Tree Carbon Calculator

Trees do many things for us, provide shade on a hot day, hold soil in place, produce food, release oxygen and capture carbon dioxide to name a few. At a time when we are worried about the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere it is important to remember that there are nature based solutions […]

Birds are everywhere!

Posted December 1, 2020

Check out the latest music video by Sean McCammon! Join us for our Winter Bird Count, December 16th to 23rd.

First annual WRDSB Winter Bird Count!!!

Posted December 1, 2020

Today we announce the launch of the WRDSB’s first annual Winter Bird Count!!! For details check out the project page. Our Winter Bird Count is modelled after the Christmas Bird Count, an annual event that has been organized for over 100 years. The Christmas Bird Count runs in late December and early January, sponsored by the […]

WINTER BIRD COUNT

Posted November 17, 2020

Throughout December, WRDSB students and families are invited to learn about the variety of birds that call Waterloo Region home in winter.  Whether it is through observing birds at feeders or noticing birds in your daily routine, these amazing animals have a lot to teach us. Our winter bird event will include a Youtube Live […]

MONSTER TREES

Posted November 3, 2020

During the Month of October (2020) we challenged WRDSB students to find and document the biggest trees in their neighborhood.  We wanted to know the circumference of the biggest individual for each species in our leaf key. The largest tree with a single trunk above 1.4 meters was an Elm Tree reported by students from Woodland […]

Great Horned Owl

Posted March 15, 2018

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Owl by the stream

Posted February 15, 2018

Today, with a class from Sandhills PS, we encountered a very unique situation – an Eastern Screech Owl fishing in the stream!
Earlier, we had seen a Mink come out of the forest and slip into a small, open section of the pond, and we decided to investigate. We took a good look at the tracks, but could not locate the weasel, despite our best efforts. During this time, we heard a male Pileated Woodpecker drumming in the distance and decided to try to track it down. As we came around the corner, some movement caught my eye down the by stream. I was shocked to see an Eastern Screech Owl flying from a low perch, landing in the stream belly-deep, then flying back up. It was only about 15m away! We watched it fishing several times. What a wonderful sighting for everyone! It certainly is not something I will forget, and to be able to share that experience with students was really incredible.

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Natural Distractions

Posted February 7, 2018

https://youtu.be/QKq7T6X0-wM

At Laurel Creek with students from Winston Churchill Public School.

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Wily

Posted January 5, 2018

Here is a trail cam video of a coyote at Laurel Creek. The trail camera has a 2-second delay before it comes on, so I bet another coyote set off the camera, and it captured the second one trailing behind. There were two sets of tracks in the snow. For the two seconds it is […]

Bird list

Posted January 2, 2018

Each year I keep a list of birds seen at Laurel Creek over the calendar year. I usually have a goal for 100 species. Here is my 2017 list: Northern Cardinal Black-capped Chickadee American Crow White-breasted Nuthatch Fox Sparrow Red-bellied Woodpecker Dark-eyed Junco Mourning Dove European Starling Tree Sparrow Canada Goose Tundra Swan Killdeer Red-winged […]

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