Natural Succession

by Philip Fry One of the main differences between colonial and habitat gardening is the approach taken to the ecological process of natural succession, the...

Species Range and Habitat Reciprocity

by Philip Fry A few days ago, Nick Weissflog, a young friend pursuing environmental studies, came to visit me. Nick is currently doing research on...

Billowy stands of an Invisible Invasive

by Fred Schueler, Fragile Inheritance Natural History In June, 2009, the vegetation around a small pond we had dug in 1983, formerly dominated by Meadowsweet...

Mulches and Woodland Blue Phlox

By Philip Fry In my last column, I discussed the soil profile of an undisturbed site. The top layer, generally labelled “O,” is composed of...

Working to Enhance Our Habitat

by Philip Fry Not long after my last contribution to this column, I received an email message questioning my purposes. I was asked: “What is...

Darkness, Light, and the Canada Columbine

by Philip Fry Darkness has once again spread over our Province. With 16.8 percent of eligible voters claiming a majority government, the illusions we might...

Our Wetlands and Biodiversity

by Philip Fry In the midst of the horrible news from Ukraine, the latest report from the International Panel on Climate Change, “Climate Change 2022,...

World’s largest female invades the cheese factory

by Fred Schueler, Fragile Inheritance natural history In a visit to the Bishops Mills Cheese Factory, recently acquired by the Municipality and progressing towards becoming...

Natural Succession, part 2

by Philip Fry Natural succession does not proceed in a straight timeline from a disturbance to a stable climax habitat community, nor does it do...

A New Year’s Agenda for Environmental Adaptation

by Philip Fry I was spurred to begin this column by the October 2021 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and a survey...