Nature
Monthly Archive: December natu
Presenting our Winners of the 2023 ROM Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest
![Hiding (c) Yaron Eini Hiding (c) Yaron Eini](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/1.romwpyon_yaroneini_grandprizewinner_lr.jpg?itok=WV_n7gTI)
Captivating Images from Winners of the ROM Photographer of the Year Contest
Presenting our Winners of the 2022 ROM Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest
![Leopard Love @ Yaron Eini Leopard Love @ Yaron Eini](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/romwpyon_grandprizewinner_yaron_eini.jpg?itok=bSB3USI7)
Captivating Images from Winners of the ROM Photographer of the Year Contest
Presenting our Winners of the 2021 ROM Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest
![The Midnight Prowl © Andrew Budziak The Midnight Prowl © Andrew Budziak](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/romwpyon_grandprizewinner_andrew_budziak.jpg?itok=cCvnhFI_)
Captivating Images from Winners of the ROM Photographer of the Year Contest
Presenting our Winners of the 2018 ROM Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest
![Burrowing Owlet. Photo by Megan Lorenz. owlet standing on branch](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/romwpyon_grand_prize_winner_burrowing_owlet_c_megan_lorenz.jpg?itok=jGZlrhU6)
Captivating Images from Winners of the ROM Photographer of the Year Contest
In Hot Water – the Ongoing Debate on Bottled Water Extraction in Ontario
![Nestlé Waters Canada’s Aberfoyle Plant. Photo credit: Chelsie Xavier-Blower Large sign in snowy field reads: Nestlé Waters Canada bottling plant and head office 101 Brock Rd.S., Township of Puslinch](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/thumbnail_nestle_sign_nestleblog_cxb.jpg?itok=hVWpPU3G)
In the quiet countryside of the county of Wellington, echoes from a clash between the local community and mega-corporation Nestlé still linger in the air. Starting in 2015, the debate over Nestlé’s water extraction in Aberfoyle and Elora sparked outcry from community members and organizations that got the attention of the province (and indeed the international community). It is time to take a look at what has happened since, and what both Nestlé and anti-water bottling organizations have to say about it, for the battle is far from over.
When Things Go Wrong for Right Whales
![A floating right whale carcass in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Found and analysed by scientists. Photo by DFO and The Canadian Press Carcass of right whale floating in ocean, researchers on large dinghy](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/1-narw_flating_carcass_and_boat.jpg?itok=PbLAZDTN)
Guest blog written by Environmental Visual Communication student Viridiana Jimenez
The death of seventeen right whales in 2017 represents a loss of over 3% of the population. The significance of this loss has sent the scientific community into a panic. Their deaths were primarily caused by ship collisions or entanglements with fishing gear. As frequent visitors to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, we must now work together to save this species from extinction.
Presenting our Winners of the 2017 ROM Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest
![Polar Bear. Photo by Peter Derrington. Polar Bear](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/peter_derrington_polar_bear.jpg?itok=TeC26J0T)
In celebration of the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, the Ontario-wide ROM Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest returned for its third year – with incredible prizes for both adult and youth categories!
When Whaling is Your Tradition
![Bowhead whale hunted near Clyde River in 2014. Photo Credit: Niore Iqalukjuak Inuit community standing on and near a recently hunted bowhead whale on beach](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/inuit_bowhead_hunt.jpg?itok=Ml_mVBgz)
Guest blog written by Environmental Visual Communication student Ursula McClintock
In some Indigenous communities around the world, whaling is as much a part of their tradition as my family’s turkey dinner at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Whale hunting has played an integral role in feeding Inuit communities for millennia. Bowhead whales, among many other species of whales, were hunted to near extinction at the turn of the 20th century. Yet more often than not, Indigenous communities are cast in the same light as the commercial groups that are responsible for the near collapse of populations of these iconic marine animals.
Trees for Life in Lakefield
![Kids and trees go hand in hand on a Lakefield lot. By Fenella Hood Children playing in a large tree](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/kidsintrees.jpg?itok=tnRw868P)
Guest blog written by Environmental Visual Communication student Fenella Hood
When Rebecca Rose left her home in Leslieville and moved her three young children to the quaint village of Lakefield, she felt secure in the belief that she was improving their lot in life. Then one day a notice was slipped through her door from the Township of Selwyn announcing her next-door neighbour's severance application to build a second house and increase his selling power. His small corner lot boasts a stand of seven mature trees that will need to be cut down to make room for the build. “It felt like being kicked in the stomach. I don't want those trees to die, and I don't want to tell my kids.”
Make Plastic Reduction Part of Your 2018 New Year's Resolutions
![Plastic pollution found at Turkey Point on Lake Erie. Photo credit: Cristina Bergman Plastic pollution found at Turkey Point on Lake Erie. Photo credit: Cristina Bergman](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/plastic_lake_erie.jpg?itok=zDevqj9m)
Guest blog written by 2017 Environmental Visual Communication student Cristina Bergman
Every year, 10,000 tonnes of plastic enters the Great Lakes. Imagine 55 jumbo jets of plastic crash landing in the lakes each year. In this province alone, 3 billion plastic bottles are sold annually, but only half are recycled. The other 1.5 billion bottles end up in landfills or littering the environment. As the only province that borders the Great Lakes, Ontario has an obligation to protect this vast, irreplaceable resource. But is the province stepping up?