From Ontario Parks:
Our beloved native trees – maples, poplars, pines, and cherries – are facing a new foe: the Spotted Lanternfly.
And it’s not alone; it’s joined forces with its partner in crime, the notorious Tree of Heaven.
We’re calling on you, park-lovers, to help keep this situation at bay! https://blog.ontarioparks.ca/spotted-lanternfly-invasive/
From London Public Library:
Nature is closer than you think.
Join the London Public Library for the final event in their Nature in the City series as local nature photographer Brian Lasenby explores the remarkable birdlife found in London. With more than 300 species recorded in the city, this talk highlights both the beauty of urban birds and the importance of protecting their habitats.
March 3, 7-8:30 p.m.
Wolf Performance Hall
From Thames Talbot Land Trust:
Did you know that in southern Ontario, only around 1% of original grassland habitats remain due to stressors like human activity and climate change? Land that was largely covered in grasses, sedges, and wildflowers, and prevented soil erosion, stored carbon, and provided vital habitat for pollinators is now one of the rarest habitat types in southern Ontario.
With the Nature Nearby campaign, your support helps fund projects like meadow and prairie protection and restoration. TTLT currently protects around 195 acres of meadow habitat with plans to protect and restore another 48 acres (and counting) in the near future!
The addition of one of our newest nature reserves, MapleCross – Bass Woods, provides an additional 3 acres of rare meadow habitat. Though that may sound small, every little piece is important in creating a network of permanently protected habitats for all living beings!
Let’s grow conservation together, to ensure that nature is always nearby! Support nature today by donating at https://www.thamestalbotlandtrust.ca/donations ! 
From Forests Canada:
#DYK that you can be eligible for a property tax reduction in Ontario if you have a well-managed forest on your land?
Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources administers the Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program (#MFTIP) to help you contribute to healthy forests in Ontario and support you in the stewardship of your forest!
Learn more: https://ow.ly/NOJA50YhSIu
From Nature Canada:
Today’s the day! We’re launching our online auction, ‘Together for Nature’ and hope you’ll check out the amazing nature experiences and artwork chosen just for you!
The Auction runs from February 17th to March 3rd, 2026 to celebrate World Wildlife Day – a day to draw awareness of the need to protect and defend species at risk globally. What a great way to help protect species and nature across Canada by checking out and bidding on items found on our Together for Nature online auction page.
It’s a win-win, you can help nature and enjoy some amazing items and experiences at the same time!
Bid now! https://app.galabid.com/nc2026/items
Posted by Scott Gillingwater:
AISIN Canada has partnered with Southern Ontario At Risk Reptiles (SOARR) and the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority over the past five years. Not only has AISIN Canada provided consistent funding, necessary for our work to continue, but they have also provided dozens of their own staff for on-the-ground stewardship work. Very few companies go the extra mile like AISIN has, and we can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done. Their actions have resulted in the creation of critical wildlife habitat, the maintenance of nesting sites, the protection of eggs and release of hundreds of hatchling endangered Spiny Softshell Turtles. This is what community involvement and staff engagement can do for the environment. Thank you to Wayne, Sophie, Tyler, Bill, Rosanne and all of the AISIN staff.
From Ontario Nature:
Join us in calling on Minister McCarthy and your MPP to re-empower conservation authorities and sign our petition:
https://ontarionature.good.do/conservation-authorities/petition/
Unique to Ontario, conservation authorities holistically manage watersheds to prevent flooding, conserve natural areas and safeguard water quality – all benefitting both people and the environment. This work requires local connections to the communities they serve.
Conservation authorities also prevent over $150 million in flood damage and disruptions each year.
However, a series of changes to their mandate, resourcing and independence have made it harder for conservation authorities to fulfill their crucial role. Among these changes is the provincial government’s plans to consolidate Ontario’s 36 conservation authorities into seven sprawling regional authorities that would be overseen by a new centralized provincial agency.
If this consolidation occurs, it becomes far more likely that critical local knowledge will be excluded from key decisions, leaving communities more exposed to flooding and other environmental harms. With flooding being the costliest natural hazard in Ontario and expected to become an even greater threat in the coming years, this is a trend communities cannot afford.
Talking points toolkit to Speak up to Re-empower Conservation Authorities: https://catalog.ontarionature.org/empower-conservation-authorities/page/1
Posted by Mike Adamovic on the Native Plants of the Northeast’s Facebook page:
Basswood is one of the finest canopy trees to be found in our forests. Every aspect of this species is commonly understood to be attractive—its large heart-shaped leaves, finely furrowed bark, pendulous branches that cast a deep shade, and, for a couple of weeks in early summer, its cream-colored flowers, which exude a scent as strong as perfume and often give away the tree’s presence before one lays eyes on it. These attributes have led many parks and large estates to plant this most regal of trees.
Basswood thrives in rich, mesic soils. It performs best in full sun to light shade. It has an extensive range—from Maine to the eastern edge of North Dakota, south to Arkansas, and east to North Carolina. It generally isn’t the most common of trees in many parts of the Northeast, but it can be locally abundant in the western fringes of our region.
The name basswood comes from the word “bast”—tough fibers in the bark useful for making a variety of items. Basswood has some of the longest and strongest fibers of any of our native trees. Native Americans collected the bark in the spring and used it to create flexible handles, or with further processing, cordage. Another commonly used name for this species is American linden.
Trees usually range in height from 50-100’, though on rare occasions they can reach up to 120.’ In open areas, mature trees have a bell-shaped form. It is one of the best trees to plant if you require a shade tree. This is due to basswood’s narrow form, as well as the arrangement of branches and its broad leaves the size of human hands, which effectively capture more light than the sinuous leaves of oaks.
Individual flowers around a half inch in diameter are borne on drooping cymes 1-3” across. Each inflorescence typically contains around ten flowers, though it can contain as few as five to as many as twenty. As mentioned earlier, the flowers are incredibly potent, having a scent somewhat between a sweet floral perfume and strong household cleaners. It can be overpowering if you’re near a tree or the wind happens to catch and drive the fragrance in your direction.
Honeybees visiting basswood flowers produce a paler honey with a lighter flavor that’s highly prized. In terms of our native insects, when this tree is in flower, pollinators will be redirected, forsaking other plants for the sumptuous blooms of basswood that are rich in nectar. Bumblebees, halictid bees, flies, moths, and other insects feverishly swarm the trees.
There have been over 150 species of Lepidoptera recorded using basswood as a larval host plant. A few which use it primarily or solely as a host plant include the basswood leafroller (Pantographa limata), linden prominent (Ellida caniplaga), double-lined prominent (Lochmaeus bilineata), linden looper (Erannis tiliaria), and four-horned sphinx (Ceratomia amyntor).
Other insects that can be found feasting on various parts of the tree are the basswood leafminer (Baliosus nervosus), basswood lace bug (Corythuca pallida), and linden twig gall gnat (Cecidomyia citrina).
Basswood nutlets are consumed by large game birds, as well as squirrels, chipmunks, and other small mammals. (These nutlets have a low viability, <70%, making it one of the most difficult North American trees to propagate.) Larger trees sometimes develop cavities which prove useful as nesting sites for birds and dens for squirrels and raccoons.
Thanks to Pud Hunter, local biologist, for his entertaining and informative talk on swan migration and why the Aylmer Wildlife Management Area is so important. The talk, taking place on February 11, 2026, was part of the Library Lecture Series – Nature Notes. And thanks to the Ingersoll Public Library for hosting our club lecture series. A great time was had by an appreciative crowd.
Our next Library Lecture Series will take place on Wednesday, March 11 – 7:00 p.m. DESTINATION ANTARCTICA with Richard Skevington. For more information about this and other upcoming events, visit our Activities Calendar.
World Wetlands Day 2026 falls on Monday, February 2.
This is a tremendous opportunity to raise awareness in your own communities about the vital role wetlands have to play in conserving biodiversity, protecting us from flooding and providing greenspace for people to experience.
Our friends at Ontario Nature have created a Wetland Advocacy Guide, a resource to help you understand wetlands, the benefits they provide, the threats they face and the actions you can take to protect them. They have also created a template letter that can be adapted to any municipal councillors, highlighting in a positive manner the many benefits wetlands provide and why protecting them matters now more than ever.
Ingersoll District Nature Club 