Nature
Monthly Archive: December natu
5 reasons to be excited for BioBlitz Canada 150 in Rouge National Urban Park
![There's something for everyone at the 2017 Rouge National Urban Park BioBlitz! Photo by David Coulson Two young girls peer into a jar at the insect they just captured with a net during a bioblitz. Photo by David Coulson](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/2016cr_davidcoulson19-640.jpg?itok=yl5R5XRr)
While intensive biological surveying has taken place in the Rouge Valley before, this was before the creation of Rouge National Urban Park and a doubling in the park’s size. We are keen to make history by bringing this amazing citizen science event to Canada’s first and only national urban park for the very first time!
Here are five reasons to be excited about Bioblitz Canada 150 in Rouge National Urban Park, written by Guest Author Omar McDadi from Parks Canada
Who sings for blues? How Blue Whales became ingredients in everyday products
![Canadian Blue Whale Brand Fertilizer - made from blue whale products in the 1950s. Photo by Katherine Ing A photo of a canister of Canadian Blue Whale Brand Fertilizer - made from blue whale products in the 1950s. Photo by Katherine Ing](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/canadian_blue_brand_fertilizer-header.jpg?itok=PNypCpGM)
Living in Ontario, the Blue Whale in the vast ocean may seem a distant thought from our daily lives. But our history with these animals is more intertwined than we realize - for example, would you ever use fertilizer in your garden made from blue whales? Canadians used to! Read this guest blog post by ROM Biodiversity / Blue Whale team member Katherine Ing to find out a bit more about the other ways whale products became a part of everyday life during the peak of industrial whaling, and what that means for modern global whale conservation.
Winners of the 2017 Henry's #ROMmembers Capture the Wilderness Contest
![Cuban Tody. Photo by Mark Peck. Bird resting in a tree.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/2017henrysrommembers-markpeck.jpg?itok=spjhw1nY)
In celebration of the ROM's Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, Henry's exclusively invited ROM Members to share their latest and greatest nature photographs for a chance to win a new Sony camera!
Stunning Images from Winners of the 2016 ROM Wildlife Photographer of the Year Contest
![Heading home after a long night with Wild Turkey. Photo by Mark Peck. Two wild turkeys walking down a road.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/markpeck_romwpycontestphoto2016_wildturkey.jpg?itok=gPkAJcoM)
In celebration of the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, the Ontario-wide ROM Wildlife Photographer of the Year contest returned for its second year – this time with both adult and youth categories!
The Ultimate Collaboration: Wildlife Photographer of the Year, the ROM and EVC
![A woman crouches in the woods, her camera raised to her face, ready to take a photo.](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/evc-wpy_blog_photo.jpg?itok=ZOfTMap2)
Guest blog by recent EVC grad Rhi More examining staff & student reactions to wildlife photography and the Environmental Visual Communication program.
An Interview with Deborah Samuel on "The Extraordinary Beauty of Birds"
![A Crimson Topaz, one of the thousands of bird skins found at the ROM and feature of photographer Deborah Samuel’s new book. Photo by: Deborah Samuel A Crimson Topaz, one of the thousands of bird skins found at the ROM and feature of photographer Deborah Samuel’s new book. Photo by: Deborah Samuel](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/1.crimsontopaz.jpg?itok=EEeXF0cx)
Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication graduate David Coulson
Deborah Samuel's latest book, “The Extraordinary Beauty of Birds” is a stunning exposé of the ROM ornithology collection; an attempt, in her words, to bring these birds and feathers back to life. Here, EVC graduate David Coulson interviews Deborah about her photography and experiences working in collaboration with the ROM's Natural History collections.
Storytelling: Art, Culture, Nature
![This year’s overall winner of Wildlife Photographer of Year is Tim Laman and his photo story, “While the forest still stands.” This image from the story is titled “Entwined lives.” This year’s overall winner of Wildlife Photographer of Year is Tim Laman and his photo story, “While the forest still stands.” This image from the story is titled “Entwined lives.” It shows an orangutan high in a tree with the rest of the canopy below](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/laman_winningimage_1_of_1-2.jpg?itok=We8u6Q26)
Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication graduate Samantha Stephens
Art, Culture, Nature. They may be separate words, but if we consider them separate disciplines, we are doing a disservice to the potential of human wisdom. Without nature, there is no culture. Without culture, there is no art. EVC grad Samantha Stephens gives us some examples of how these themes intertwine in recent ROM research and exhibits, including the 2017 Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibit, open now!
Farms, Cities, Animals, and the Museum
![A goat is milked in front of the ROM for "The Goat, the Honey, and the Museum" project by Bill Burns. Photo by Teghan Dodds A goat is milked in front of the ROM for "The Goat, the Honey, and the Museum" project by Bill Burns. Photo by Teghan Dodds](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/tdodds_blog_header.jpg?itok=LkTXuWtE)
Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication student Teghan Dodds
Goats are not something you’d expect to see within the confines of the city, and especially not on Toronto’s Bloor Street with its upscale shops and prestigious historical buildings. Read this blog written by 2016 Environmental Visual Communication student Teghan Dodds to find out why we had goats out in front of the ROM, and what that has to do with nature, art, and the ROM.
Not just for show: how and why museum specimens are collected
![ROM technician Brad Millen processes a bird specimen that will be added to the ROM's collections. Photo by Samantha Stephens ROM technician Brad Millen processes a bird specimen that will be added to the ROM's collections. Photo by Samantha Stephens](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/rom-bugroom_samantha_stephens-4.jpg?itok=lYnukphh)
Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication student Samantha Stephens
The sign on the door seemed quite appropriate. “Abandon all hope ye who enter here.” I imagine that, as this quote from Dante’s Inferno indicates, this might be what hell feels like. As this last barrier swings open and the dim room is revealed, the swarm of hundreds of tiny creatures moving across the concrete floor completes that vision. However, for some of the ROM’s tireless workers, this environment is heaven. Here resides the dermestid beetle colony. These ravenous beetles are eagerly seeking their next meal. Manoeuvring themselves into the crevices of skeletons, they strip the flesh from delicate specimens with more precision and speed than the nimblest of human fingers.
Sebastian Kvist: Leech Hunter
![Sebastian Kvist out in the field in Minnesota, U.S.A. Photo by Vincent Luk A portrait photo of Sebastian Kvist out in front of a swamp in the field in Minnesota, U.S.A. Photo by Vincent Luk](https://www.rom.on.ca/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blog_post/thumbnail/rom-seb_vincent-luk-4.jpg?itok=aRuR8BPr)
Guest blog by Environmental Visual Communication student Sally McIntyre
When most people think about the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), they think of dinosaurs or mummies. However, it is the invertebrates that live on the ocean floor and crawl through the soil that make up the most diverse collection at the ROM. So who holds the daunting position of keeper of this vast museum collection? Meet Dr. Sebastian Kvist: Leech Hunter.