Nature
Monthly Archive: December Natu
Trees for Toronto - Our Urban Forest
Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication student Rhi More
Bringing more attention to trees is what the Royal Ontario Museum had in mind when its botanists and Creative Department partnered with the City of Toronto Urban Forester’s Office to create Trees for Toronto in 2004. EVC Student Rhi More decided to check out this ‘urban arboretum’ for herself, and share the findings with our readers.
The TRCA Calls Upon Batman for Help
It’s been a hot summer, the sun is shining and the Scarborough Bluffs are standing tall above the Lake Ontario shoreline. But they might not be for long. The Scarborough Bluffs in Toronto’s east end are eroding at a rapid rate, increasing the likelihood of slope failure and damage to local species’ habitats. Although the cliffs have been eroding since the 1940s, the view from atop the Bluffs was too enticing to prevent people from further settling there. As houses were feverishly built along the Bluffs, the rate of erosion further accelerated.
Behind the Blitz: Become the Biodiversity
Blog by Stacey Lee Kerr, Biodiversity Storyteller / Creative Producer for the ROM's Centre for Biodiversity
At this year's Ontario BioBlitz, things are set to get a little wild... we've invited everyone to dress up as their favourite Ontario Species for our NatureFest Costume Contest. But what does it take to win a fabulous prize? Inside, in the final installment of our Behind the Blitz blog series, we've got some tips for how to come out on top, and "become the biodiversity"!
Behind the Blitz: Three Young Scientists
Blog by Nadine Leone, ROM Hands-on Biodiversity Gallery Assistant Coordinator
The first of four blogs in our Ontario BioBlitz: Behind the Blitz series is an interview with three young ROM scientists, who share their favourite highlights from last year's event in the Don Watershed.
Five Answers to WP "Y?"
Guest Blog written by Environmental Visual Communication student Jessica Gordon
We live in an age where almost anyone with a cell phone can take a picture and share it with everyone almost instantly. In spite of this we continue to take and fall in love with photos of nature and the wildlife that surrounds us. We continue to push the boundaries of where we can go while taking cameras along with us. The question becomes: why do we still carry on the tradition? Why is wildlife photography so important to us? Here are five answers to the question, "why?".
Wildlife Photography: Behind the Camera
Guest Blog written by Environmental Visual Communication students Aisha Parkhill-Goyette and Jeff Dickie
Imagine you are deep in the jungle of Sri Lanka. You find yourself blinded by the pouring rain, knee deep in a rushing river, desperately trying not to fall in. Lightning strikes only meters away, but instead you are worried about the small tickle by your left elbow, and you are hoping that it is not one of the dozens of land leeches that keep falling onto you from the trees above. Not everyone has what it takes to be a wildlife photographer. It takes a special kind of dedication and a special kind of person - someone who is just as wild as the creatures they are trying to capture on camera.
EVC Students Jeff and Aisha interviewed a pair of up-and-coming wildlife photographers who travelled with ROM mammalogist Burton Lim to Sri Lanka last fall, to share some stories about what it's like behind the camera.
How Drone Photography is Saving Wildlife
Guest Blog written by Environmental Visual Communication student Lisa Milosavljevic
A number of photos in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibit make use of aerial photography techniques, including the use of drone photography. There is also a growing demand for its use in professional and academic fields as people are recognizing how drones can be a valuable tool in their work; one of these areas is wildlife conservation. Here we are going to look at the different ways in how drone photography is saving wildlife around the world, as well as some of the controversies and questions that this developing technology raises.
Captivating Images from Winners of the ROM Photographer of the Year Contest
More than 2250 photos were submitted by people from across Ontario in the 1st Annual ROM Photographer of the Year Contest, and a shot from Steven Rose of Scarborough of a coyote drinking from a stream in an undisclosed Toronto park takes home the grand prize.
Photographer thoughts: A conversation with Mark Peck
Guest Blog written by Environmental Visual Communication student Fatima Ali
In spite of his “im-peck-able” career as an ornithology technician in the Department of Natural History at the ROM, Mark Peck is also a world traveller and an avid natural history photographer with a special interest in breeding and nesting birds. Fatima interviewed Mark to get his thoughts on what it is that drives his passion for photographing birds and other wildlife.
Blue Whale Update: From Trenton with Love
It’s that time of year where many of us are pretty focused on the holidays. Spending time with family and friends, baking and eating loads of treats, and - let’s be honest - the gifts. Finding them, buying them, wrapping them, and getting them to where they need to go, whether the destination is under the Christmas tree, or to be mailed to relatives somewhere else around the world.
So, given that everybody’s in this present-logistics state of mind, we have a gift-wrapping question for you… how do you ship a blue whale heart?
