Diario del proyecto BackyardBio

It sure is fun trying to find ways to encourage kids to take part! Unfortunately I can't share all of them here, but you can check out @scijesse or @ebtsoyp to see a bevy of fun infographics meant to inspire action for the BackyardBio campaign!

From simple "how to take part" ones to "how to take a great nature photo" (complete with Rudy the delightful squirrel!), "backyardbio all stars" featuring some top notch young naturalists, "tools for nature connection" highlighting some wicked cool ways to learn more and more!

Keep your eyes peeled on twitter and on the EBTSOYP newsletter for more as they come out! Looking very forward to getting you and your little ones out engaged with the natural world!

Recently to get in the spirit of exploration I did some heavy duty observing in some local parks and my own backyard and this is just a smattering of what I discovered!

-There exists a damselfly (you can tell the difference from dragonflies by where their wings sit on their back while resting!) called an Ebony Jewelwing that frequents a local park! They're exquisitely beautiful, and the name suits them wonderfully. I'd seen them for years but never learned what they were called!

-Ant Wars! I've always loved these. Take a walk around the block and if you see a big mass of ants get down on your hands and knees and look closer. You'll see ants interlocked in combat all over the place, plus hordes of the dead being ferried back to nests (to be eaten?). It's wild! I like stroking the group with a single blade of grass or blowing on them to turn the tide of battle. Who knows what empires I've shifted the destinies of!

-I found some pods recently that looked like they were made of clay. Upon breaking them open I discovered about 30 little spiders in one. How cool! I'd found a spiders nest! But no - some of the spiders were of different species, and in one of the pods was a huge and fat larvae. My friend explained that certain wasps hunt spiders and leave them as a living bounty for their egg to feed on and grow from. Gruesome but awesome!

-I'm learning some bird calls! I can now confidently identify a cardinal, mourning dove, blue jay and chickadee calls. Indeed - the chickadee has a few calls and one I finally linked to it is a particularly lovely two note call I'd always affiliated with my Oma's house. I will always have a special fondness for it in my heart!

-Rabbits. They breed like rabbits. I'd never noticed just how many live in my neighbourhood and in parks. I almost got run over by a particularly jaunty one on a trail the other day.

-Trumpeter swan cygnets! I saw a bunch while at an island park in the city and there were seven and they were delightful.

I hope you have fun exploring your own backyards and have similar great stories to tell!

A small note but a personally exciting one! I love Toronto for its ravines - you can walk for 10+ km in a variety of amazing river valleys throughout the city and see deer, raccoons, herons and a huge diversity of lovely wildlife right in the heart of a city with nearly 3 million people. That's pretty special!

On my route down the Humber River close to home there's a tree that is easily the most beautiful I've ever seen. It's got thick rutted bark at the bottom but as it gets higher it becomes a delicate white like a birch tree. It's got dark green leaves - but wait, on the other side they are a beautiful deep white - and in the breeze it shimmers like silver!

With the unusual bark and leaves and the fact that the leaves look two different ways too I had no idea what it was! I shared all the pictures of it yesterday on INaturalist and found out it was a white poplar! My enjoyment of my little walk and my favourite tree are just so much greater now, and anytime I go out with friends and spot one I'll start overexcitedly sharing my journey of discovery!

In just seven days BackyardBio officially kicks off! Over 50 teachers from coast to coast have registered already and we're just starting the process of connecting them all with one another - an exciting beginning to a really fun project.

With the support of several major sanctuaries, science organizations and conservation groups across North America we're really excited to get underway and to see what kids around the world can spot and share from their backyards!

This project will be the pilot for a twice annual extravaganza of nature in September and May annually - and may well turn into something even bigger. It's really been heartening to hear the chorus of partners and educators get excited about the prospect of spending a little time in nature really taking it in to see what's out there.

And really, it need not be a great white shark or african elephant for it to be thrilling (though they sure are!). Roly poly bugs being crustaceans (crustaceans!) with armored defenses, ants conducting raids and warfare on one another for territory, cuckoo birds parasitizing nests, squirrels remembering the location of hundreds of buried nuts to sustain them through the winter - there is drama and magic in the animal world wherever you look.

Here's hoping we get a lot of people looking! Thanks for the support so far and I can't wait to see what you'll share with us!