Parks Blog

Category: Ecological Integrity

  • Don't leave it hanging

    Our trees are spectacular organisms. They make oxygen, can live to be quite old, have beautiful foliage, provide homes and food for countless wildlife, and through transpiration of water through their leaves, can even influence the weather. Maybe our trees do deserve some form of decoration or recognition? I was out in my park the…

  • Butterball’s story

    Today’s post comes to us from David Bree, former Discovery Program Lead at Presqu’ile Provincial Park. Butterball was a bit of a miracle child. The way the year went, it was amazing that his egg was ever laid, let alone hatched. And he never should have flown. But, somehow, he did. To truly understand Butterball’s…

  • Tracking the mysteries of migration

    Today’s post comes from Bronte Creek Provincial Park Discovery Ranger Hannah Stockford and Darlington Provincial Park Piping Plover Student Jax Nasimok. Once upon a time, bird migration was a great mystery! Early ideas about migration by philosophers and scientists from hundreds of years ago were quite unusual. They varied from thinking birds hibernated in the mud…

  • The long road to Lake Superior Provincial Park's Dark Sky Preserve

    Today’s post comes from Charlotte Westcott, a Discovery Program staff member at Lake Superior Provincial Park. As the sun sets, the stars begin to appear. Like old friends, their familiar glow brings us home no matter how far away our house may be. Our friendly acquaintances, the constellations, trace their way across the sky. The…

  • Squirrels for sale: the incredible history of squirrels at Rondeau

    Today’s post is by Jess Matthews, the chief park naturalist at Rondeau Provincial Park. One hundred years ago, there was a lot we didn’t know about managing parks. The idea of maintaining ecological integrity is relatively new. Ontario’s first parks were primarily established for recreation and tourism. During the first half of the 20th century,…

  • Hands off park wildlife!

    Protected areas are fascinating places. If you’re lucky, during your visit you may spot a wide variety of wildlife who call these parks home. However, you may not always see healthy animals. In these natural spaces, you could see animals that look sick, injured, or orphaned. We know you want to help wildlife, but helping…

  • Is that lichen killing those trees?

    Today’s post comes from Cara Freitag, a past Park Naturalist at Neys Provincial Park. There are many misconceptions about nature: climb a tree to escape bears,  moose are friendly, coolers are strong enough to prevent bears getting your food. Before I became a naturalist, I thought that all insects were bugs, not just the Hemiptera…

  • Community science with the Georgian Bay Mnidoo Gamii Biosphere

    Today’s blog was written by Discovery Program Project Coordinator Jessica Stillman. This summer, Grundy Lake Provincial Park, Killbear Provincial Park, and The Massasauga Provincial Park collaborated with the Georgian Bay Mnidoo Gamii Biosphere (GBB) to host bioblitzes within the world’s largest freshwater archipelago. What is a bioblitz? In short, it is a community science event…

  • Quetico: an International Dark Sky Park

    The opportunity to look up into a beautiful starry sky has forever been a part of the Quetico Provincial Park camping experience. But did you know that on February 23, 2021, Quetico Provincial Park was officially designated as an International Dark Sky Park by the International Dark Sky Association? Imagine yourself lying on your back gazing up…

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