Nature Labs

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.

22/05/2024

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).

17/05/2024

Happy ! Swift fox in the Canadian grasslands.

16/05/2024

Imagine you are strolling through the park and happen to glance up and see this?

Photos from Nature Labs's post 10/05/2024

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🦊😂🏒

07/05/2024

Common loon.

03/05/2024

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.

29/04/2024

Lynx on the prowl.

26/04/2024

Happy ! Have a wonderful weekend.

19/04/2024

Happy ! This weekends vibes 💤

17/04/2024

A surprise encounter with a wolf as we were on our way to a meeting. Luckily we had our cameras at the ready.

15/04/2024

Busy as a beaver this Monday morning. Nature Labs is really getting there!!

12/04/2024

Happy ! Let your ears down this weekend.

05/04/2024

Happy . Yep, still looks like winter here in Alberta.

30/03/2024

Milky in Mount Robson.

29/03/2024

Happy ! Have a great weekend!

27/03/2024

Great horned owl

22/03/2024

Happy ! We are ignoring winter right now. How’s the weather there?

19/03/2024

Seeing eye to eye with this beaver.

15/03/2024

Happy ! The snow isn’t done with us yet in Alberta…

01/03/2024

Happy ! Jump for joy, it’s almost the weekend! 🦊

23/02/2024

Happy ! Hope it’s an extra foxy weekend.

22/02/2024

It’s been a moment since we’ve seen a marten.

14/02/2024

Happy Valentine’s Day & coyote mating season!

30/01/2024

Mink spotting her fish prey.

28/01/2024

Snowy owl ready for takeoff from downtown Toronto.

26/01/2024

Happy ! Have a wonderful weekend. 🦊

01/01/2024

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?!

Videos (show all)

Bighorn ram right in your face.
Skip the Dishes, great grey owl style.
Angry burrowing owl. Ok, maybe not angry, but it sure looks like 😡 🐦
Great grey owl mom counting to make sure her owlets are all still there.
Young bull moose 🫎 Another video of an animal walking AWAY from the camera, not toward it like a good boy. #moose #bullm...
Every morning for a week while filming in Nature Labs home Mount Robson Provincial Park, this bald eagle acted as our al...
Red-tailed hawk
This bull elk is so over it.
Happy #FoxyFriday! Find some time to play this weekend.
Bald eagle shrouded in mystery.
Moody morning in the mountains.
When your potential mate ignores you. Sorry lynx buddy…