EBC

Behind the Scenes: A Winter Afternoon at Mooi Nature Preserve This past Saturday (January 25), we had the pleasure of welcoming many of you to the beautiful Mooi Nature Preserve near Owen Sound for a magical winter afternoon. Together, we snowshoed through the preserve’s stunning woodlands, wetlands, and along the serene North Spey River. Highlights included a recovering pine plantation, a bubbling artesian spring, and wildlife signs that reminded us how important this area is for habitat conservation. After exploring the trails, participants warmed up with complimentary hot chocolate and meaningful conversations about stewardship and the vital work the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy does. We loved seeing so many new faces, along with familiar ones, and we’re excited to welcome new members and potential volunteers into the EBC community. Thank you to everyone who joined us for making this day so special. Your passion for nature and support of EBC’s mission are what make events like this possible. If you'd like to stay up to date on upcoming events and everything happening at the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy, sign up for our newsletter here: escarpment.ca/make-an-impact…. We can’t wait to see you at future opportunities to connect with the outdoors and each other! #EscarpmentBiosphereConservancy #BehindTheScenes #WinterAdventures #Snowshoeadventure

Behind the Scenes at Timber Bay Nature Preserve: A Winter Wonderland with Our Community This weekend, we had the pleasure of gathering at Timber Bay Nature Preserve with some of our most dedicated volunteers and generous donors—the people who are the heart and soul of the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy. It was a day filled with connection, laughter, and a shared appreciation for the incredible natural world we’re all working to protect. The crisp winter air set the perfect stage for exploration. Children on the hike reminded us how magical nature can be when seen through fresh eyes, marvelling at every snowflake, track, and fossil. While we didn’t spot any animals on our trek, the snow told their stories. Tracks from deer and rabbits wove through the landscape, evidence of the abundant wildlife that calls Timber Bay home. Sensitive pitcher plants poked up from beneath the snow, a quiet promise that spring’s warmth will bring new growth and beauty. Our incredible volunteers got to work, installing new signs and trail blazes that will guide visitors through the preserve. Together, we planned for the exciting spring fieldwork ahead, ensuring Timber Bay remains a haven for nature and a place of wonder for generations to come. Whether it’s hiking, preserving, or planning, days like this remind us why we do what we do—and how much stronger we are with the support of people like you. Thank you to all of you who make our work possible. We can’t wait to see what spring will bring to Timber Bay! Discover the wonder. Protect the wild. #BehindtheScenes #TimberBayNaturePreserve #EscarpmentBiosphereConservancy #NatureLovers #VolunteerSpotlight #WildlifeInWinter

Make it Monthly: Your Monthly Gift Builds Trails and Protects Habitats Sustainable trails don’t just connect people to nature—they protect fragile ecosystems by guiding visitors along safe pathways. With your help, we can build and maintain trails on Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy Nature Preserves that provide access while preserving Ontario’s natural beauty. $10/Month: Helps fund signage that educates visitors about protecting habitats. $20/Month: Contributes to materials like boardwalks that protect sensitive wetlands while improving access for visitors. $50/Month: Supports a wider variety of volunteer trail-building efforts, ensuring that Ontario’s trails are safe and sustainable for everyone. Over the course of a year, your support could fund the creation of trails that balance accessibility with conservation. To make a monthly donation visit escarpment.ca/donate #EscarpmentBiosphereConservancy #MakeItMonthly #ProtectOntarioHabitats

Wildlife Wednesday: The Resilient Ruffed Grouse Deep in Ontario’s snowy forests, the ruffed grouse embodies winter resilience. This remarkable bird has mastered the art of survival in freezing conditions, showcasing nature’s ingenuity. When the snow piles high, grouse dive into soft drifts, creating snug burrows that act as natural insulation, shielding them from the harsh cold above. With comb-like fringes growing on their toes during winter, they can gracefully navigate the snow, almost as if wearing their own snowshoes. Their diet shifts with the season too—relying on tree buds, particularly birch and aspen, to sustain them through months when other food sources are scarce. Watching a ruffed grouse puff out its chest and fan its tail feathers is a reminder of the beauty and determination of our wild spaces. At the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy, we’re dedicated to protecting the forests these incredible birds call home, ensuring their survival and the continued marvel of winter’s wildlife wonders. Learn more at escarpment.ca #EscarpmentBiosphereConservancy #WildlifeWednesday #ProtectOntarioNature

Only 14 Hours Left to Donate in 2024! The clock is ticking - today is the FINAL day to make a difference in 2024! With just 14 hours remaining, your 2024 tax-deductible donation will support the incredible conservation work being done by the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy to preserve wild spaces, and set us up for even more success in 2025. Donate Now at escarpment.ca/donate Prefer to mail your donation? You can mail a cheque or credit card information to 192 Spadina Avenue, Suite 304, Toronto, ON, M5T 2C2 Thank you for being a champion for conservation of Ontario’s sensitive and vulnerable natural spaces! Photograph of White-breasted Nuthatch taken by Rob Wray. #EscarpmentBiosphereConservancy #WildFuturesCampaign #ProtectOntarioWildlife

Next Tuesday is the deadline for a 2024 Tax Receipt! ‍ December is coming to a close and we’re less than a week away from our 2024 donation deadline. The great news is there’s still time to donate and receive a tax receipt for 2024. Thanks to generous donors we have reached our goal for our fall 2024 Wild Futures Campaign - an incredible accomplishment. Thank you! In 2025 we will be receiving additional funding that will need to be matched, meaning that you can donate to the Wild Futures Campaign now, and give us a great head start on 2025. Truly our donors are committed to a wild future for all! Help us start 2025 off right with a donation today! escarpment.ca/about/campaign… With gratitude for the Wild Future you are helping create. Photograph by Rob Wray of a Black-and-white Warbler at Benallen Nature Preserve.

Since 1997, we’ve been making a difference for conservation of our natural spaces year after year. The Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy is dedicated to preserving Ontario’s natural heritage, and we’re so grateful for the amazing supporters and donors who make this work possible. 2024 was an incredible success, and we’re excited to continue our work in 2025 📷 #NatureConservation #EscarpmentBiosphereConservancy #ProtectOntarioNature #OntarioLand #ProtectOurPlanet

Behind the scenes, the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy team is celebrating an incredibly successful year in conserving Ontario’s most sensitive and vulnerable landscape. May your holidays be filled with love, laughter, and the beauty of nature around you. Happy Holidays! #EscarpmentBiosphereConservancy #HappyHolidays #ConserveOntarioNature #LandPreservation

Join us for a magical winter afternoon on January 25th, 1:00 PM–3:00 PM, at our beautiful Mooi Nature Preserve in Meaford. What’s Happening: - Snowshoe through stunning woodlands, wetlands, and along the North Spey River - Warm up with complimentary hot chocolate - Learn about stewardship from Liv Callo, EBC’s Stewardship Manager - Celebrate the incredible work of our current stewards who help protect and maintain these precious natural spaces. Location: 397381 Concession 10, Meaford, ON, N4K 5N8 Google Maps Link: maps.app.goo.gl/9mNXPWBaRPhiaS… This free event is perfect for nature lovers, winter adventurers, and anyone looking to connect with the EBC community. RSVP today: Email Hannah Jowett at hannah@escarpment.ca. Don’t forget to bring your snowshoes for this fun winter adventure!

We’re so lucky to have Luisa Rodrigues, our amazing Finance and Operations Manager, working hard on our annual budget for next year. Luisa's keen eye for detail and commitment to excellence means that every dollar is allocated wisely to support our work protecting Ontario’s wild spaces. With input from CEO Beth Gilhespy, the Finance Committee and other Board experts, Luisa is making sure we’re set up for success in 2025. Their dedication ensures we stay on track to protect more of Ontario’s sensitive and vulnerable landscape as well as look after the land we currently protect. A huge thanks to Luisa and the rest of the staff and volunteer team for keeping us moving forward! #BehindTheScenes #WildFutures #GratefulForOurTeam #EscarpmentBiosphereConservancy

Ever wondered what Ontario’s bees are up to as the frost settles in and winter approaches? This time of year, most bees have already finished their fall preparations and are settling in for the long, cold months ahead. Here’s how they’re making it through: Bumblebee Queens: By now, bumblebee queens have found their winter hideouts - burrowed into soil, tucked under logs, or nestled in leaf piles. After feasting on late-blooming flowers like goldenrod and asters, they’re conserving energy for a fresh start in spring. Solitary Bees: Bees like mason and leafcutter bees have sealed their young into snug little nests made from mud, leaves, or wood. Their larvae will wait out the cold, emerging in spring when the first flowers bloom. Ground-Nesters: Mining and sweat bees are hibernating in deep underground tunnels they dug earlier in the fall, safely insulated from the frost above. Bees may be out of sight now, but they’re still relying on the work they did all fall to get through winter. From storing energy to building safe shelters, these pollinators are experts at surviving Ontario’s chilly weather. How You Can Help Bees This Winter: - Skip the Rake: Leave leaf piles and undisturbed soil for bees to use as winter shelters. - Plan for Spring: Start thinking about planting pollinator-friendly flowers to give bees a boost when they emerge. - Go Pesticide-Free: Help keep their habitats healthy and safe. - Donate to charities like the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy who actively protect sensitive and vulnerable land in Ontario from development at escarpment.ca/about/campaign…

East Bluff is now a Nature Preserve! Rising above the waters of Gore Bay, East Bluff is a breathtaking 91-acre gem of Niagara Escarpment shoreline, forested slopes, scarp face, and tableland. Stretching 3 km along the shoreline of Gore Bay, it is now a protected haven - not just for the plants and wildlife that call it home, but for the local community and visitors from across Manitoulin Island/Manidoo Minising and beyond. East Bluff’s diverse ecosystem provides a sanctuary for orchids, ancient Eastern White Cedars, the at-risk Eastern Milksnake, and countless other sensitive species. Protecting this landscape ensures a thriving future for wildlife and a peaceful retreat for all of us. This achievement is only possible thanks to the incredible support of donors - people like you! Let's celebrate East Bluff's conservation together! Learn more about our Wild Futures campaign: escarpment.ca/about/campaign… Thank you for helping us preserve this natural treasure. #ConservationSuccess #EscarpmentBiosphereConservancy #EastBluff #NaturePreserve #WildFuturesCampaign #GoreBay

Behind the scenes at Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy, Board Member Beth Anne Currie shares her reflections on a Wild Futures Campaign Nature Preserve that is close to her heart. "Benallen Wetland Nature Preserve is a key access point for a beloved multi-use trail that passes through hundreds of acres of diverse natural systems, including the Shouldice Wetland complex, dry upland forests, and farm fields. These habitats support a stunning variety of flora and fauna – including incredible birdlife (!) that thrive in this complex ecosystem. The trail at Benallen Wetland offers users a unique and wonderful opportunity to connect with nature. I love taking long hikes with my binoculars; the bird life is spectacular year-round. When you pause to listen, you’ll discover an intricate living system, all performing together on the grand stage of their natural environment. I encourage everyone to please help protect the Benallen Wetland!”- Board Member Beth Anne Currie Benallen Wetland is just one of the incredible Nature Preserves in our Wild Futures Campaign. We are still raising funds to ensure preservation of these beautiful spaces. Donate today to safeguard a Wild Future for all at escarpment.ca/about/campaign… Photographs taken by Rob Wray at Benallen Wetland Nature Preserve #WildFuturesCampaign #EscarpmentBiosphereConservancy #BenallenWetland #ConserveOntarioWildlife #ProtectNature

This #WildlifeWednesday, let’s explore how White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) get ready for the challenges of Ontario’s winter. Although winter officially begins on December 21, deer begin preparing for the colder months well in advance. Their sleek summer coats are replaced with a thick, insulated winter coat that traps body heat and repels snow. This two-layered coat, with dense underfur and hollow guard hairs, helps them stay warm even in freezing temperatures. As food sources become scarce in late fall, deer shift their diet from leafy greens to woody plants like twigs, buds, and bark. They also increase their fat reserves during the autumn months, storing energy to sustain them when food is harder to find. Deer seek out 'yarding areas' with dense conifer cover, which offers shelter from harsh winds and reduces snow depth, making movement and foraging easier. These areas are critical for their survival and EBC’s Wild Future Nature Preserves can provide this refuge. Deer are a wonderful example of resilience and adaptation. Let’s work together to protect the habitats that sustain them all year long. Learn more and support our Wild Futures Campaign here: escarpment.ca/about/campaign… Photograph by Rob Wray capturing a beautiful White-tailed deer gracefully hopping out of our Benallen Wetland Nature Preserve. #WildlifeWednesday #Whitetaileddeer #WinterAdaptations #ProtectOntarioWildlife

On this Giving Tuesday, the call to protect our wild places and vulnerable species has never been more urgent. Today more than ever, habitats are under threat, species face extinction, and the delicate balance of nature depends on all of us stepping up. Through the Wild Futures Campaign, almost 200 new donors have already joined the cause with gifts ranging from $10 to $100,000. But we need your help to do even more. Your gift today can safeguard the spaces and species we cherish. It can ensure that future generations experience the wonder of nature as we have. Every contribution - no matter the size - makes a difference. Let’s stand together for the wild places that sustain us all. Donate now and help us create a legacy of hope: escarpment.ca/about/campaign… #GivingTuesday #EscarpmentBiosphereConservancy #ProtectWildFutures #ActNow #ForNature

Behind the scenes, we’ve been hard at work at the Farquharson Nature Preserve, thanks to funding from the Species at Risk Stewardship Program through the Ontario Land Trust Alliance. This fall, we completed a prescribed burn in collaboration with Lands & Forests. This former farmland has been gradually rehabilitated with native grasses to restore its meadow ecosystem. The prescribed burn helped reduce invasive species, cool-season grasses, and encroaching shrubs, creating the perfect conditions for native prairie grasses and wildflowers seeded this fall. Over the winter, these seeds will stratify, preparing for a burst of growth in the spring. Next spring, restoration efforts will continue, including monitoring grassland birds to see how they’re benefiting from this enhanced habitat. We’re so excited to watch this beautiful space flourish! #EscarpmentBiosphereConservancy #BehindTheScenes #HabitatRestoration #FarquharsonNaturePreserve #WildFutures #ProtectOntarioWildlife

Double your impact this Giving Tuesday! Giving Tuesday, December 3, is a powerful reminder of how we can come together to make a difference. When you donate to our Wild Futures Campaign today or any day, your gift will be matched by a very generous grant, dollar for dollar! That means your generosity goes twice as far in protecting wildlife and preserving their habitats. Let’s create a future where wildlife thrives. Donate today and make an impact that lasts a lifetime. escarpment.ca/about/campaign… Photograph taken by Rob Wray at a Wild Futures Nature Preserve - Benallen Wetland. #escarpmentbiosphereconservancy #givingtuesday #landconservation #wildlifeprotection #wildlifeconservation #wildfuturescampaign

Wildlife Wednesday: A Special Discovery at Benallen Wetland Nestled north of Owen Sound, near the community of Benallen, the trails of the soon-to-be Benallen Wetland Nature Preserve are full of quiet wonders waiting to be discovered. While exploring these beautiful paths, our CEO, Beth Gilhespy, encountered something truly special – the remains of an old tree stump, now transformed into a cradle of new life. From this weathered trunk, White Pine, Balsam Fir, and Eastern White Cedar are emerging. What marked the end of one tree’s chapter has become the beginning of three more – a living testament to nature’s resilience and capacity for renewal. Beth described this moment as a powerful reminder that even the smallest spaces can make a big difference – when we give them a chance to thrive. This discovery underscores why we’re working so tirelessly to protect places like Benallen Wetland through our Wild Futures Campaign. These vital habitats are not only home to incredible biodiversity but also serve as a profound source of inspiration, connecting us to the natural world. Without your support, their future remains uncertain. You can help safeguard Benallen Wetland and other extraordinary places like it. Donate today to ensure these irreplaceable ecosystems are preserved – forever. Have you come across something remarkable in nature? Share your stories and photos below, and join us in celebrating and protecting these wild spaces. #WildlifeWednesday #BenallenWetland #NewLifeFromOld #WildFuturesCampaign #ConservationMatters #ProtectBenallen

Giving Tuesday is Almost Here! This Giving Tuesday - December 3 - help us take a bold step forward for the Wild Futures Campaign! Thanks to the incredible generosity of our community, we’ve already welcomed almost 200 new donors with gifts to the Campaign ranging from $10 to $100,000. Every contribution, big or small, fuels our mission and ensures a thriving future for the wild places and species we all cherish. Let’s keep the momentum going - we still have more funds to raise! Will you join us in making a difference? Together, we can create a legacy of hope and resilience for generations to come. Donate today and be part of this movement: escarpment.ca/about/campaign… Photograph by Rob Wray. #GivingTuesday #WildFutures #MakeADifference #EscarpmentBiosphereConservancy

We're thrilled to share the latest edition of our bi-annual newsletter, Precipice! Catch up on our recent successes, current projects, and what's on the horizon. Read it here: escarpment.ca/downloads/numb…, and make sure to subscribe so you never miss an update! To sign up, you can do so here: escarpment.ca/make-an-impact…