Join our NatureBlitz to see birds like these Cedar Waxwings!

Join Nature Canada and local nature experts for a NatureBlitz on Saturday, July 18th and Sunday, July 19th in Ottawa’s Carlington Woods area! The event will feature walks, talks and presentations over a 24-hour period from 12pm Saturday until 12pm Sunday (map and full schedule below).

Help us explore your NatureHood, and try your hand at using an ultrasonic bat detector! NatureBlitzes are a great way to get outside and learn about nature with members of your community and local nature experts! This is the first survey of its kind in the Carlington Woods area and we hope to identify as many different living things as possible at the site (map below).

Visitor events will include themed guided walks during which guests can learn to identify the plants, birds, amphibian, reptiles and insects found in Carlington Woods. The walks will also have a special focus on local species at risk, including Little Brown and Northern Long-eared bats, Barn and Bank Swallows, Chimney Swifts and Monarch butterflies. So get your binoculars, hiking boots and flashlights ready and come join us as we get up close and personal with a world of mystery right outside your door. It’s nearby nature! And it’s your NatureHood!

Don’t have binoculars? No field guide? No flashlight? Don’t worry! You can borrow one of ours. We have 8 pairs of binoculars, bilingual field guides and some head-lamps available to sign-out at the Nature Canada tent once you’ve registered for a guided walk. And we’ll have handheld ultrasonic bat detectors available for sign-out, too!

Jennifer is using a small hand held magnifying glass to examine the lichen on tree bark. Don’t be afraid to look at the world from a new perspective. You might be surprised at the beautiful details that are easily overlooked.

Check the schedule to see which walk(s) you would like to join, or come out for all of them! Beginners, experts and especially kids and their families are welcome to this FREE event! We hope to see you there!

Saturday, July 18, 2015
You’ve heard him present the “Tweet of the Week” on CBC, now join Alex MacDonald as he leads a scavenger hunt for kids and listens for evening birds.

Join us for afternoon, evening or nighttime walks on Saturday, July 18, 2015. We’ll be celebrating National Moth Week with local experts and checking out which species of bats are flying around the area!

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Don’t miss “Save the Salamanders” with Matt Ellerbeck at 11am, and rise with the early birds to join Emily Bird as she points out our feathered friends at 7am!

Please check-in and register at the Nature Canada tent when you arrive. The tent/basecamp for the event will be located at the end Morriset Avenue (1503 Morriset) just before the fence to the city’s reservoir area. Look for the blue tent.

Carlington Woods is nestled between the communities of Carlington, Central Park and Copeland Park-Bel Air Heights-Braemar Park. Find us in the blue tent at the end of Morriset Avenue! Map provided by Google.

A special Thank You to all the experts who will be sharing their expert knowledge and passion with us at this event!

Financial support for this initiative is provided in part by through the Government of Ontario’s Species at Risk Stewardship Fund, and White Swan.