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.
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 … Continue reading Bats: The mammal, the myth, the legend
Today’s blog was written by Pilar Manorome, a park planner in Protected Areas Section at Ontario Parks. As a kid, I was always fascinated by the natural world around me and was very fortunate to grow up in Norfolk County. It was a place where I could step out my door and have a wide array … Continue reading Opening doors with Ontario Parks
Close your eyes and imagine: your face flush with your first dose of spring sunshine your ears are filled with the beautiful songs of migrating birds your nervous system soothed by the rhythm of waves on the shoreline Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Here are our top ten reasons to try spring camping this season:
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 … Continue reading Are you an ethical wildlife photographer?
Today’s post comes from Assistant Zone Ecologist Pilar Manorome. Spring is probably my favourite season as it brings new life to our parks in the form of migrating birds and emerging spring ephemerals, giving our forests their long-awaited pops of vibrant colours and contrast. Most people know of the White Trillium — also referred to … Continue reading Ontario’s trilliums
Today’s blog was written by Ontario Parks Social Media Assistant Sonia Dharni. April is here and it’s National Stress Awareness Month. With constant notifications and never-ending tasks, it’s easy to forget the simple joys and timeless wisdom that nature offers. Digital alerts fill our ears, while the cheerful song of the birds and the soothing … Continue reading 5 lessons from Ontario’s wildlife to reduce stress
Roger LaFontaine originally came to Algonquin Provincial Park looking for creepy creatures like leeches, snails, crayfish and rotifers in the early 2000s. During that first season in the park, he became fascinated by the huge and strange marks seen all over Algonquin’s Highway 60 corridor left by a prehistoric worm. Since then, he’s devoted at least … Continue reading Holes in the shield: the Algonquin Rock Worm
Today’s blog comes from Laurel Finney. Laurel is the Discovery program project coordinator within the Ontario Parks Operations & Development section, providing direction and support for Discovery Program staff across the province. Previously Laurel worked at White Lake, Esker Lakes, Six Mile Lake, and Wasaga Beach provincial parks. When I was 17, I applied to and was accepted into … Continue reading Where the best summer of my life has led me
Today’s post comes to us from the Discovery staff at Charleston Lake Provincial Park. Spring is coming! Some telltale signs of spring include the return of birds that left for the winter, spring wildflowers opening their colourful blooms, and new tree leaves unfurling from buds. But before that, there’s often an earlier sign of spring: butterflies. That’s right, butterflies! A sign of … Continue reading Butterflies: a not-so-well-known sign of spring
