By: Kathryn Peiman, Ph.D., OFAH Atlantic Salmon Restoration Program Coordinator. Images Provided by OFAH
As I walk down the school hallway carrying Atlantic Salmon eggs, two girls are leading me to their classroom. One is walking fast. The other girl asks her to slow down. She responds with, “I can’t, I’m too excited - the eggs are here!”

For five months every year, hundreds of students raise and release baby Atlantic Salmon into local streams. Atlantic Salmon were extirpated from Lake Ontario by 1896, and since 2006, the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry have partnered to Bring Back the Salmon, a program sponsored by Ontario Power Generation with classroom hatcheries currently funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

By Stacy Lee Kerr, Ontario BioBlitz
The longer days and slowly (but surely) warming temperatures in early spring are energizing. Walks in the woods at any time of the year in Southern Ontario are a lovely way to spend time in nature and de-stress. But taking a stroll beneath bare branches along trails that wind amongst soggy leaf litter can make you feel a little impatient for life to emerge. But then something special happens.

By (Blog & Photos): Stuart Long
Over the last five years, I have been involved in the Ontario BioBlitz as a volunteer.   My time with the Blitz has seen me work at everything from hauling boxes to registering attendees and selling swag.  I am happy to see so many families experience the natural world when attending the event.  But what can those families, so eager to learn about biodiversity and nature, do at home?

When I was a kid, I loved to learn about the natural world.  Whether it was dinosaurs, plants, animals, minerals, or the stars, I was eager to take it all in.  Lucky for me I had a parent who knew the value of interactivity in learning and play.