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Your Ultimate Guide for a Deeper Connection to Nature
Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jun 223 min read
Dragonflies and Damselflies - Ancient Insects
These ancient insects belong to the order of ‘Odonata’ meaning ‘toothed ones’. More about their mandibles at our July 24th workshop. ...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Apr 83 min read
Dendrology: The Science of.....
Ancient Greek: Dendron, (Trees), Logia, (Study). The study of trees before leaf out is a fascinating world. Each species of tree is...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jan 82 min read
Our Hardy, Winged Feathered Friends
The official Christmas Bird Count (CBC) including mammals is held every year between mid December and the first week of January. The...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Oct 30, 20232 min read
Orillia Hall of Fame
We are proud to announce and would like to formally acknowledge that Robert (Bob) L. Bowles has been inducted into the Orillia Hall of...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Oct 22, 20232 min read
The Fascinating World of Mushrooms
With no rain for two weeks, we were a little concerned about finding mushrooms on the morning of our workshop,The Mushroom World,...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jul 1, 20232 min read
Into Summer on the Carden Alvar
We gathered on Saturday, June 17th for the second part of our Alvar Flora Tour Walk. Unique flora grows and blooms on the Alvar during...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
May 15, 20233 min read
The Carden Alvar- A Flora Tour Walk
In 2014, a part of the area known as the Carden Alvar just east of Orillia, Ontario became a Provincial Park called Carden Alvar...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Apr 3, 20232 min read
Getting to Know Trees
This past Saturday we had a lovely group of people attend our Winter Dendrology class. Dendrology is the scientific study of shrubs and...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Mar 24, 20232 min read
The Ghost of the Forest
We have had a resident Barred owl (Strix varia) with us for some time here at the nature centre. We named him/her Berty the Barred Owl....
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jan 31, 20233 min read
Not just One but Two: In Search of Mammal Tracks
Just a day and a half after our Mammal Tracking workshop, not one but two moose came to visit early Monday morning. We went live on...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jan 22, 20232 min read
Seniors on Snowshoes
We didn't really know what to expect with only a couple of inches of snow on the ground; nevertheless everyone came prepared for a hike...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jan 17, 20233 min read
Mammal Tracking in the New Year
Just when we thought we would never see the sun again, it broke over the eastern horizon and shone brightly all day for the first time in...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Nov 29, 20222 min read
Mammal Tracks Tell a Story
As winter approaches and the days shorten you may be asking yourself how and what you will do to maintain your connection with nature...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Oct 4, 20222 min read
The Mushroom World
And what a World it is! With over 50,000 species world-wide there is no shortage of finding exquisite looking and sometimes delicious...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jun 25, 20223 min read
A Walk on Carden Alvar
Father's Day, this year, was a beautiful day that began with a small group of us prepared and ready to learn about the unique flora on...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jun 14, 20222 min read
Dazzling Displays
The month of June is a very extraordinary month on the Carden Alvar. Unique flowers, over 400 species, endure the harshness of Alvar...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
May 31, 20222 min read
Those Unique Birds
Bird watchers and seasoned birders joined us at the Nature Centre last Sunday morning to observe and learn about the rare and endangered...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Apr 27, 20222 min read
Dendrology - 2 Weeks Later
Dendrology; The science and study of woody plants, specifically trees and shrubs. We had our second workshop, led by Bob Bowles, this...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Apr 13, 20223 min read
Winter Dendrology: The Study of Trees
Most of us learned about trees in elementary school. We learned how to identify them mainly by the shape of their leaves and on...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Apr 3, 20223 min read
Spring is in the Air at the Centre
At this time of year, the pond at the Nature Centre is alive with activity. Compared with the summer months, the pond is nearly double...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Mar 26, 20222 min read
The Pre-Dawn Sky
If you are an early riser and specifically an early riser on March 27th, you are in for one of the top ten sky events for 2022! This...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Mar 20, 20222 min read
Spring has Sprung
Happy Spring Everyone! Spring officially arrived in the Northern Hemisphere today, March 20, 2022, at 11:33 AM EDT. This day is also...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Mar 4, 20222 min read
Mammal Tracking - The Eye of a Detective
Diagonal walkers, pacers or waddlers, bounders and gallopers; are just some of the new terms we learned at our Mammal Tracking workshop...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Feb 22, 20222 min read
An Irruption of Arctic Snowbirds
One morning, during the early part of February, while walking on trails at the nature centre we saw what looked like swirling snowflakes...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jan 17, 20223 min read
The Wolf Moon
Once a month or more specifically every 29.5 days we have a full moon. Most people are generally in awe when gazing at the moon, whether...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jan 8, 20222 min read
24th Carden Alvar Christmas Bird Count
We started our bird and mammal count, at the nature centre, just after the sun rose on Monday January 3rd. It was certainly a very...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Dec 24, 20212 min read
Holidays - A Magically Time for Gratefullness
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." ...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Dec 4, 20213 min read
Massive and Majestic
We just had to write about the massive and majestic Moose (Alces alces) after capturing this great photo with our game camera of a bull...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Nov 22, 20213 min read
A Merriment Event
We wrote in a previous blog (in June) about a local organization, Friendship Force Lake Simcoe (FFLS) that provides opportunities to...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Nov 15, 20213 min read
Agents of Change; Our Youth and World Leaders
Our last 3 blogs were about wetlands and their significant role in keeping our environment healthy and combating climate change. Our...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Nov 8, 20213 min read
Life in The Wetlands
King rails (Rallus elegans), frogs (Lithobates), salamanders (Ambystoma), spotted turtles (Clemmys Guttata) and 7 other turtle species, ...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Oct 31, 20213 min read
Wetlands and Climate Change
Last week we talked about the importance of wetlands and listed 5-10 benefits of protecting and restoring our wetlands. Just to recap,...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Oct 23, 20212 min read
Wetlands: Their Role in Keeping Us and the Environment Healthy
We have all heard of wetlands but do we really know their significance and importance to the health of our environment. Let's start with...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Oct 14, 20213 min read
Marvel Communication
Our 'Giving Thanks For a Rainbow of Colour (and Mushrooms)' workshop, held over Thanksgiving weekend, was a success even though it rained...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Oct 6, 20213 min read
It's the Season - For Mushrooms
Some would think Tis the Season with the activity that is happening currently on social media. So much excitement and enthusiasm going on...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Sep 25, 20213 min read
Sunflowers - A Vision of Gratitude
Those beautiful, tall, (sometimes)yellow flower heads facing the sun. You can't help but smile and acknowledge their beauty when you see...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Sep 16, 20212 min read
The Butterfly Journey Continued
We wrote at the beginning of September about the migration of the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) to Mexico. During our online...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Sep 2, 20213 min read
A Journey to Mexico
Did you know the third generation of Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus) in Ontario undertake a spectacular journey in late August,...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Aug 27, 20212 min read
Invasive Aquatic Plant
This article was written by Bob Bowles for simcoe.com and appears online and in Orillia Today. New invasive aquatic plant taking over...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Aug 17, 20212 min read
The Elegant Trumpeter Swan
These majestic birds can have a wingspan up to 3 meters and weigh between 7-13 kgs making these the heaviest, native waterfowl in...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Aug 7, 20212 min read
The Life of Monty
We watched as "Monty" the Monarch butterfly took his first flight last Saturday, July 31st at our workshop "Monarch Butterfly Birthday-A...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jul 29, 20212 min read
Leucism: What is it?
We recently had a report at the nature centre, from a local birder, that an American Robin had discoloration throughout its plumage,...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jul 20, 20212 min read
More about Butterflies including Damselflies, Dragonflies and Moths
The Carden Alvar Butterfly and Dragonfly counts were held this past weekend, July 17th and 18th, celebrating its 24th official year. We...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jul 8, 20212 min read
Butterflies: A New Place to Reside
One of our goals, at the nature centre, is helping to save endangered species and what better way to assist than to build a butterfly...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jun 29, 20212 min read
Hosting - friendship force Lake Simcoe
Bob is the 1st-vice president of friendship force Lake Simcoe and is looking forward to introducing visitors from around the world to the...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jun 18, 20212 min read
Spittlebugs: You Don't Say
Well, a new word in my vocabulary; spittlebug. During our recent walk with Bob here at the centre, he pointed out a whitish, foamy...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jun 9, 20212 min read
So Just What is an Alvar?
Growing up I had always heard my family talk about the Cameron Ranch, now part of the Carden Alvar, northeast of Orillia, Ontario. I...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
Jun 4, 20212 min read
Promises - Bluebirds - And Yellow Flowers
There's a bluebird on our window sill, there's a rainbow in our hearts here at the nature centre with promises of things to come this...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
May 28, 20212 min read
An Unusual Find: Crawe's Sedge
Sedges are often overlooked or thought of as clumps of grass. But like everything in nature it seems the more you look, and the closer...
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Robert L. Bowles Nature Centre
May 22, 20212 min read
Wildflowers: More Discoveries
During our daily walks at the Nature Centre, we've discovered more spring ephemerals and some spectacular wildflowers. It seems the more...
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