Happy B-day, Sir John, Eh?

Italianate Bellevue House is a fanciful historic home.

Story by Katharine Fletcher, photo by Eric Fletcher

Sir John A. Macdonald was our first prime minister and a Father of Confederation. The Glasgow-born Scot dreamed grandly of a national railway to link our great country together – and realized the goal in his tenure as PM. For these and many other reasons he’s a beloved, often controversial Canadian politician.

From Jan. 6 to 11, the City of Kingston, Parks Canada, Department of Cultural Heritage and other organizations are celebrating the 200^th anniversary of his birthday. So it’s a great time to venture to Kingston, to take in the bicentennial celebrations.
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Read the full story at Young at Heart online.

The scoop on snow!



Read my column on Capital Parent’s blog,
where you can also read the full current issue.

The first snowfall is the perfect time to chat with kids about the science of snow. Just like human beings, no two snowflakes are precisely the same shape. There are many intriguing questions about snow, and some equally fascinating answers.

By Katharine Fletcher

Who was “Snowflake” Bentley?

In the late 1800s, Wilson Alwyn Bentley wondered about snowflakes. So he got a microscope, looked at snowflakes, and discovered beautifully shaped, miniature ice sculptures.

Inspired, he got a camera and, over the next forty or so years, took approximately 5,000 photographs of snowflakes. He identified more than 80 different categories of them – which is why he’s nicknamed “Snowflake” Bentley!

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Read the full story on Capital Parent’s blog.

How do birds survive the bitter cold, skinny legs ’n all?



Read my column on Capital Parent’s blog,
where you can also read the full current issue.

As we know, many birds survive Canadian winters by completely avoiding the bitter months. Many migrate to warmer climates, some even flying as far as Florida or South America.

By Katharine Fletcher

Some sub-arctic and boreal forest species such as snow buntings, great grey and snowy owls, and rough-legged hawks migrate from the north to our more southerly region to overwinter. Believe it or not, Ottawa is their Florida!

Have you ever wondered why, when winter temperatures plunge to -40C, birds’ spaghetti-thin legs don’t freeze solid? How can these extremely tiny animals survive winter’s frigid conditions?

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Read the full story on Capital Parent’s blog.

The masked bandits of Ottawa

Read my column on Capital Parent’s blog,
where you can also read the full current issue.

Raccoons are a great example of a wild animal that has adapted to its environment. Read on to learn more about one of our most prolific critters.

By Katharine Fletcher

Who’s the critter that resembles a masked bandit and sometimes makes a ruckus in our shed and garbage cans? It’s a raccoon, and the black face mask and white “eyebrows” are their signature markings.

Because they are omnivorous (meaning they eat practically anything) and extremely adaptable, they have adjusted well to urban life, as have skunks and coyotes.

Here in Ottawa, raccoons are commonly found where there are many ravines, wetlands, and urban forests providing shelter and food.

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Read the full story on Capital Parent’s blog.

Ottawa’s Natural Environment: Blinded by the Light

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Dark Sky Preserves open a door to the universe

Story by Katharine Fletcher; photos by Eric Fletcher

Above me, the night sky is velvety black. Against it, the pathway of our home galaxy – the Milky Way – courses across the heavens. As my eyes adjust, black silhouettes of the surrounding white pine forest appear, and once again I am humbled by nature’s beauty.

While contemplating dark skies, people can feel connected to our distant ancestors who, like us, gazed at the mystery of the heavens. From their wonderment would spring their culture’s superheroes, gods, and creation stories...

Click to read entire fall issue.
My article is on p. 21.

Ever wondered why beavers are Canada’s national symbol? Read on!

Read my column on Capital Parent’s blog,
where you can also read the full current issue.

The phrase “busy as a beaver” perfectly describes North America’s largest rodent. But why?

By Katharine Fletcher

Industriousness personified

Beavers hate the sound of running water, love quiet ponds, and are perfectly designed to build and maintain dams.

According to Mike Keizer, a manager at Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada boasts the longest beaver dam in the world:

“It is not very high due to the landscape of this park, but it is 850 meters long. In fact, it was spotted on Google Earth which displays images taken from space. Although we have no way of knowing how many generations may have worked on it, air photos show it has been worked for more than 40 years,” says Keizer.

Now, that’s commitment! It’s interesting to think about how beavers evolved to make them such busy builders.

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Read the full story on Capital Parent’s blog.

Camping 101: Learn to camp this summer!

Read my column on Capital Parent’s blog,
where you can also read the full current issue.

Camping is a Canadian ritual, a tradition many of us hold dear. Just think of it: a glorious blue sky, a sandy beach, and a lake where we can splash about with our kids. At night we snuggle into sleeping bags after enjoying a yummy meal and laughing about tall tales of the day’s activities spun around a crackling campfire. Sounds awesome right? But what do you do if you love the idea of camping, but don’t know where to begin?

By Katharine Fletcher

Ontario Parks and Parks Canada are eager to encourage all Canadians to feel comfortable camping and being in nature, and they’re doing it through their Learn to Camp programs.

Interested? It’s easy. First, check their respective websites for detailed instructions including packing instructions and checklists of what to bring. Next, decide how long you want to go. You can book one, two, or three-night stays in Ontario Parks.

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Read the full story on Capital Parent’s blog.

Ottawa’s Natural Environment

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How close is too close for wildlife watching?

Story by Katharine Fletcher; photo by Eric Fletcher

How close is too close for wildlife watching?

“Look at that bear! I’m going to get a great photo!” Off the photographer ran, straight for the animal.

Another Darwin-award moment…

Normally sensible people can be transformed into fools when nature’s serendipity presents a golden opportunity for a stellar photograph.

Although you’d think people would know better than to run towards a black bear, Homo sapiens frequently exhibits thoughtless behaviour towards wild animals instead of being sensible… and acting respectfully.

But what’s respectful?

Mud Lake Madness

Remember the commotion at Mud Lake – the popular wildlife watching spot at Ottawa’s Britannia Filtration Plant – during the last two winters? The Ottawa Field Naturalist Club’s Facebook page exploded with comments because some photographers had positioned tripods semi-permanently to shoot Great Gray and Snowy owls. Come spring, others similarly created a zoo-like atmosphere when Great Horned Owls were nesting.

Click to read entire summer issue. 
My column is on p. 33.

Some birders brought live mice purchased at a pet shop, and threw them to the birds of prey. The owls swooped down, wings beating the air and talons bared to grab the rodents, then transport and devour them aloft. The Great Horned adults fed some mice to their young.

So what?

Haliburton Highland Fling

Click to read a PDF versionof the full article.

Story by Katharine Fletcher; images by Eric Fletcher

Want to bike undulating country roads rimmed by rugged outcrops of Canadian Shield? Want to take some arts and crafts workshops where, during lunch, you can stroll a statue forest? Or how about canoeing on a tranquil lake or swimming and relaxing at a resort?

Look no further than the picturesque village of Haliburton, a thriving arts community in the heart of the Highlands Region of Ontario.

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Published in Ottawa’s Young@Heart newspaper, June/July issue, 2014.
Click the thumbnail to read a PDF version of the full article.

Visit Young@Heart website.

Join a mini-art revolution with Artist Trading Cards

Read my story on Capital Parent’s blog,
where you can also read the full current issue.

Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) are original pieces of pocket-sized art that are never bought or sold, only traded. It’s an international art craze that few people know about, and it’s a great way to get kids inspired to get creating.

By Katharine Fletcher

ATCs were the brainchild of a Swiss artist named m. vänçi stirnemann, who visited Calgary in 1997. He was intrigued by kids trading and collecting hockey cards, and thought the same principal should be applied to art cards. He started making cards, trading them, and voila: the international movement of artists trading original ATCs was born.

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Read the full story on Capital Parent’s blog.

Ready, set, glow! Finding - and learning - about fireflies in Ottawa

Read my column on Capital Parent’s blog,
where you can also read the full current issue.

Fireflies are all a-glow during summer. Why do they glow and where can we find them?

By Katharine Fletcher

On a summer’s evening, witnessing tiny “fairy” lights dancing above a meadow or low wetland is a magical, unforgettable sight. What causes these blinking lights?

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Find out by reading my full story on Capital Parent’s blog.

Haliburton Highland fling

Explore Ontario’s very own Highlands for culture, nature, adventure

Story by Katharine Fletcher; image by Eric Fletcher

Want to bike undulating country roads rimmed by rugged outcrops of Canadian Shield? Want to take some arts and crafts workshops where, during lunch, you can stroll a statue forest? Or how about canoeing on a tranquil lake or swimming and relaxing at a resort?

Look no further than the picturesque village of Haliburton, a thriving arts community in the heart of the Highlands Region of Ontario.

Here discover an artistic community which boasts a highly respected art school and theatre. So, while exploring the village and its surroundings we realize we can not only relax amid nature, but also indulge our creative side.

The village of Haliburton is 284 km west of Ottawa, being 63 km west of Bancroft. Driving there takes us through a quintessentially Canadian landscape of rugged outcrops of Canadian Shield rock, iconic-looking windswept white pines, sparkling lakes and rivers.

Upon arrival, there are so many activities to enjoy, things to do. Here’s a sampler.

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Published in Ottawa’s Young@Heart newspaper, June issue, 2014.
Click the thumbnail to read a PDF version of the full article.

Visit Young@Heart website.

Blooming good times in Ottawa’s best gardens

Read my column on Capital Parent’s blog,
where you can also read the full current issue.

Surely all of us who live in Ottawa equate flowers with May? Specifically, we tend to think of tulips because this month (May 9-19) heralds our renowned Canadian Tulip Festival.

By Katharine Fletcher

Don’t miss the tulip beds all aglow with their extraordinary hues of scarlet, crimson, gold, pink, white – and more. Neighbourhoods such as Little Italy and the Glebe reflect the drama, so don’t forget to take your cameras and capture selfies and “kidpix” with these gorgeous natural backdrops.

However, beyond the festival dates – both before and after – many other glorious flowers await discovery. Here are our top fave places in the city, with one special extra in Gatineau Park, to tip toe through the tulips and celebrate spring’s arrival and the disappearance of that white stuff!

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Read the full story on Capital Parent’s blog.

Ephemera of spring

Get outside to appreciate wildflowers and waterfalls!

Story by Katharine Fletcher

After enduring our lingering and bitter winter, we all want to get outside in the sunshine. May is a good time to see waterfalls in full spate – and, at the fragile end of the spectrum, ephemeral wildflower blossoms, so-called because after blooming, the plant dies back until next year.

What kind of flowers can we see? In dappled sunlight, look for woodland species such as Dutchman’s breeches, so-called because they resemble the old-fashioned white “bloomer” pants once worn by Dutch gentlemen long ago. Spring beauties, trilliums, bloodroot, trout lily (dog-tooth violets) and more await discovery. Of course, some city destinations feature tulip and other domesticated “ephemerals.”

And waterfalls? There are several fabulous cascades here. There’s something particularly soothing about sitting in a patch of sunshine beside a falls…

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Published in Ottawa’s Young@Heart newspaper, May issue, 2014.
Click the thumbnail to read a PDF version of the full article.

Visit Young@Heart website.

Celebrate spring: get out, explore and watch for birds

Story by Katharine Fletcher; images by Eric Fletcher

Finally. This long, cold winter is over. Warm temperatures have melted snow, and now the air is filled with a chorus of birdsong. Over there, a robin sings. Above, Vs of Canada geese do their flyovers and, if you’re quiet, perhaps you’ll even hear their wingbeats!

Regardless of whether or not you’re a keen birdwatcher, there’s no better way to fill your lungs with the season’s fresh air and get some good exercise, than to head outside and watch for wildlife.

As ice recedes from lakes and watercourses, wading birds such as great blue herons can be found. Mallards, goldeneye, bufflehead and other ducks join the activity, paddling and dabbling. And, if we’re lucky, we may hear loons flying overhead, returning to their home lakes and rivers.

Finally, songbirds arrive: Baltimore orioles, catbirds, indigo buntings. These and others such as woodcocks, snipes, and whip-poor-wills join resident birds, all competing for nesting territory and food.

Because of the Ottawa region’s rich biodiversity, we are well-placed to find many areas to explore which offer us splendid sightings.

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Published in Ottawa’s Young@Heart newspaper, April issue, 2014.
Click the thumbnail to read a PDF version of the full article.

Visit Young@Heart website.

Sweet surrender at the sugar bush

Read my column on Capital Parent’s blog,
where you can also read the full current issue.

Embracing the tradition of visiting sugar shacks is de rigueur in our region in March. Happily for us, here in the Ottawa region and west Quebec there are many sucreries from which to choose.

By Katharine Fletcher

Hélène Alary helps operate her family’s Sucrerie Alary in Luskville, Quebec. She’s a maple syrup expert who is more than happy to talk about sap production to visitors.

“The maple tree must have an 8-10 inch diameter before being tapped,” she explains. “If they’re not this size, it stresses the tree. We can collect three times more sap with plastic piping than with buckets.”

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Read the full story on Capital Parent’s blog.

Antarctica: Land of superlatives

Trip of a lifetime reveals Antarctica’s spectacular nature

Story by Katharine Fletcher; images by Eric Fletcher

“Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen. … This is your Captain speaking. We are incredibly fortunate because today is a beautiful day…”

According to Norwegian Captain Arild Hårvik of Hurtigruten’s MV Fram, all 19 days of our Antarctic expedition were beautiful — including those 22 hours when swells exceeded seven metres...

Being hardy Canadians we concurred. After all, December to February is summertime in the southern hemisphere, where we enjoyed “balmy” temperatures of +5C to -5C.

Ice rules

Nonetheless, the trip is an “expedition” because in Antarctica, ice rules. We selected Hurtigruten’s 19-day adventure because we wanted to experience not “only” Antarctica but also the Sub-Antarctic Falkland, South Georgia, and South Orkney islands. And penguins.

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Published in Ottawa’s Young@Heart newspaper, January/February issue, 2014.
Click the thumbnail to read a PDF version of the full article.

Visit Young@Heart website.

Top tobogganing runs in Ottawa!

Read my column on Capital Parent’s blog,
where you can also read the full current issue.

We've been slip-slidin’ away on some of our favourite hills in Ottawa, have you?

By Katharine Fletcher

Tobogganing is a super parent-child bonding activity. Swooshing downhill with our kids, “laughing all the way,” goes a long way to building active, fun memories as a family.

The City of Ottawa operates 56 sledding slopes; the National Capital Commission (NCC) has three in Greenbelt.
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Read the full story on Capital Parent’s blog.

Lucky Seven: Our Capital Waterfalls

Spring’s Meltwaters Bring Drama To Local Waterfalls: Explore All Seven!

By Katharine Fletcher
May 2013

May is the best time to discover our National Capital Region’s pretty waterfalls because winter’s melted ice and snow provide extra volumes of runoff to transform falls into dramatic cascades. Moreover, the first two weeks of May are usually blackfly- and mosquito-free – always a good thing!

So grab the kids, make sure they’re dressed in comfy clothes and shoes that can tolerate some mud or water, pack a picnic – and head to the hills! Here’s an idea, why not make it your mission to visit all seven?

Read the full article on the Capital Parent web site.

Social media: Learning, conversational platforms

Environmental Forum weekly column published in The Equity, Shawville, Québec

 

Last week’s column (discussing a YouTube video on industrial farming in China) interested many readers. Now I’m continuing the social media theme –introducing the Ottawa Field Naturalist Club and their Facebook page as an example of how Facebook can attract members, inform the public (regardless of membership), and promote learning plus deep conversation about the environment.
I know many of you are interested not only in birds, but other wildlife and habitats we enjoy, locally. I also know my readers are fascinated in pursuing conversations about the environment, wildlife, politics… and other issues. I am also introducing OFNC as an example of social media at its best.