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Heritage  MattersRead more stories about Natural heritage

Muhammad Qureshi on a pond (Photo courtesy of Muhammad Qureshi)

Our natural fingerprint

The magic began on a cold autumn afternoon after a hockey game with friends. I was walking home through a trail and the leaves had …View Our natural fingerprint

Sunset over Manitoulin Island

Heaven on earth

A month before Ontario turns 150 years old, I’ll celebrate my 57th birthday. I’ve lived all but one of those years in the province …View Heaven on earth

Cycling in the Don Valley

Reconnecting with nature

My first visit to Ontario, from Québec, was at about age 8. I have a distinct memory of arriving by car down the Don Valley …View Reconnecting with nature

Chinguacousy Badlands

Celebrating the Chinguacousy Badlands

The Chinguacousy (“land of the young pines”) Badlands have been visited by hundreds of thousands of Ontarians. This rapidly …View Celebrating the Chinguacousy Badlands

Wolves (Photo: Michael Runtz)

Drawn back to Algonquin

Being a lifelong naturalist whose goal has been to explore Ontario’s natural history, I’ve come to appreciate just how rich this …View Drawn back to Algonquin

Oiseau Rock, a sacred site for aboriginal peoples who have left behind a remarkable legacy of ancient pictographs drawn using red ochre (Photo courtesy of Larry Graham)

Along the Ottawa River

The original Trans-Canada Highway
The Ottawa River is one of Canada’s most important transportation routes, playing an integral …View Along the Ottawa River

An aerial view of the Enniskillen Valleylands (Photo courtesy of the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority)

The Enniskillen Valley Land Acquisition Project: Making stewardship count

Through the Enniskillen Valley Land Acquisition Project, The Ontario Heritage Trust and the Central Lake Ontario Conservation …View The Enniskillen Valley Land Acquisition Project: Making stewardship count

Wood conservator and master craftsman Alan Stacey instructing heritage staff in traditional preservation techniques at the Ontario Heritage Centre.

Investing in preservation

It is an unfortunate reality that the preservation of our heritage remains the exception rather than the norm. What is a …View Investing in preservation

Dog-strangling vine or Cynanchum rossicum (also known as pale swallowwort) at Fleetwood Creek

Reclaiming Fleetwood Creek

It’s hard to put a price on experience. Students enrolled in Sir Sandford Fleming College’s Ecosystem Management Technology (EMT) …View Reclaiming Fleetwood Creek

Fleming College students with Kawartha Conservation Area Coordinator Jessie James, preparing to gather data on the Fleetwood Creek plantations, spring 2010

A plantation management strategy for Fleetwood Creek Natural Area

Fleetwood Creek Natural Area, a 360-hectare (890-acre) property on the Oak Ridges Moraine, is valued for its unique post-glacial …View A plantation management strategy for Fleetwood Creek Natural Area

The Alexander Hope Smith property

Saving biodiversity, one property at a time

What do wetlands and forest nesting sites for northern goshawks in eastern Ontario have in common with south-central Ontario …View Saving biodiversity, one property at a time

Planted area of lowland species expanding existing cover adjacent to the former pasture on the Blair property (Photo: John Stille).

New life for an old property

Heritage restoration is not limited to old buildings. Natural heritage properties, too, can be restored or adapted to new uses for …View New life for an old property

Sheppard's Bush ostrich ferns

Biodiversity in Ontario: Taking up the challenge

Many are familiar with high-profile threatened species such as polar bears, whose habitat is in flux and whose numbers are …View Biodiversity in Ontario: Taking up the challenge

Fieldworker on ice ridges overlooking Lake Nipissing at Great Manitou Island, 2010.

Working with stewards and partners

The Ontario Heritage Trust owns over 160 natural heritage properties and protects over 40 natural heritage sites with easements. …View Working with stewards and partners

Ruby-throated hummingbird at a cardinal flower in the Native Plants Garden (Photo: Jon Brierley).

Enhancing urban biodiversity

Inside the Gosling Wildlife Gardens
By Chris Earley
Most gardeners are biodiversity geeks. “What little plant can I cram in …View Enhancing urban biodiversity

Aerial view of the northern tip of Walpole Island First Nation looking southwest along the St. Clair River (Photo: Karen Abel)

Bkejwanong: Sustaining a 6,000-year-old conservation legacy

Nestled at the mouth of the St. Clair River on Lake St. Clair in southwestern Ontario is the Walpole Island First Nation or …View Bkejwanong: Sustaining a 6,000-year-old conservation legacy

The heart of the Ruthven estate is this two-and-a-half-storey limestone Greek Revival-style mansion

Heritage in harmony: The integration of natural and cultural landscapes

Approximately 11,000 years of human culture are recorded in Ontario’s landscapes. Most existing natural landscapes in Ontario …View Heritage in harmony: The integration of natural and cultural landscapes

Meagan (left) discusses Canadian climate change policies with MP Jim Prentice (third from right) and Canadian negotiators at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December 2008.

Working for change

Protecting the environment and natural heritage has become an important part of my life over the past few years. While busy as a …View Working for change

A beaver pond on the recently acquired Carp Hills property

Protecting Ottawa’s Carp Hills

Just north of the Village of Carp lie the Carp Hills – one of the largest and wildest natural areas within the City of Ottawa. The …View Protecting Ottawa’s Carp Hills

The Arctic Watershed is the natural high point where rivers and lakes flow in one direction towards Hudson’s Bay and in the other towards the Great Lakes. Shown here, Old Fort William, Thunder Bay (Photo © Ontario Tourism 2008)

Along the Arctic Watershed

The Arctic Watershed follows an erratic course of some 2,240 kilometres (1,400 miles) across northern Ontario. It marks the point …View Along the Arctic Watershed

Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) – special concern provincially and nationally

Sustaining species at risk

Ontario, with its broad geography, is blessed with incredible biologically diverse landscapes. Most of us take this amazing …View Sustaining species at risk

Beaver River Wetland (Photo: Lou Wise)

Exploring the Beaver River Wetland

In June 2007, the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) hosted a celebration to recognize the private and public …View Exploring the Beaver River Wetland

Archaeological assessment of a Trust natural heritage property

Tools through time: Protecting the past for the future

Identifying and protecting places in our communities that have cultural heritage value is an important part of managing change. …View Tools through time: Protecting the past for the future

A monarch butterfly

Species at risk: The monarch butterfly (danaus plexippus)

The beautiful Monarch butterfly is the most recognized butterfly in North America. What is not commonly known is that it is also a …View Species at risk: The monarch butterfly (danaus plexippus)

Hiking the Oaks Ridges Moraine Trail

Along the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail

Hiking along the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail offers a memorable experience. Situated close to the Greater Toronto Area, the Trail …View Along the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail

Homewood Museum in Maitland

Heritage by numbers

Ontario’s heritage is an immense and complex jigsaw puzzle. Every individual element of heritage creates a whole . . . a sort of …View Heritage by numbers

This 1958 provincial plaque unveiling to commemorate Catharine Parr Traill was attended by Mrs. Anne Atwood and Miss Anne Traill, the author’s granddaughters. Also in attendance (shown here second from left) was the then-editor of the Peterborough Examiner – Robertson Davies – who, in time, became a literary giant in his own right.

Literary giants

Catharine Parr Traill is one of Canada’s literary luminaries. Her life story spans most of the 19th century, crossing oceans, …View Literary giants

The Brent Crater

Giant meteorite slams Algonquin Park

Well, that would have been the headline 450 million years ago. Today, it is a fascinating mark on our natural landscape.


This …View Giant meteorite slams Algonquin Park

Butterfly milkweed (Photo: Karen Abel)

It’s not easy staying green: Working for a green and healthy Ontario

Natural heritage conservation can be traced back to the early times of the First Nations, whose close relationship with nature was …View It’s not easy staying green: Working for a green and healthy Ontario

This majestic beech tree is located at Toronto’s Ashbridge Estate, a property owned and operated by the Ontario Heritage Trust

Remarkable trees – Heritage tree preservation in Ontario

What is heavier than any land animal, taller than most buildings, older than many ancient monuments? One of the world’s oldest …View Remarkable trees – Heritage tree preservation in Ontario

Hiking near Killarney (Photo: Ontario Tourism)

Making tracks

Ontario’s 64,000-km network of trails traverses a varied landscape of wilderness, rural and urban areas. These trails range from …View Making tracks

An urban garden with gray-headed coneflower, a native prairie species

Gardening for biodiversity

Many gardeners today are finding enjoyable and educational ways to participate in the promotion and preservation of Ontario’s …View Gardening for biodiversity

Willem Hanrath, with his children and grandchildren, being presented with an Ontario Heritage Trust easement marker to recognize their generous donation of the natural heritage easement for the Caistor-Canborough Slough Forest ANSI (47 acres/19 hectares)

The anatomy of a heritage conservation easement: Building the framework for a conservation partnership

Private landowners are often faced with a difficult dilemma – how to preserve the heritage of their land for future generations in …View The anatomy of a heritage conservation easement: Building the framework for a conservation partnership

Lone Pine Marsh, Braham

Our provincial tree: The eastern white pine

Builders of British sailing ships during the 1800s sought the tall, straight white pine for the masts. The best trees in British …View Our provincial tree: The eastern white pine

Backus Woods

Giving back to nature

Southwestern Ontario sustains the richest array of flora and fauna in the country. Known as Canada’s deep south, this area …View Giving back to nature

Site discussion at Speyside Woods about property management with staff from the Bruce Trail Association, the Ontario Heritage Trust, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Conservation Halton (Photo: Eric Boysen, Ministry of Natural Resources)

Working together to save our natural heritage

With ongoing development pressures for housing, roads and commercial and industrial activities in Ontario, natural heritage …View Working together to save our natural heritage

A bequest from Barbara Elizabeth Jacquith of Carolinian forest contains a tributary of the Credit River and an important water recharge area

Protecting natural spaces in Southern Ontario

On August 3, 2005 the provincial government announced the creation of the Natural Spaces Program, which included a $6-million …View Protecting natural spaces in Southern Ontario

Coldwater Grist Mill – serving the community since 1833; an active part of Doors Open Huronia since 2002

The new Ontario Heritage Act: The evolution of heritage conservation

An important shift has occurred in Ontario’s legislative framework for heritage conservation. On April 28, 2005, the Ontario …View The new Ontario Heritage Act: The evolution of heritage conservation

The Cheltenham Badlands

Visiting the Cheltenham Badlands

Nestled on the Niagara Escarpment amid the rolling countryside of the Caledon Hills lies a unique landscape locally known as the …View Visiting the Cheltenham Badlands

Tree in winter

Gifts of nature

The Egbert Ross Boothby property
Imagine a plot of land on the Lake of Bays, seemingly untouched by human habitation. It has …View Gifts of nature

Flooding in Toronto caused by Hurricane Hazel (Photo: Madeleine McDowell)

Hurricane Hazel 50 years later

There was little warning about Hurricane Hazel – one of the worst storms in Canada’s history. At the time, few Canadians paid …View Hurricane Hazel 50 years later