December 23, 2020 — Ivor learned about EBC after being told about a parcel of land in Caledon East, owned by his friend's company. Being in the Oakridges Moraine and not amenable to development, he thought it would be ideal for protection by The Nature Conservancy. It was not a property that the organization wanted and so they referred him to EBC. Ivor so...
December 15, 2020 — Species of the month: Barred Owl - Spotted on one of EBC's reserves! Conservation Status: Special Concern Identifying Features: Barred Owls are predominately brown and white in colour presented in a mottled fashion. Their chest has vertical brown lines on top of a white background. The upper half of its body displays horizontal brown bars. The wings and tail are barred brown...
December 14, 2020 — Location and Significant Features: Caledon The Simmons Nature Reserve is a 52 acre site located in Caledon, which was donated in 2006. The reserve has a mixture of forest types including mature hardwoods, cedar stand and trembling aspen as well as an old field meadow. This habitat is a perfect home for many wildlife species including: red backed salamanders, wood...
December 14, 2020 — Veronika Bingaman has been building trails along the escarpment on Manitoulin Island for almost 50 years! Her and her husband Dan started building kamikaze ski trails over the escarpment in their back yard. When she sought to ensure that the incredible bluffs were forever protected she sought out EBC and the Bingaman EBC trail was born. Over the years Veronika...
November 30, 2020 — SPECIES OF THE MONTH: ENDANGERED SPOTTED TURTLE Spotted Turtles are semi-aquatic reptiles that can be found in unpolluted wetland habitats such as ponds, marshes or bogs. In 1990 Ontario had 130 sites with Spotted Turtles. Today there are only 25! In one turtle life span, 80% of their homes have been taken from them. How can I help? Worry doesn’t work. Donate! $20, less than a week’s coffee money....
November 23, 2020 — Location and Significant Features: La Cloche Mountains Willisville Mountain is a 235 acre nature reserve with a breath-taking outlook! The reserve is located a short 15 minute drive south from Espanola, Ontario. It is an eco-treasure which is home 12 rare species including Bald Eagles and Peregrine Falcons and an icon in the Group of Seven's work. The mountain was...
November 20, 2020 — Friends/all people concerned about Ontario's ecological future, we are confronted with two major issues: The conservation authorities are facing a major loss of jurisdiction. They are the primary defenders of wetlands after disasters like Hurricane Hazel which killed 82 people when I was a kid. I hope you will read the attached information and support the current role of conservation...
November 3, 2020 — Conservation status: Special Concern The Eastern Milksnake is a non-venomous constrictor in the family Colubridae. Identifying features: Grey/tan in colour with alternating red or reddish brown blotches that are distinctly outlined in black along its body. Can grow to over a metre in length. Habitat: They live in a wide variety of natural and human-modified habitats. Such habitats include prairies,...
November 3, 2020 — Location and Significant Features: Epping, Grey County The Kimbercote property is a scenic nature reserve that includes features typical of the Beaver Valley and Niagara Escarpment. A trail on the property runs from east to west along a steep gradient climbing upward toward the western boundary. The trail goes through a regenerating field dominated by young white ash and scattered...
November 3, 2020 — Volunteer of the month: Ostap Soroka! "Hello EBC volunteers and supporters! My name is Ostap Soroka and I am proud to be the new Secretary of your Board of Directors. Throughout my careers in the performing arts, communications, and now academics, I have included my commitment to ecological mindfulness, climate change mitigation, and a love of the natural environment....
October 1, 2020 — A few years back while exploring the Bruce Peninsula, in particular, the Lake Huron and Georgian Bay shorelines, Gaurav was devastated to find that public access to the shorelines was almost entirely absent. In between the touristy stops of Red Bay, Tobermory, Lion's Head and similar cities - it was almost impossible to explore as most properties were private. Because...
October 1, 2020 — Shannon MacDonald is a graduate student at the University of Toronto. She is currently working on urban forest biomass mapping using LiDAR and field data, in the hopes of improving urban forest management and conservation efforts. Shannon first began working with EBC a couple of years ago for a class project when she and a few other students developed a...
October 1, 2020 — EBC’s AGM capped a successful year of conservation results while working within the parameters of COVID-19. We would like to send a special thanks to our retiring directors: Robert Wilson, Gord Edwards and Gillian Leitch. Robert Wilson was a founding director of EBC, he wrote our original by-law and got us incorporated. Robert also did a lot of legal work...
September 21, 2020 — Join the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy on September 27th 2020 at 11am as we hold our 12th annual Monarch Butterfly festival. The festival, which is usually held in Tobermory, will be delivered virtually this year due to Covid-19 concerns. Between 11am-12pm, EBC will be collaborating with the Ontario Land Trust Alliance (OLTA) as well as butterfly expert of 15 years, Audrey...
September 15, 2020 — EBC's Annual General Meeting will take place on September 20th at 12pm. All members and the general public are welcome! If you want to learn more about EBC and our successes over the year, please register for the event here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/escarpment-biosphere-conservancys-annual-general-meeting-2020-tickets-121088628347?fbclid=IwAR0X6RXRK7Ch7C4xHIC3sxGpn6sCQjv9XVaHr4rxnUReKMbuZ1tVNTgZkLQ Details of how to enter the Zoom event are in the Eventbrite description as well as in...
August 25, 2020 — Earlier this month, EBC collaborated with Ontario Land Trust Alliance (OLTA) on a site visit to assess our Phillips Peel Property. The property is located in the town of Mapleton in Wellington County. We used OLTA's Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Tool to determine the impact of climate change on our property and our conservation efforts. This in turn will enable...
August 25, 2020 — The Golden Eagle is one of the largest, fastest, and most agile raptors in North America. They have also been spotted on our Page and Palmer Reserve! Conservation status: Endangered Identifying features: Dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their heads and necks. 33 to 38 inches in length and wingspan is 6 to 7.5 feet Behaviour: Usually mate monogamously for life...
August 18, 2020 — Nature Reserve of the Month: Bidwell Bog (Manitoulin Island)Bidwell Bog is a unique reserve that has a rare savannah landscape and a bog. This property has a beautiful hiking trail close to our Cup and Saucer reserve.History: This property was purchased in two parts. The first, in 2006 (329 acres) followed by another in 2007 (53 acres). The combined total...
August 12, 2020 — Thank you so much to the landowner who is offering the Spotted Turtle habitat for half its appraised value and for the generous donations we have received from all of you! We are so very close to saving one of the last 25 sites in Ontario that is home to the Endangered Spotted Turtle! There is still time to support...
August 11, 2020 — Meet Justin Keszei! Justin is a wildlife technician and saw volunteering with the EBC as an opportunity to do meaningful, productive work during the COVID-19 pandemic. His role is primarily to take inventory of all wildlife on EBC properties with special emphasis on species at risk as well as initiating a bioacoustic survey component for bird species assessment. Prior to his...
August 11, 2020 — EBC is looking for a name for our monthly digital newsletter, and we would love your help! If you would like to take part, please email suggestions to Hannah Jowett, our Community Outreach and Educational Coordinator, Hannah.Jowett@escarpment.ca The EBC team will then choose the winner who will be announced in September's newsletter. The submitter of the chosen entry will...
August 11, 2020 — RANKED NO.1 ON TRIP ADVISOR FOR NATURE ACTIVITIES ON MANITOULIN ISLAND! History: The Cup and Saucer was one of EBC's first nature reserves. 300 acres were acquired in 1999 with an additional purchase of 45 Acres in 2001. There are over 8 kms of hiking trails through deciduous forest, over rocky outcrops ending at towering cliffs with views over...
June 17, 2020 — Great Canadian Giving Challenge 2020 The Spotted Turtle is one of Ontario's smallest turtles. In the last 40 years, their numbers have drastically declined - 75% of the recorded 109 sites with occurrences of this species have had no recorded sightings in 20 years. EBC is working hard to acquire a parcel of land located right on the shore of Lake Huron that...
May 8, 2020 — We are excited to announce that the 47th issue of Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy's Newsletter is now available! Click here to view EBC's Spring 2020 Precipice and read about the wonderful work EBC has recently accomplished as we enter our 3rd decade! To stay up to date and receive future newsletters sent directly to your inbox click below to signup or...
March 16, 2020 — Due to COVID-19, the presentation and question and answer session scheduled for Friday, March 27th, 2020 at 5 pm has been postponed until further notice. Upon rescheduling, a notice will be posted to the website. Bob Barnett, Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy's Executive Director was to present at the Toronto Spring Cottage Life Show on the topic of "Preserve Your Land, Protect...
January 29, 2020 — Featured Nature Reserve of the month: Cape Hurd - Barney Lake History: Barney Lake Nature Reserve is located on the Northern Bruce Peninsula, near Tobermory. It is over 400 acres and was acquired by EBC over a number of years beginning in 2002. After acquiring the lake as part of a 300-acre acquisition donated by a family in Owen Sound,...