risking an animal’s life or an ecosystem’s health?
If your answer is “no,” check out our list of seven common photography infractions to ensure you’re keeping our parks safe and healthy.
