Indigenous Engagement 101

We are pleased to be presenting another webinar to support Nature Network groups.

Indigenous Communities have a vast wealth of knowledge about nature and the land around us. Nature groups across the province are recognizing the rights, Free Prior Informed Consent, and the value of our Indigenous neighbours. Many Nature Network groups expressed an interest in building capacity to collaborate with Indigenous Communities around shared conservation goals, yet they are unsure how to respectfully do so.

In this webinar, Kerry-Ann Charles will introduce the basic first steps of Indigenous engagement in nature conservation. She will discuss how to build relationships, what to do and when, and what to say and not say. The webinar will help remove barriers to groups that seek to work with Indigenous Communities. The focus will be on relationship building, cultural competency and collaboration wise practices. Groups will leave the webinar more confident in how to start or deepen relationships with Indigenous Communities.

The webinar will be held on Thursday, December 5 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. via Zoom. Pre-registration is required to receive the link to the webinar. To keep the group intimate and allow for discussion, space is limited and this webinar is only open to representatives of Nature Network groups. Please limit registration to a maximum of two members of your group and only register if you plan to attend. There will not be a recording of this webinar.

Youth Council Applications Open

Ontario Nature’s Youth Council is a diverse provincial network that is dedicated to inspiring, connecting and raising environmental awareness. We are looking for high-school students in Ontario who are passionate about nature, fun-loving and environmentally aware. The Youth Council is a great opportunity to protect nature and develop strong leadership skills.

As a Youth Council member, you will work alongside Ontario Nature staff, become part of a vibrant peer network, and contribute to lasting, positive change through conservation action.

Applications for the 2024/25 Youth Council are now open and will close in December. 

Sign Up for the Next City Nature Challenge!

The City Nature Challenge (CNC) is a great opportunity to inspire local community members to connect with nature while taking part in an international event designed to track biodiversity. Some of our Nature Network groups participated in 2024, found it to be great fun and want to encourage more groups to join for 2025!

CNC is an annual event organized in Canada by Canadian Wildlife Federation (CWF). The event was launched in 2016 by the Community Science teams at the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Since then, the CNC has continued to attract new cities every year; in 2024, nearly 700 cities in more than 40 countries participated, including 40 Canadian municipalities. It’s a friendly challenge to see which city can gather the most observations of nature, find the most species, and engage the most people. This year participants tracked over 1.8 million nature observations around the world!

The CNC is a fun, simple, and family-friendly event that’s easy to execute and fully scalable. Using the free downloadable app found at iNaturalist.ca, people can search for and document their local biodiversity simply by taking pictures and uploading them through the app or online.

The CNC 2025 event takes place April 25 – May 4, and welcomes official involvement from interested organizations. CWF offers a collection of helpful materials to assist in promotion of each year’s CNC event. Host it virtually or with an in-person event hosted in collaboration with your local partners in conservation. Challenge other local cities. The CNC can be as big or small as you want it to be.

The deadline to sign up for the 2025 CNC is January 15. Learn more at citynaturechallenge.ca or citynaturechallenge.org.

Protect Ontario’s Endangered Species

Please mark your calendars and share this with members of your group! December 3rd is Giving Tuesday, a day for you to give to the causes that mean the most to you. If you give to Ontario Nature this Giving Tuesday, you will be supporting endangered species. Together, we hope to raise $40,000 to help protect Ontario’s endangered species.

Atlas-3 Needs Your Photos

We know there are many talented bird photographers in the Nature Network. What better way to support the third Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas than to contribute and potentially see your images featured in the final published materials? The Atlas is looking for good quality photos of all Ontario breeding birds, preferably taken in Ontario during the breeding season (and in breeding habitat wherever possible). We’re especially interested in photos that depict elevated breeding evidence (e.g., nests, young, carrying food).

Please submit the highest resolution versions of your images possible using the media submission form. Instructions for sending batches of images are included on that page. Thanks to everyone who has submitted images already!

Interesting Links and Opportunities 

• CBC Article covering wetland loss that Ontario Nature has been involved in fighting
• Please sign our new action alert to join us in requesting that provincial wetland protections be restored and strengthened.
• Carolinian Canada is hosting a webinar on best practices for sustaining conservation volunteers November 28
• Article in The Narwhal uncovering that a Key figure in Ontario Greenbelt scandal worked on Highway 413
• Submit your volunteer postings by November 25 for the December edition of our Volunteer Board Newsletter

Events 

See our events calendar for a complete listing of events organized by Ontario Nature and Nature Network groups.

To submit your public events to our online calendar, email them to noahc@ontarionature.org and allow up to a week for posting. Please send only events that are open to the public and no more than three per month.