Youth Summit Deadlines Approaching

Hosted for youth by young leaders in our Nature Guardians Youth Program with support of Indigenous advisors, the Youth Summit for Mother Earth is a cross-cultural, weekend-long event, packed with hands-on outdoor education and land-based learning opportunities for youth from communities across Ontario.

This year’s Youth Summit is being held September 12 – 14, 2025. We are excited to return to Tawingo Outdoor Centre in Muskoka, which is on the traditional territories of the Ojibway, the Chippewa, the Algonquin and the Odawa.

The deadline for groups to let us know if you have a youth to sponsor is August 11^th and the deadline for youth to fill out an expression of interest is August 1^st.

To learn more about the Youth Summit and the sponsorship process, check out our Sponsorship Package.

Repealing Bill 5

As promised, Ontario Nature is keeping the pressure on to urge the government to repeal Bill 5 – the omnibus bill that weakens protections for species at risk, infringes on Indigenous rights and undermines democratic processes. On July 9 we held a webinar about the bill, its impacts and implications. If you missed it, we encourage you to watch the recording.

Please sign and share our petition to repeal the bill. You can also attend rallies and contact decision-makers to voice your opposition to Bill 5.

Lake Partner Program Saved

The Federation of Ontario Cottage Associations (FOCA), one of our Nature Network Provincial Partners, was happy to announce that the Lake Partner Program was saved! This program involves stewards collecting data on water quality in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) and is vital to ensuring healthy lake ecosystems. The program was set to be cancelled but FOCA, and many community groups and individuals fought to save it. They have a new agreement with MECP that enables them to continue the program over the coming five years, with the support of hundreds of volunteer Lake Stewards throughout the province.

FOCA thanks everyone who wrote letters to the Premier and the Minister of MECP.

Lake Partner Program data is accessible through the FOCA website for anyone interested.

Before You Go 

• If you missed our AGM in June, you can watch the recording.
• Did you see the sad news in our media release about the Blanchard’s Cricket Frog disappearing from Canada?
• The Invasive Species Centre is holding a webinar on Sea Lamprey July 22
• Submit your volunteer needs to our volunteer board by July 25 for inclusion in the August volunteer 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.