Nicola Ross will be speaking to us next Tuesday, November 28th, 7:30 P.M. at the Orangeville Seniors Centre. Nicola will be talking about her latest book Dufferin Hikes: Loops and Lattes. This is the third in her series of local hiking guides, the others being Caledon Hikes, and Halton Hikes. A number of us have used these books as guides for mostly short half-day hikes. She has cleverly chosen interesting routes that loop back to the starting point — and she caps that off with recommendations of where to have excellent snacks and lunches. I’ve enjoyed the several of her recommended routes that I’ve done. My wife hikes every Wednesday with a group of local women who have nearly completed all of the hikes in Nicola’s first two books, and are now beginning to hike through her Dufferin book. They’re loving the routes she recommends! Nicola has a fascinating background,… Read more »
The evening will include: A couple of short informal presentations. A slide show of UFCNC member’s photographs. Displays of nature art, specimen collections, handiwork such as bird feeders. Lots of time for socializing and connecting with each other. “The success of this evening is dependant upon your participation. We really want you to come and be an active part of this. Let us know what you would like to do and/or bring.” Is there something interesting that you would like to share? How about giving a 5 – 8 minute presentation related to natural history. Do you take photographs? Send us 10–20 of your favourite nature photos of plants, animals, rocks, landscapes, whatever that you have taken in the past year and we will merge them into a slide show. Have you got something to display … a collection of bones, plants, a nature project that you’re working on such as a… Read more »
Our Southern Ontario area plays a special role in the development of what we now call the environmental movement. Few of us know much about this pivotal role. Starting in the Spring of 1864, the young Scotsman turned American, John Muir, spent several months botanizing through Southern Ontario. This was his first real exploratory trip beyond his adopted home farm in Wisconsin. It was over in the Pottageville Swamp area (what was then part of the much larger Holland Marsh) that he had one of his most significant events of his lifetime, seeing a rare northern orchid, Calypso borealis. This epiphany started him on his way to dedicate the rest of his life to the preservation of the natural world. “The rarest and most beautiful of the flowering plants I discovered on this first grand excursion was Calypso borealis (the Hider of the North). I had been fording streams more and more difficult to cross and wading bogs and… Read more »
