Hiking

Restoration Work at St. Williams Conservation Reserve

Restoration Work at St. Williams Conservation Reserve
By Inga Hinnerichsen In the past year I have helped out with ongoing work at the St. Williams Conservation Reserve. The forest reserve consists of mainly two tracts: the Turkey Point Tract and the Nursery Tract stretching north from Hwy. 24 between Forestry Farm Road and East Quarter Line Road. As the glaciers were melting after the last ice age and water levels began to drop, the receding shoreline left behind a series of sand dunes. Eventually, these dunes were overgrown with local vegetation. The area was cleared by early settlers and heavily eroded by the late 1800s. In the early 20th century it was planted largely with pine varieties to prevent further erosion and as lumber crop trees. Small pockets of Black Oak savannah remained on higher, dry ground. Part of the ongoing work in the Conservation Reserve are…
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The Bruce Beckoned

The Bruce Beckoned
Ontario Nature's 85th annual gathering Story by Inga Hinnerichsen Ontario Nature celebrated its 85th anniversary combined with its Annual Gathering on the weekend of June 3, 4 and 5, 2016. The organisation was founded in 1931, then called the Federation of Ontario Naturalists. Today Ontario Nature has over 150 member groups, such as Norfolk Field Naturalists, all throughout this province. Together we share the love of nature and continue to work towards preserving natural areas, flora and fauna for future generations. The NFN participated with a small delegation: Bernie Solymár, Len Grincevicius, Diane Salter, Karin Jonasson, David Curry and Inga Hinnerichsen. On the way we stopped at Sauble Beach to observe a few rare Piping Plovers that were nesting on the beach. Sadly, later news told us that none of the nests this year were successful. Some were destroyed by…
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The official dedication of the George and Shirley Pond Nature Reserve

The official dedication of the George and Shirley Pond Nature Reserve
By Inga Hinnerichsen Download the PDF of this article, which contains many more beautiful photos. By the time this report is published we hope many of you have had the opportunity to explore this beautiful and diverse tract. Saturday, April 18 was glorious: Calm, sunny and warm. What else do you want from a spring day after a particularly nasty winter? About 50 people attended the unveiling of the new sign at the Long Point Basin Land Trust (LPBLT) property along Front Road. You may recall that a couple of years ago NFN donated a substantial sum to LPBLT toward the purchase of this property. Al Robinson, former president of NFN, did the honours of unveiling the sign. Peter Carson, President of the LPBLT, gave the introductory speech and George Pond replied with a few words of wisdom to the…
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Nature Down-Under: Escape from the February deep-freeze

Nature Down-Under: Escape from the February deep-freeze
By: Inga Hinnerichsen We couldn't have picked a better time for our recent trip to New Zealand! The summer is still going strong in February (like our August), but the high tourist season is already tapering off and the local kids are back in school. During the week the beaches are less busy and you'll have a better selection of campsites. On the other hand, this is not a great time to visit Northern Australia! The "Wet" is in full swing, the outback is flooded by torrential rains, devastating cyclones tear at the north and north east parts of the continent. The South is usually hot and dry with plenty of bushfires raging. Roughly 80 million years ago the land mass now known as Zealandia broke away from the supercontinent Gondwana together with Australia. This continent has since eroded away…
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Field Trip to the Niagra Glen with Alan Ladd and Brian Calvert

Story by: Eleanor Chithalen Saturday, April 27th dawned with glorious sunshine and warm temperatures. Alan Ladd anticipated a great turnout for his Niagara gorge hike, since he had invited a crew of Norfolk Field Naturalists, Horticulture Society members and “Discover Norfolk” walkers. Imagine his chagrin when only five locals had joined him in the Walmart parking lot by 9 a.m. We later concluded that all the horticulturalists were hard at their gardens, while the hikers and field naturalists prefer more of a challenge. This observation is borne out by the fact that Alan’s previous Norfolk-to- Niagara trek last fall, in gale-force winds and torrential rain, was well- attended. Atop the gorge in Niagara, we were joined by local expert Brian Calvert. As we descended, he immediately began an erudite explanation of the formation of Niagara’s falls and gorge through the…
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