Your membership protects Ontario's wild species and wild spaces.

Hello Individual first name ,

Spring is well upon us and our staff is hard at work planning for our upcoming virtual Annual Gathering, performing fieldwork on our nature reserves, and bringing you nature webinars while you are at home. Read on to see what’s coming up and how you can get involved!

Join Ontario Nature’s 90^th Annual Gathering

You are invited to join us for Ontario Nature’s 2020-21 Annual Gathering, presented virtually on Saturday, June 12th from 9:30am – 12:00pm. Join Caroline Schultz, Ontario Nature’s executive director, for our year in review and the Conservation Award Winners announcement. You can also participate in interactive quizzes, workshops, and bid in an online auction!

Your 2021 commitment to nature

We rely on your 2021 membership support to fulfill our mission to protect wild species and wild spaces in Ontario through conservation, education and public engagement. If you haven’t already joined or renewed your membership by becoming a monthly donor or by making a single gift, please take action for nature today. You will renew your quarterly subscription to our award-winning ON Nature magazine and will be an important part of our work by protecting nature in our province. Thank you for supporting nature in Ontario!

post prescribed burn bumble bee nodding onion Pelee

The Youth Circle for Mother Earth is going strong!

The Youth Circle for Mother Earth (YCME) has been preparing for another great year of youth-led conservation. Among other activities this year, the YCME's Coordinating Circle has led an art in nature photo contest and hosted a virtual tour of Potawatomi Prairie. Members also participated in a virtual retreat to strengthen their relationships with Elders and each other. Nominations for youth aged 15-27 to join the YCME are always welcome. Watch our Welcome to the Youth Circle for Mother Earth video to learn more about this great initiative.

Birding webinars

Ontario Nature presented three birding webinars last month to mark the return of migrating birds and support data collection for the third Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas (Atlas-3). We partnered with Quest Nature Tours and expert ornithologist Mike Cadman to talk about spring birding and how you can get involved in the upcoming Atlas. Ontario Nature Youth Council member, Eila O’Neil, presented an introduction to birding webinar for youth. Julee Boan, Ontario Nature’s Boreal Program manager partnered with Dr. Lana Ray for an Indigenous engagement presentation exploring how we can integrate the principles of Indigenous reconciliation into Atlas-3. If you didn’t get a chance to catch the live webinars, we invite you to visit Ontario Nature’s YouTube channel, where you can watch them at a time of your choosing and forward them onto other birders to enjoy.

What are MZO’s and how are they being used?

Minister's Zoning Orders (MZOs) are increasingly being used to fast-track development on farmland, wetlands, and greenspaces across the province. MZOs eliminate any opportunity for public scrutiny or input and can result in significant harm to the long-term health of Ontarians and our natural ecosystems. We paired up with volunteers from Junction Tower Films to produce a short video about how the government is misusing MZO’s. With your help, we can spread the word and fight back against environmental threat that avoids public consultation and accountability.

Your impact as an Advocate for Nature

Grassroots engagement takes many forms. When you sign petitions, make phone calls, and send emails and letters, you make a difference. The form letters you send get summarized in government reports, and the numbers matter. We thank all our Advocates for Nature for speaking out against damaging environmental reforms and will continue to shine a light on these issues. The coming year will be a pivotal time as political parties begin to prepare for the 2022 provincial election. As nature advocates, we need to continue to step up, reach out and hold elected representatives to account. Silence is not an option. Neither is apathy. We must do our utmost to ensure that no party stands a chance unless it has a strong pro-environment platform. You can read more about why your voice matters in our award-winning quarterly magazine, ON Nature.