Owen Bjorgan

When we are young humans, our brain is largely uninfluenced and acts as a sponge. We soak up senses and cues from the world around us. The remarkable thing is that before the age of technology, the outdoors was seen as both a source of leisure and survival. These days, our broad disconnection from nature leaves the majority of the western population to actively choose to … [Read more...] about Childhood memories that encouraged love of nature

 Like dry earth trying to absorb heavy rains, our human minds have struggled to absorb the onslaught of news over the past two-and-a-half years. A virus. Lockdowns. International conflict. War. Inflation. Elections. It can be gloomier than a darkened forest during a Niagara summer storm. As we just endured a provincial election, one thing has become clear to me. At … [Read more...] about Economics likely to win out over environment

During small talk with someone last week, I asked the question, “what is something that scares the daylights out of you, but you have always wanted to do?”  This individual’s answer was skydiving, and fair enough. When the question was deflected back to me, I pinpointed certain areas of the world I want to travel to for ecotourism and nature documentary purposes, but … [Read more...] about Places of biodiversity, important ecosystems can be dangerous for humans

Despite the privilege of having a powerful and spacious desktop computer, it churns and moans like a human who ate too much at the buffet. Instead of food, the iMac is full to the brim with hundreds of gigabytes of data. The culprit? It’s me, force-feeding the machine endless rounds of nature videos and photos. I made another road trip away this weekend with my parents and a … [Read more...] about Nature photography as both entertainment and educational tool

We talk and write about the Niagara Escarpment a fair amount, and rightfully so. It is our most protected ecosystem in not only Niagara-on-the-Lake, but the whole of southern Ontario. Its endless collection of waterfalls and scenic cliff tops are home to some of Canada’s highest levels of biodiversity, and provide outstanding recreational opportunities. For today … [Read more...] about Oak Ridges Moraine a beautiful hiking spot