Spring is almost here
As we enjoy milder temperatures and longer daylight hours, we approach the season's change with renewed energy and optimism. Happy St. Patrick's Day. As the rhyme goes: "Wherever you go and whatever you do, may the luck of the Irish be there with you."
The museum is open Thursday to Sunday. Come visit us! Note: Tickets must be booked in advance.
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Strategy launched March 16
Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition
As we begin the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, the Canadian Museum of Nature is honoured to be among the organizations, communities and individuals that comprise the Canadian Ocean Literacy Coalition. The COLC has launched an important strategy to advance ocean literacy in Canada. Everyone has a role in ensuring ocean sustainability.
March 22
World Water Day
Water covers 70% of the Earth's surface, and 97% of that is salt water. On World Water Day (March 22), plunge into a 360 tour of our Water Gallery. Learn about the impacts of plastic pollution in the oceans. Discover simple changes that you can make to help save the planet: https://nature.ca/en/explore-nature/blog-videos-more/ocean-plastics-sos
Call for nominations
Nature Inspiration Awards
Nominate a nature leader! From sustainable dryer balls to wildlife conservation, innovative and inspiring projects that encourage Canadians to connect with and help protect nature are celebrated by our national awards program. New this year are categories for Community Action and Sustainable Business. The Canadian Museum of Nature is thrilled to welcome back the following supporters: Ontario Power Generation (Not-for-profit category, small to medium) and NSERC, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Youth category).
Special talk
Arctic biodiversity
March 23, 10 am ET
Explore the amazing biodiversity of the Arctic in a virtual talk with Senior Botany Research Assistant Paul Sokoloff. In his nine Arctic expeditions cataloging the plants of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, Paul has had some incredible opportunities to document the biodiversity of Inuit Nunangat, an Inuktitut term that includes land, water, and ice. “The Arctic isn’t frontier, it’s homeland,” says Paul. “It’s not a vast empty land, it’s somebody’s backyard.” This talk is part of the series called A Deep Dive into Climate Change, hosted by Exploring By the Seat of Your Pants.
New collaboration
Snow mammal stamp series
Museum mammalogist Dominique Fauteux, Ph.D., was the expert consultant on a new set of Canada Post stamps featuring five animals that turn white in winter: Peary caribou, Arctic fox, ermine, snowshoe hare and northern collared lemming. Fun fact: there are only 19 species of mammals worldwide – and 12 are in Canada – that undergo a change in coat colour.
Virtual Open House video series
Tiktaalik: the Crown Jewel of the Nunavut fossil collection
We've got more great science to share from our Virtual Open House! Palaeobiologist Tetsuto Miyashita, Ph.D., talks with other scientists about Tiktaalik roseae, the limbed fish that lived 375 million years ago. The fossil was discovered in 2004 on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut. Hear about new findings on this important transitional form that reveals how fish evolved into four-legged land animals.
Seasonal botanical insights
The myth of the shamrock
Annual St. Patrick’s Day festivities typically bring the donning of green attire and a profusion of shamrock symbols. Botanically-speaking however, there is no definitive “shamrock”. In 1988, Irish botanist E. Charles Nelson invited his fellow countrymen to send in, for scientific identification, plants they considered to be “shamrocks”. About half proved to be Small Hop Clover (Trifolium dubium), while 35% were White Clover (Trifolium repens). Both of these species were introduced to Canada from Europe and Asia. By the mid-1700s, White Clover was well-established in this country. The specimen in the above image was collected by John Macoun, the first Curator of the National Herbarium of Canada and the Dominion Botanist. Irish born, Macoun collected White Clover samples across Canada; along railways, roads, in pastures…even in Algonquin Park where this specimen was found. This species is especially familiar today, owing to its abundance in lawns and roadsides, and its roles in building soil nitrogen, resisting drought, and feeding livestock and nectar-loving insects. For most Canadians wishing to see, and perhaps press, a local “shamrock”, we will have to wait well past St. Paddy’s Day!
Editor: Laura Sutin
Questions or comments can be sent to lsutin@nature.ca
Photos:
Clover in snow: Shutterstock
Snow mammals stamps designed by Adrian Horvath
