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Conservation updates for member groups. Please pass this newsletter on to other members of your club.

Ontario Nature grants permission for use of the information below in member group newsletters. Please credit either Ontario Nature or the member group.

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News from Ontario Nature

Summerfield Tract at Lost Bay Nature Reserve

Submitted by Mark Carabetta, Ontario Nature
On October 7, Ontario Nature closed on a new addition to the Lost Bay Nature Reserve near Kingston. This purchase will add 234 acres to the existing reserve, bringing the grand total to 488 acres and nearly doubling its size! This newest piece includes parts of 2 provincially significant wetlands, and is a hotspot for Black rat snakes and several other species at risk. Our thanks to all the funders who helped make this purchase possible and to John Urquhart whose excellent leadership on the Reptiles at Risk Project at Lost Bay led us to recognize the ecological significance of this new property.

Ontario Nature at the EcoMentors Youth Conference

Submitted by Sarah Hedges, Ontario Nature
On November 5, 80 young Canadians learned about Nature Guardians and other Ontario Nature programs and campaigns at the EcoMentors Youth Conference in Ottawa. The conference was co-hosted by the Sierra Youth Coalition and was focused on telling young people how they can get involved in the protection of species at risk while developing their conservation leadership skills. To see photos from the gathering, click here.

2011 Greeting Cards Now Available

Submitted by Lisa Richardson, Ontario Nature
The 2011 greeting cards, featuring the Common redpoll, are now available. The cost for Ontario Nature member clubs is $5.50/package HST (10 cards/package). If you would like to place an order, please contact Sonia Croasdaile at soniac@ontarionature.org or 1-800-440-2366 ext. 224.

Ontario Nature Office Moving

Submitted by Lisa Richardson, Ontario Nature
Ontario Nature's tenure at 366 Adelaide St. West is coming to an end. This fall our head office will be moving around the corner to 214 King Street West. The move is scheduled to take place November 26. Staff telephone, fax, and email contacts will remain the same.

Tree Planting as Carbon Offset for AGM

Submitted by Mark Carabetta, Ontario Nature
On October 15, Ontario Nature staff, a board member, members of the York-Simcoe Field Naturalists and several public volunteers planted 40 native trees and shrubs on our Cawthra Mulock Nature Reserve near Newmarket. People who registered for Ontario Nature's AGM in June were given the option of offsetting their personal carbon footprint by contributing to a tree planting project. Those funds were put towards this initiative. The day was a big success and we managed to finish before the rain came. We planted a mix of native species including Red oaks, White pines, Nannyberries, Red-osier dogwoods and Serviceberries. A big "thank you" to everyone who came out to help!

Sonora Carabetta & Claire Healy, Photo courtesy of Mark Carabetta 

Vote for Shell Canada Fuelling Change Grant Recipient

Submitted by Lisa Richardson & Barb MacKenzie-Wynia, Ontario Nature
Shell Canada's new grant program, Fuelling Change, offers $1 million/year to projects that improve and restore Canada's environment. Bird Studies Canada and Wildlife Preservation Canada have submitted applications for funding and you can help one of them receive these much needed funds by voting for them. Wildlife Preservation Canada's "Project Soar" will help protect and restore habitat for Loggerhead shrikes, while Bird Studies Canada's "Students for a Swift Recovery" is a school-focused interactive education program to help students learn about and protect swift habitat in school chimneys. The voting period is November 4, 2011 to April 30, 2012. Go to www.fuellingchange.com/main/index to set up your account and start voting.

News from the Nature Network

Friends of Ontario Snapping Turtles Petition

Submitted by Anne Lewis, Six Mile Lake Conservation Club  
F.R.O.S.T (Friends of Ontario Snapping Turtles) are calling on the provincial government to ban all legal hunting of Snapping turtles, a Species of Special Concern. Currently, the Ministry of Natural Resources allows every person with a fishing license to kill 2 Snapping turtles per day. This hunting level, if exercised to its potential, could quickly remove the species from Ontario. Please show your support for F.R.O.S.T.'s efforts by signing their petition calling for a ban on the hunt. For more information or to obtain a copy of the petition, contact Anne Lewis at 705-856-8425. 

High Park Nature Groups Receive Paul McGraw Memorial Conservation Award

Submitted by Karen Yukich & Sharon Lovett, High Park Nature   
Congratulation to High Park Nature & the High Park Volunteer Stewardship Program. They were jointly honoured with a 2011 Paul McGraw Memorial Conservation Award at the annual general meeting of the North American Native Plant Society on October 22. The 2 groups speak up for nature by advising the City of Toronto on restoration plans for High Park, and then make these plans a reality through hands-on conservation work and educational programs. Well done! For more information about High Park Nature and the Volunteer Stewardship Program, visit www.highparknature.org.

First Annual Quimby F. Hess Lecture, November 19

Submitted by Donald Davis, Toronto Entomologists' Association   
The Toronto Entomologists' Association is pleased to announce the inaugural event of our new Quimby F. Hess Lecture series. Many of you will remember Quimby Hess as a former TEA president, dedicated entomologist and co-author of our Ontario Butterfly Atlas. His contribution to the TEA and to Ontario's insects has been immense. We hope you can join us in honouring Quimby and enjoying this excellent talk which will be held on November 19 on the University of Toronto's St. George campus. For more information, contact Don Davis at donald_davis@yahoo.com.

In Search of Niagara's Rare Plants

Submitted by Corey Burant, Niagara Restoration Council   
The Niagara Restoration Council is pleased to invite you to our annual general meeting which is being co-hosted by Niagara College's Niagara Environmental Corps. on Tuesday November 22. Come and learn more about the NRC and NEC and our current projects, and enjoy a lecture by guest speaker, Michael Oldham, Botanist & Herpetologist with the Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre-MNR. Michael's talk will focus on Niagara's rare plant species. For more Information, contact the NRC at 905-788-0248 or niagararestoration@becon.org.

Gull Viewing Above the Niagara Gorge

Submitted by Carolyn King, Pickering Field Naturalists    
November is the month for gulls and they will be swirling in the thousands above the Niagara Gorge. Join the Pickering Field Naturalists on November 27 for a great day of viewing. For more information, contact Carolyn King at cking@yorku.ca.

Advocate for Nature

As an Advocate for Nature, you will receive important conservation action alerts by e-mail when your help is urgently needed. Each alert includes a summary of an environmental issue and a recommended action. Ontario Nature has recently issued alerts on the Endangered Species Act, reforming the Mining Act and the Far North Act. Visit our website to add your name online.

News from Other Organizations

Bird Studies Canada is Looking for Information on Bank Swallows in Ontario

Submitted by Kathy Jones, Bird Studies Canada  
Did you see a colony of swallows this summer? Were they bank swallows? Bird Studies Canada's Ontario Region is looking for information on bank swallow colonies. These highly colonial birds nest in eroding vertical banks along shorelines, rivers, and gravel/sand pits. If you know of a bank swallow colony, we ask that you submit this information (including location, colony habitat type & number of burrows observed) at www.surveymonkey.com/s/bankswallow. For more information on bank swallows and the Bird Studies Canada Ontario Bank Swallow Project, visit www.birdscanada.org/research/speciesatrisk/bans/.     

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Upcoming Nature Network News Deadlines

The next issue of the Nature Network News will be sent on December 15, 2011. The deadline for submissions is December 1, 2011.

Submissions can be sent to naturenetwork@ontarionature.org.

Please note that events can be listed up to two months in advance - allowing others to put it on their calendar well in advance.

Ontario Nature publishes the Ontario Nature Network News every month with contributions from its member groups and staff.