Northern Flying Squirrels: Can They Really Fly?
Flying squirrels are nature’s skydivers. In the Biosphere, you can find large populations of the northern flying squirrel. Northern flying squirrels are 30 cm in length, light brown with a
Following Along: Animal Tracks in Winter
Many animals hibernate or migrate in winter to avoid the cold weather, but there are a number of animals that not only stay here but stay active. More often than
Mudpuppy: Mom Can We Keep it?
Mudpuppies are special salamanders that live under rocks in the Georgian Bay and other parts of Ontario. They are the only completely aquatic salamanders in Canada! How to Identify a
Animal Talk: Can You Hear Me Now?
If you look or listen carefully, you will be overwhelmed by the constant and various ways animals communicate with each other. They regularly convey messages like “there is danger nearby”,
Animal Talk: Can You Hear Me Now?
If you look or listen carefully, you will be overwhelmed by the constant and various ways animals communicate with each other. They regularly convey messages like “there is danger nearby”,
The Songbird of Winter: Black-Capped Chickadee
Whether or not you know it, you’ve probably heard a black-capped chickadee singing in the winter. The most common sound you’ll hear is its classic call and namesake “chickadee-dee-dee”. Black-capped
Marvelous Migration
Have you ever noticed that you don’t see or hear as many birds in the winter? Where do they go? They migrate! Migration is when a species seasonally travels to
Life Under the Fallen Leaves
Have you heard someone say “don’t rake your leaves in the fall” but never been clear why that is? Some people think that leaves are messy and they make their
Animal Poop: Who Dropped That!?
Animal poop is like a crystal ball into an animal’s past, present, and future! Biologists call animal poop by a much nicer name, ‘scat’. Scat Studies Collecting and studying animal
Green Predators: Carnivorous Plants
When you think of predators, a species that eats other animals, what comes to mind? Maybe wolves… lions… tigers… eagles. Which predator do you think is the fastest in the
How Ice is That? Glaciers In the Biosphere
Billions of years ago, Georgian Bay Mnidoo Gamii Biosphere (GBB) was covered by glaciers over two kilometres thick. These glaciers shaped and formed the rocks that we walk on today!
How to be Beary Safe in Bear Country
What do you call a bear without teeth? A gummy bear! The most common bear in Ontario is the black bear, they can be noisy when moseying through the woods
One of a Kind: The Five Lined Skink
A skink is a type of lizard. In fact, the five-lined skink is the only lizard native to Ontario! It is smooth and skinny with relatively short arms. The five-lined
Not-So-Creepy-Crawlies
How Bugs in the Mud Help Keep Waters Clean Have you ever wondered why you never see baby dragonflies or mosquitoes flying around? A lot of baby insects look very
Terrific Turtles of the Georgian Bay
You’re out for a walk, taking in the familiar scenery by the waterfront. Windswept pines, sparkling water, a log floating by the shore, wet rocks lined up on the log,
Taking a Bite out of the Biosphere
Many wildlife species spend much of their time foraging. Foraging means to spend time searching in the wild for food. For as long humans have been around, we’ve been foraging
iNaturalist: The Virtual Field Guide
We have become more familiar with the virtual world as the pandemic changed our daily activities. We shifted from going to the library, going to school, seeing friends, to a
The Great Northern Pike of Georgian Bay
If you’ve fished in the Georgian Bay area, you may have seen or heard of the northern pike. Northern pike are large fish that live in almost every lake and
The Spongy Moth: A Very Hungry Caterpillar
It can be hard to believe that a cute little caterpillar can actually be very destructive. A caterpillar you may have seen in the Biosphere is the spongy moth caterpillar.
Bats of the Biosphere
Bats get a bad reputation. Many people are scared of them. This may be because they come out at night, or because some species live in caves, or even because
Snails & Slugs, Oh My!
It’s nearing the end of summertime on Georgian Bay, and by now you’ve probably run into a couple of snails and slugs. A lot of people think their slimy bodies
Fun with Fungi
If you have played at the park, walked your dog across a soccer field, or ordered a pizza, you have stumbled across an alien-like being that lives all across earth.
A Prickly Pal: Porcupines
There are actually 23 different porcupine species around the world, but in Canada we only have one, the North American porcupine. Have you ever seen a porcupine? Look up! Most
Who am I? Similar Snakes…
Have you ever seen a wild snake before? You can find 11 different species of snakes in the Georgian Bay Biosphere. Some of the snakes you see might look very
Microplastics & Microfibers, Oh My!
More and more now, we hear the words microplastics and microfibers in the news, in classrooms, and in conversation with friends and family. Beaches covered in plastic bottles and fishing
Picture This: Storytelling through Pictographs
Aanii! Hello! Niibin (summer) is all around us now and it is a beautiful season to be out paddling, hiking, or just generally exploring! There are many amazing things to
Antlers are Awesome
There are two animals in the biosphere that share an awesome feature: antlers! Can you guess which two animals they are? Moose (moozo) and white-tailed deer (waawaashkesh) are the two
Learning About Leeches
You might be thinking: AHHHHHH LEECHES or EWEEEEEE LEECHES. These plump little creatures get a bad rap. Like all of the animal neighbours in the Biosphere, leeches have some pretty
A Wiigwaas Jiimaan named Oshkinigig
Niibin (summer) is here! With the warm weather and beautiful days, Oshkinigig is ready to get into the water. Oshkinigig is a wiigwaas jiimaan, a birch bark canoe. The Georgian
This one is for the plants!
On the coast of Georgian Bay, like many places, native plants have adapted to survive harsh conditions, from -30 winters to +30 summers. This area is full of unique and
Biting Blackflies
Have you noticed lots of small, biting flies lately? It’s blackfly season in the Georgian Bay Biosphere. Have you ever wondered where all these flies come from? Mother blackflies lay
A Biodiversity Showdown
What is Biodiversity? Biodiversity is the variety of life on earth. Better known as biological diversity, biodiversity can be broken down into bio (life) and diversity (variety). When we talk
How Sweet is the Sugar Bush?
Ziinzibaakwad – Maple Syrup Like a reliable friend, March has once again arrived to help shake off the colds of winter. There are a lot of exciting things happening in
The Iconic “Georgian Bay Tree”
Picture a Georgian Bay tree. Did you picture a white pine? I imagine you did! The white pine is the classic Georgian Bay tree. You know the one; its windswept
Fuzzy Wonders: Woolly Bears
Even though many of us may be returning to school, that doesn’t mean it’s time to stop exploring the outdoors. It’s around this time of year that one of the
The Coolest Hummers
Meet the tiniest bird in the Biosphere, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird! These amazing little creatures have a lot of attitude and determination, despite their size. We’ve got no time to waste!
Meet the Meteors!
Have you ever made a wish on a falling star? Did you wish for a helpful Kids in the Biosphere blog post about what falling stars really are? I hope so! Let’s meet the
Pollination Nation: It’s the Bee’s Knees!
We hear the word pollination more and more now, but what does it actually mean? Pollination is the process of pollen travelling from the male part of the plant to
Toad-day’s the Day!
Have you seen a toad in the Biosphere? I’ll bet you have! For some reason, we sometimes hear that toads are yucky and ugly, but once you get to know
The Flashy Lives of Lightning Bugs
It’s nighttime and you’re sitting outside around a campfire looking up at the stars and the trees and suddenly you see a tiny blinking light. You think to yourself: did
Eyes See What You Did There
Animal Vision What if I told you that you have the ability to see radiation? When we use our eyes to look around we are detecting one type of radiation. That
Are You Likin’ the Lichen?
Before you read any further, STOP and look outside. Notice all the life that exists around you from the grass and trees to the insects and animals. How did it
Quick Tick Tricks
Ticks are NOT insects! Does that bug you? Ticks are actually arachnids, just like spiders and mites. Ticks eat the blood of living animals, almost like little mini vampires (minus
LOON-ey Tunes
Picture this… it’s a calm, quiet night and you’re sitting by the shore. What do you see? The stars? The moon? The shapes of pine and oak trees all around?
From Garbage to Garden
We all know that littering is bad for the environment. Did you also know “throwing away” our garbage pollutes the earth? When the garbage truck comes every week, they take
Stories in the Stars
Clear summer nights in the Biosphere are perfect times to go stargazing! If you’ve been stargazing before, you know how amazing it is to lie back, look up, and see
The Buzz on Mosquitoes
Bzz…bzz…bzz…smack! You finally got that mosquito that’s been buzzing around your head all afternoon. Mosquitoes and other ‘pests’ are a Biosphere summer constant – especially at dawn and dusk. They
The Canadian Shield Rocks
Have you ever heard of the Canadian Shield? The Canadian Shield is the name for a large area of exposed bedrock. The Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve is on part of
A Beaver’s Job is Never Done
Beavers are a favourite Canadian icon. We even have them on the nickel! Beavers love water, and while they are slow moving on land, they are super-fast in water and can
Why Did the Turtle Cross the Road?
During the warmer months of the year, you may notice turtles crossing the road. Turtles are so slow, and cars are so fast… why would turtles take that risk!? Turtles