Connect with Nature: Take a Fall Hike

This is a great time to take a hike in nature. The summer crowds are gone, the scenery is stunning and there are still a few weeks before you have to break out your winter jacket. Here are a few ways to make the most of your trek through the freshly fallen leaves.

1) Bird watching: There is lots of bird watching to be done as our feathered friends head south for the winter. Before you head out on your hike, visit allaboutbirds.org to read up on bird watching techniques. Pack a nature guide to help identify different species and take a journal to record your findings.

2) Join a guided nature walk: Many communities across Canada have clubs that engage local experts to lead public hikes. This is a great way to meet fellow nature lovers and learn more about the natural geography of your area. Keep an eye on local publications or perform a quick internet search to find a guided hike in your area.

3) Bring your camera: There are few times of the year when nature is more beautiful than it is now. Pack your camera and capture some of the beautiful fall scenery you encounter along the way. While you’re at it, why not take a photo for our Hug-a-Tree photo contest or Flickr pool? Your photos are sure to bring back happy memories during the long winter.

4) Take a snack (or two): Before you head out, prepare some nutritious snacks that will keep you fueled along the way. Cheese and crackers, apple slices and trail mix are a few easy-to-pack snacks that offer valuable nutrients for your hike. For a more seasonal treat, save the seeds from the inside of your pumpkin and roast them the night before you head out.

5) Do a leaf rubbing: Want to create a souvenir of your adventure? Bring a large hardbound book and a roll of wax or parchment paper. Collect a few leaves of different shapes and sizes, press them between two sheets of paper and tuck them in the book to keep them safe. When you get home, place the leaves between two pieces of white paper, rub with a crayon and you’re done!

As always, don’t forget to dress appropriately, stay on trail and share your itinerary with a family member or friend before heading out. Happy trails!

Photo by Macomb Paynes

Connect with Nature: Make a fall craft

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, this is a great time to get creative and make a nature-themed fall craft. Here are 3 easy crafts to get you in the holiday spirit:

Autumn placemats
The vibrant reds, oranges and yellows of fall foliage make a great decoration for the holiday season. You can make a placemat for your Thanksgiving feast by following these few simple steps:

1) Head out for a walk around your neighborhood or your favourite park and gather a collection of leaves. Try to collect as many colours and shapes as you can.

2) Cut two pieces of clear contact paper about two feet long and remove the backing from the first piece. Arrange the leaves on the sticky side and seal the mat by placing the second piece on top. If you’d like to add more colour, place a piece of construction paper behind the leaves before sealing the mat. Just give the edges a trim and you’re all done.

Apple stamps
Apples aren't just for eating! They can also be a fun way to decorate almost any surface. Lucky for us, creating an apple stamp is easy.

1) Enjoy a day of apple picking and crisp fall air at a local orchard. Save the good apples for eating and reserve the bruised ones for your craft.

2) Choose the surface you’d like to decorate. It can be a canvas bag, a notebook, a table cloth or even a t-shirt. You’ll also need to choose some paint. Make sure to choose a type of paint that can sustain the wear and tear that your finished product will endure.

3) Cut the apple in half from top to bottom and absorb any excess moisture by pressing the flesh side against a paper towel. Use a paint brush to coat the cut side of the apple in the colour of your choice and stamp away. Be sure to hold the apple down firmly and apply equal pressure to the top and sides.

4) Once the image has dried, use a marker to put the finishing touches on your creation by drawing a stem or leaf on your print.

Squash bowling
Are you up for a craft that is a bit more adventurous? How about making some bowling pins out of squash? A game of bowling is a great way to pass the time while you wait for Thanksgiving dinner to cook. Here’s how you get started:

1) Head out to your local farmers market and purchase 10 butternut squashes. You’ll also need a round gourd to act as your bowling ball.

2) Number each squash from 1 to 10 using vinyl sticker numbers. Cut two pieces of painters tape long enough to go around the squash and place one above and another below the number. This should mark a stripe around the squash.

3) Colour in the stripe with a marker or acrylic craft paint. After your “pin” is dry, carefully peel off the stickers and tape.

4) Create a bowling lane in your backyard, set up the pins and have fun!

Photo by Ian Kelsall

In the Wake of the Flood Released on DVD

If you're a fan of Margaet Atwood and her recent novel, The Year of the Flood, you'll want to check out In the Wake of the Flood, a documentary by Ron Mann released last week that chronicles her unique approach to the traditional book tour.

For those of you who weren't there at her Canadian stops, the tour was a creative blend of book reading,  interpretation, and hymnal singing. The performances drew crowds and glowing reviews across the country and internationally. 


In the Wake of the Flood (Teaser) from filmswelike on Vimeo.

It's been described as a major international literary event - each tour stop saw local actors and singers perform a script based on The Year of the Flood, with Atwood as narrator. The novel, which melds science, religion and nature, explores Atwood’s vision of an environmentally blighted, plague-ridden, and genetically altered future. It follows the 2003 publication of her dystopian novel Oryx and Crake, expanding on the storylines and characters in this post-apocalyptic world.

At four of her Canadian stops she used the spotlight to raise awareness about Nature Canada and its regional partners in bird conservation, saying:

"Conserving our precious migratory birds requires a united international effort. With partners like Nature Canada located along the world's many bird flyways, BirdLife is providing a safer journey for our endangered globetrotters, but it needs more support."

Donations made at Atwood's Year of the Flood performances went directly to support conservation work in Important Bird Areas in Canada. See photos of those tour stops here.


Nature Canada is the Canadian co-partner, with Bird Studies Canada, of BirdLife International, a global alliance of conservation organizations working together for the world's birds and people. As BirdLife in Canada, Nature Canada delivers the Important Bird Areas Program, which aims to identify, conserve and monitor a network of sites that provides essential habitat for bird populations. Margaret Atwood is the Joint Honorary President of BirdLife's Rare Bird Club with her husband, Graeme Gibson.

The Year of the Flood performances have been a terrific opportunity to raise awareness about Nature Canada and our partners engaged in bird conservation. It's a tremendous honor to have support from as tireless and dedicated an advocate for nature as Margaret Atwood.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of In the Wake of the Flood DVDs will go directly to Nature Canada. Buy your copy from Sphinx Productions!

In his review for Macleans magazine, Brian D. Johnson wrote: “Taking us behind the curtain of Margaret Atwood’s travelling medicine show, ‘In the Wake of the Flood’ offers a candid, revealing portrait of the author as activist oracle - Atwood is the ultimate camp counseller, mounting a pageant to save the planet with a birdsong in her heart and a silent spring in her step.”

We've enjoyed watching it and we hope you do too!

Young girl takes up Piping Plover cause

Here’s an inspiring story. Annie Buckton is a nine-year-old girl from the small community of Southampton, ON, who spends summers at her family’s cottage at nearby Sauble Beach. There her fondness for nature and wild things developed, especially for the Piping Plover, an endangered bird species native to the area. This fall, as the Plovers wing their way into the disaster-struck Gulf, Annie has found a way to help, as her mother writes in a letter to Nature Canada:

Like so many of us, Annie watched and read stories about the horrific oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year. Every day, she would ask her parents if the spill had stopped and every day she received the same grim answer – not today. Annie and her family traveled to the Gulf of Mexico last March and the magnitude of the disaster weighed heavily on her. As a nine year old, Annie couldn’t conceive the catastrophic havoc the spill would wreak on the ocean’s ecosystem, the damage to the livelihoods of fishermen, resort owners, land owners and all the endless industries that are indirectly affected. But what Annie did comprehend and what would consume her thoughts endlessly was what will happen to the wildlife, the water and shores? She watched in horror as the Audubon society plucked endangered species from the oily muck and attempted to clean them up and find new homes for them.

Things really hit home, however; when Annie and her mother read a story about the potential tragedy facing the Piping Plovers. For years, Annie has observed a dedicated group of bird lovers and environmentalists watch over the birds, protecting them from predators. The Piping Plover is just one of the many Canadian migratory bird species flying into the Gulf this season. Piping Plovers spend their winters mainly on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States, Mexico and Cuba, particularly on beaches, mudflats, sandflats, bays, lagoons and inlets. Their spring migration peaks during mid-April; while many individuals would have already left the Gulf when the leak at Deepwater Horizon began, some may have been caught in the spill.

Although the fall migration peaks in August and September, plovers can begin to leave their breeding grounds as early as June or July if nest conditions have been unfavourable. These birds are heading straight to a region where their habitat and food sources may have been compromised and are still at risk from oil contamination.

Annie’s mother picks up the story:

This sad story broke Annie’s heart and led her to ask her mother a question that brimmed with the innocence and idealism of youth, “Mom, do you think I could paint a picture of a Piping Plover, frame it and ask that it be put it up in the Southampton Gallery for sale, and then I could give the money to save the Plovers?” Her parents, touched by the notion, called the Southampton Art Gallery, spoke to the Directors of both the gallery and the school and they in turn suggested they all take Annie’s idea one step further and invite talented local artists to join Annie and mount an exhibition and sale with proceeds going to efforts in the Gulf.

With the support of Annie and her family, the Southampton Art Gallery is hosting a month long exhibit in the Guest Gallery this Sunday, October 10 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST. The exhibit and sale will continue until November 4. Coincidentally the Gallery’s event launch day is also the same day that that has been declared by 350.org as the day “to do something that will help deal with global warming in your city or community. “

Artists from all genres are encouraged to follow Annie’s lead. The Gallery is looking for additional pieces of artwork to be donated to the exhibit for the sale. Proceeds will go to Nature Canada to be directed to the National Audubon Society of the United States to support clean-up and recovery efforts in the Gulf. Nature Canada and the Audubon Society are both members of BirdLife International, a global partnership of conservation organizations that strives to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.

Southampton Art Gallery is located at the corner of highway 21 and Main Street in Southampton, Ontario. For more details please call 519-797-5068 or 1-800-806-8838.

Robert Bateman Nature Art Contest Profile #10

Red-winged blackbird in the rouge
by Andrew Bonnycastle

The 2010 Robert Bateman Nature Art, Photography and Writing contest has brought about several young promising artists. Andrew Bonnycastle is one of them; with his beautiful painting of a Red-winged blackbird. Andrew is 17 and lives in the Toronto area. He has been taking art classes since the age of 9. Being home schooled has allowed him to pursue his love of art; a love inspired by the wildlife-filled conservation area near his home.

For a complete list of all winners please follow this link.

Winning Artwork of Robert Bateman Art Contest New WHC Stamp

The painting entitled “Going Deeper “ by Bethany Harris age 18 from Calgary, Alberta will be featured on Wildlife Habitat Canada's 2011 Canadian Youth Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stamp to be sold nationally in 2011. Proceeds of the inaugural stamp’s sale will fund youth-driven wildlife conservation projects.

Bethany Harris has always been passionate about art and the environment and seeks to convey a positive and relevant message in her paintings. As a keen horse rider and photographer, her artwork reflects the diverse wildlife, landscape, and cultural heritage that surrounds her in rural Southern Alberta.

Congratulations to Bethany for her beautiful portrayal of our iconic Canadian Moose!

For a complete list of all Get to Know winners please follow this link.

Robert Bateman Get to Know Art, Writing and Photography Contest Winner Profile #6

Sophie Hoye Pacholek, winner in the writing category of the 2010 Get to Know Contest, is a first grader from Calgary, Alberta. Sophie is very fortunate to be surrounded by nature and wildlife. She lives near the Glenmore Reservoir and the Weaselhead Natural Area. At only six years of age Sophie is already very passionate about nature. She loves to write, draw, sing, and dance. She also loves to go hiking and canoeing.

Below is an excerpt of Sophie’s writing entry.

Red Squirrels (The Red Squirrel)
By Sophie Hoye Pacholek

The red squirrels habitat is in my backyard and forests. It's fun to watch them scatter around the willow trunk, twitching their tails up and down. I named them Cheeky and Squeaky because they are bold and chirpy.

For a complete list of all Get to Know winners please follow this link.

Portrait of a Black-capped Chickadee

The Black-capped Chickadee, an active bird often found hopping around from treetop to treetop is known for hiding its food and being able to remember its location with exact accuracy for up to 28 days. The Black-capped Chickadee is commonly found across Canada from Newfoundland to British Columbia (except for the coastal islands), and into the southern Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories. It is typically a year-round resident but from time to time it will venture south into the United States, but its range is restricted to the northern two-thirds of the continent.

The above picture of the black capped chickadee has been beautifully portrayed by Pamela Williamson age 17 from Victoria, BC. Pamela, art winner of the Get to Know contest, is a self-taught artist with Autism who loves to draw with pencils, computers, and Acrylic paints. Her favourite animal is the penguin, but for the Get to Know Contest she was inspired to draw Canadian animals. Pamela hopes to lead an independent life as an animator and artist when she graduates.

For a complete list of all Get to Know winners please follow this link.

Nature Photography Contest Winner

Kaitlin Lane age 9 from Calgary, Alberta is now a winner of the Robert Bateman Get to Know Photo contest for a second year in a row. She is amongst the twelve talented young Canadians who through their lenses captured the beauty and wonders of our natural world. Kaitlin enjoys taking pictures, drawing and painting. She is currently in grade 3 and enjoys playing squash, golfing, and skiing.


Two of Kaitlin's photos were selected as winning entries in this year's contest: top, Rubber Duckie; bottom, Untitled.

Nature Art, Photography and Writing Contest Winner

As some of you may already know, the winners of the 2010 Robert Bateman Get to Know Canadian Art, Writing and Photography Contest were announced last World Ocean’s day at a special event in British Columbia. Amongst the many talented youths is Nicole Schmidt, currently in grade 5 from Calgary, Alberta.

Nicole loves being outside. Her backyard, the Rocky Mountains, or a sandy beach are her favourite places to be. She enjoys illustrating and photographing deer, rabbits, and birds. She has entered the Robert Bateman Get to Know Contest for several years but this was her first writing entry.

Here is an excerpt from her writing entry.

Mystery (Backyard Species)
By Nicole Schmidt, age 10, from Alberta

Twittering sparrow,
Croaking frog,
Something sitting on that log.

Vibrating moth,
Twitching gnat,
Something resting on the mat.

Scurrying mouse,
Buzzing bee,
Flying close, right next to me.

For a complete list of all winners please follow this link.