Nature Canada

A great end to the summer – Champlain Park NatureBlitz!

Image of Tejal Mistry

Tejal Mistry, Conservation Coordinator

This year held another great year for our NatureHood NatureBlitzes! Our final Ottawa ‘Blitz ran from Friday September 16 to Saturday September 17, 2016 along the Ottawa River near the Champlain Bridge. The weather was in our favour and held out on the rain until the exact time we were wrapping up.

Friday night held an unexpected surprise, even for us! The evening ended with a bat walk under the Champlain Bridge. Because of the street lights dotting the area under the bridge, there were many insects and so many bats! It was a great success as the lamps also shed light on the small mammals, giving everyone a great view. Some other great finds were the Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalus), a red-backed salamander and even fossils of bivalve (shells).

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Image of a Cardinal Flower

Cardinal Flower, Lobelia cardinalus

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Image of fossils of shells on a rock

Fossils of shells found on the rocks of the Ottawa River

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The Saturday morning was beautiful and gave way for a great morning of birding and ended with a very exciting and full aquatic invertebrates session! Our first catch from the Ottawa River had crayfish, and mayfly and other insect larvae. Some of our young participants became our experts as they dropped in one crayfish after the other into our buckets for which the group gladly gathered around for the hour. It was a fantastic end to the NatureBlitz.

We received really positive and enthusiastic feedback from our participants, and how much they learned about the wildlife they didn’t know existed right near their neighbourhoods!

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Image of a Red Backed Salamander

A Red Backed Salamander

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Image of participants at NatureBlitz

Discovering the aquatic invertebrates of the Ottawa River

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A big thank you to Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNR) for helping to fund this event!

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