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Children from Pelee Island Pubic School helping to collect seeds for restoration projects

Conserving what we value

It was my time to finally get my message across.

About 15 years ago, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) was …View Conserving what we value

Photo courtesy of Clare Ronan

Reside: When heritage preservation translates to affordable housing

Raising the Roof is a Canadian charity that provides national leadership in homelessness prevention through various …View Reside: When heritage preservation translates to affordable housing

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 …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 …View Working with stewards and partners

Smallwood calculated that saving the Wallis House (shown here) diverted the equivalent of 500,000 blue boxes of debris from entering landfill

Discarding the past

When an old building is torn down, we lose more than just the structure. We lose a bit of our past.

The foundation …View Discarding the past

The Wychwood Barns covered street is a popular weekly Saturday farmers’ market in Toronto (Photo courtesy of Ayako Kitta, du Toit Architects Limited)

Resources: Heritage in the new economy - Making sense of sustainability

What's on the shelf

The Shield, part of the Ontario Visual Heritage Project.

Over …View Resources: Heritage in the new economy - Making sense of sustainability

Cheesemonger at the St. Lawrence Market, Toronto (Photo © Ontario Tourism 2009)

100-mile conservation

Increasingly, people are becoming more aware of not just what they eat, but where their food originates. While the concept is …View 100-mile conservation

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 …View Working for change

Traditional building materials (McMartin House, Perth)

Building assets

Which is more sustainable – an artificial or live Christmas tree? This is an environmentalist’s conundrum, and it illustrates …View Building assets

Repairs to the Gordon Block, Stratford (2007)

The guiding principles of sustainable architecture

In the late 1990s, the Ontario Ministry of Culture introduced Eight Guiding Principles in the Conservation of Built Heritage …View The guiding principles of sustainable architecture

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

Sheppard’s Bush, main house

Inside Sheppard’s Bush

Charles Sheppard (1876-1967) moved to the Town of Aurora in 1921, after making his fortune in the Simcoe County lumber …View Inside Sheppard’s Bush

View of the Don Valley Brick Works site, looking south (Photo courtesy of Evergreen)

Evergreen Brick Works: Rethinking space

Evergreen – a national charity – builds the relationship between nature, culture and community in urban spaces. With its …View Evergreen Brick Works: Rethinking space

401 Richmond Street, Toronto – an example of a green roof

Fact or fiction: Demystifying the myths around going green – Moving toward a more sustainable architecture

Sustainable: able to be maintained at a certain rate or level . . . conserving an ecological balance by …View Fact or fiction: Demystifying the myths around going green – Moving toward a more sustainable architecture

Tip Top Lofts, Toronto (Photo: Context Development)

Sustainability for old buildings: A developer’s perspective

Adaptive reuse provides a sound and sustainable approach to the renewal of our urban fabric, as illustrated by the conversion …View Sustainability for old buildings: A developer’s perspective

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 …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

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

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