From the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority:

Ever wonder how you can help protect local turtles, or wish you had a resource to share with your friends?

We just launched a Protecting Turtles in the Upper Thames River Watershed pamphlet which explains the main threats to turtle populations, the species found in our watershed, and what you can do (or not do) to help. The best part? It’s free to download and print at home!

Get the PDF at https://thamesriver.on.ca/…/UTRCA-Turtles-At-Risk…

Thank you to Nature London for helping to bring this education tool to life.

From Long Point Bird Observatory:

We have some very exciting resighting information from the Piping Plovers observed at the Tip this spring thanks to @ontarioplovers and @birds.canada

1. Male seen on April 20th hatched in 2021 at Sleeping Bear Dunes, Michigan and has bred at Wilderness State Park, Michigan every year since.

2. Female seen on May 2nd hatched in 2024 at Pointe Aux Chenes, Mohican and nesting at Presqu’isle Provincial Park, Ontario this year.

3. Female seen on May 25th hatched in captivity when the egg was saved from sleeping Bear Dunes, Michigan following a nest wash out! Released at Point Aux Chenes, Michigan. No known nest this year.

How exciting is that! If you spot a Piping Plover with colour bands please report to @ontarioplovers help us learn more about them and protect them.

From I Love Gardening:

Making small adjustments, like switching to a red porch light, can have a big impact on protecting nocturnal wildlife. Red lights are less attractive to insects, thus supporting bat populations by allowing them to hunt naturally, benefiting the whole ecosystem

From Ontario Nature:

ON Nature: the magazine that brings readers closer to nature. Experience the great outdoors, even when you’re indoors.

• The common green darner’s multi-generational migration
• Making forests resilient to climate change
• Green corridor connects cootes with the escarpment
• Climate action needs electoral reform

Download yours today.

From the University of Guelph with the University of Guelph College of Biological Science:

University of Guelph researchers are calling for international collaboration to protect eastern North American monarch butterflies. Dr. Ryan Norris, an ecologist in the Department of Integrative Biology, has co-developed a conservation strategy to guide habitat restoration.

This research shows how immediate coordinated action between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico is necessary to prevent further decline of a species whose population has dropped by 80% in recent decades.

Learn more: https://uoguel.ph/fcxxd

From Nature Canada:

Did you know? Moths are more efficient pollinators at night than day-flying pollinators such as bees and butterflies?

Both moths and butterflies belong to the order Lepidoptra, but what’s the difference?

Find out in this months blog: https://naturecanada.ca/…/the-cecropia-moth-art-on-the…/

From the Nature Conservancy of Canada:

Nature + prizes? Yes, please! For every photo you tag on social media using #NCCBioBlitz from July 28 to August 4, you’ll automatically be entered into a daily draw for a $100 Visa gift card.

Sign up today: https://brnw.ch/21wUfrp

From Fanshawe Conservation Area:

Have a beginner birder in your family? Join us to learn the basics of birdwatching on Saturday, August 9, 2025, at 9 a.m.

From The Mill Pond, Dorchester, Ontario:

Did you know?

In Ontario, it is illegal to capture monarch butterflies or their caterpillars without a permit from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), according to Ontario Nature. While the Ministry has issued permits for activities like monarch tagging and rearing, they are typically not issued to individuals. Organizations may have blanket permits that allow for activities like rearing monarchs, but individual permits are often difficult to obtain.

You can help without capturing:

Planting native milkweed and wildflowers, and participating in citizen science projects like “Butterflies in My Backyard” can help the Monarch population says Ontario Nature.

The Act defines “specially protected invertebrate” to include the following 14 species, all of which are butterflies:

* Black Swallowtail (P. polyxenes)

* Bog Elfin (C. lanoraieensis)

* Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (P. canadensis)

* Eastern Giant Swallowtail (P. cresphontes)

* Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (P. glaucus)

* Frosted Elfin (C. irus)

* Karner Blue (L. melissa samuelis)

* Monarch (D. plexippus)

* Mottled Duskywing (E. martialis)

* Old World Swallowtail (P. machaon)

* Pipevine Swallowtail (P. philenor)

* Spicebush Swallowtail (P. troilus)

* West Virginia White (P. virginiensis)

* Zebra Swallowtail (E. marcellus

From Saving Monarchs:

Will you personally leave this earth trying to help others on your way out?