Nature Labs
Simon and Jill - working to advance a better balance between people and nature. Ghost Bear Institute
Named in honour of the two decade fight to save Canada's white Kermode or spirit bear, Ghost Bear, like the spirit bear campaign itself, hopes to reconnect people with the wild and through photography, help the world fall in love with nature again. Our signature project, Nature Labs, is working to bring nature education to high schools.
Have you ever driven along a 10 kilometre stretch of road at 10 kilometres an hour for 10 hours straight in the middle of winter? No, just us?
Anyway, here we were, in the winter seven years ago, looking for the elusive Canada lynx and failing miserably.
As people do when they’re bored out of their mind, we began discussing what ills our society. Like a stubborn string hanging from a favourite sweater, we started pulling at the thread of the problems facing Canada.
And pulling it. And pulling it.
Before we knew it, a wee little string ended up unravelling the whole darn sweater; what we thought were a couple of isolated problems, we began to realize, were interconnected and serious and eroding the democracy of the place we love and call home.
And when you’re cold and bored and startled by a sudden realization, there is only one thing you can do: Pull out the trusty stack of Post-It notes, a sharpie and design Nature Labs.
That, friends, is how Nature Labs was born. And, now, seven years later – SEVEN YEARS – we are on the brink of crossing the finish line. Well, the start line really, as completing the Nature Labs platform is really just about starting a much bigger journey as we push towards our goal of advancing nature literacy and creating a more thoughtful society.
Happy International Day for Biological Diversity!!
Oh, and after attempting that same adventure to search for lynx 2 years later…well, as you can see, we did have some luck in the end. 🐈 🍀
Donate today to support nature literacy (link in comments).
Happy ! Swift fox in the Canadian grasslands.
Imagine you are strolling through the park and happen to glance up and see this?
Happy ! Hope you were able to catch Hockey Central in Canada last night where did a great analysis/comparison between a specific player and foxes🦊😂🏒
Common loon.
Erm…(ermine that it) it’s , but we are away from the computer today and only have a pic of this long tailed weasel on our phone.
Lynx on the prowl.
Happy ! Have a wonderful weekend.
Happy ! This weekends vibes 💤
A surprise encounter with a wolf as we were on our way to a meeting. Luckily we had our cameras at the ready.
Busy as a beaver this Monday morning. Nature Labs is really getting there!!
Happy ! Let your ears down this weekend.
Happy . Yep, still looks like winter here in Alberta.
Milky in Mount Robson.
Happy ! Have a great weekend!
Great horned owl
Happy ! We are ignoring winter right now. How’s the weather there?
Seeing eye to eye with this beaver.
Happy ! The snow isn’t done with us yet in Alberta…
Happy ! Jump for joy, it’s almost the weekend! 🦊
Happy ! Hope it’s an extra foxy weekend.
It’s been a moment since we’ve seen a marten.
Happy Valentine’s Day & coyote mating season!
Mink spotting her fish prey.
Snowy owl ready for takeoff from downtown Toronto.
Happy ! Have a wonderful weekend. 🦊
Are we ever glad to see the backside of 2023. It was a year where pretty much everything went wrong - we both had/are having to stick handle serious health problems, both of our families had to withstand brutal health challenges, we moved for the fourth time in less than two years, and our work faced setback after setback.
That’s the bad news. On the flip side?
For one glorious three-week period, the clouds lifted on our personal dramas (in what was, in retrospect, merely the eye of the storm), allowing us to capture a laundry list of missing content for Nature Labs. And though it was work - often around-the-clock, slog through mud-and-bugs hard work - it did mean we were able to briefly return to our roots, living in a tent and spending time in nature.
With the last couple of years having been focused on web site construction and post-production editing of our platform’s 500+ stories, it was a rare treat to hear birds and see the sun and look for wildlife. Our time in the field took us to from our home in Alberta all the way to Alaska and Fort McMurray (the oil sands in northern Canada), as well as our touchstone Mount Robson Provincial Park, in just 19 days.
Most of our work was video-centric, with highlights including a toad migration, a very co-operative shrew (!) and a least weasel (!!) - only our second ever sighting.
Photographically, we were able to snag a few great grizzly images, but the best encounter was easily a great grey owl nest that we’ve been lucky enough to see for two out of the last three years. The family never ceases to entertain, but this particular encounter was special.
Why?
Well, the great grey female wasn’t looking at us in this photo, but rather a rambunctious deer that was feeding behind our backs. Apparently, the owl and deer had a long running feud because, before we could process what was happening, the owl dove over our heads and attacked the deer. I kid you not. It dive-bombed the poor ungulate repeatedly, pecking at its hide, until the deer retreated back into the forest.
We’ve never seen behaviour like this and, given it happened mere feet away, we were powerless to actually capture the moment, despite being surrounded by three cameras and a couple of phones. Look, we’re a bit rusty, okay? Regardless, the moment is captured in our heads and at least this image, the one taken before a sequence of poorly-cropped, out-of-focus flight images and video, helps bring it all back.
Here’s to wonderful 2024 - it’s gotta be better than 2023, right? RIGHT?!