Bioacoustics is the study of the production, transmission, and reception of sounds produced by or affecting living organisms. But why is it necessary?

Invasive Spongy Moth caterpillars are a common species found during EcoSpark’s Caterpillars Count surveys. In this blog post you will learn more about this species, its population control, and what can be done to slow its spread.

This past October EcoSpark was able to hold it’s 3rd annual Sparking Science Through Mentorship conference at the UTSC campus, in a collaboration with Dunbarton High School, the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC), and the Durham District School Board.

This past year EcoSpark launched its first ever Greenbelt Youth Ambassador program!

Water quality monitoring through Changing Currents goes beyond being an outdoor experience that helps students explore the overall health of watersheds in their community.

Citizen Science is a participatory approach to environmental research where participants learn about local green spaces by contributing collected scientific data to real studies. Typically organized or managed by professional scientists, the collection of crowdsourced data sets are utilized to both gain a better understanding of the world around us, and answer practical and pressing questions.

Fresh water is the cornerstone of life everywhere. It’s necessary to keep our bodies healthy and thriving, and is an integral part of our well-being and happiness.

A few months ago my class took a field trip to a small part of the Credit River to do a stream assessment. The workshop took place at The Riverwood Conservancy. I must say I was pretty excited.

Action Research in education involves teachers identifying a question focused on their own teaching practice and then planning to take action with their students to help answer that question.

Lynn Short is a Professor and Researcher at Humber College in Horticulture. She is also the owner of a cottage in Tiny Township on Georgian Bay, where she developed an innovative technique to remove invasive Phragmites (common reed) without herbicides.

Student participants had a lot to say about the 2018 Sparking Science through Mentorship Conference! This EcoSpark blog is by two students who wanted to share their experiences.

To celebrate the upcoming 2018 Sparking Science through Mentorship Conference, EcoSpark is featuring two STEM mentors from last year’s conference. Sparking Science is an annual event that showcases women working in STEM who will mentor grade 9 girls from Durham Region.

To celebrate the upcoming 2018 Sparking Science through Mentorship Conference, EcoSpark is featuring two STEM mentors from last year’s conference. Sparking Science is an annual event where women working in STEM mentor grade 9 girls from Durham Region.

This blog was contributed by Milliken Mills students Shamar Brown and Thuvarakan Jeyasanthan. These students were inspired by the Changing Currents program to take action in protecting their local environments.

When I was a young student, I was originally given the impression that geography was about memorizing the map of Canada along with its provinces and territories. Towards the end of high school, I was told by family members who had studied geography at university that there was so much more to the discipline than I could have ever imagined.

Happy Geography Awareness Week! As an Education Consultant with EcoSpark, I deliver workshops to teachers and students about how to build sustainable communities. As a former teacher and someone who is passionate about protecting our environment, I really enjoy speaking about how we can build our communities to help protect green spaces, reduce climate change, and accommodate a growing population.

World Town Planning Day takes place annually on November 8th and is an international day celebrating the importance and great contributions of planners in their communities whether they are urban or rural. According to Statistics Canada, about 86% of the population lived in urban areas while 14% in rural communities in 2011.

A few days ago, I went with EcoSpark to a small stream in Unionville called Bruce Creek, which I hadn’t known was even there, to do stream assessments with people from my school - Milliken Mills High School.

Happy World Water Monitoring Day! World Water Monitoring Day takes place each year on September 18. Every year, the World Water Monitoring Challenge, now known as the EarthEcho Water Challenge, seeks to build public awareness and encourage involvement in protecting water resources.

EcoSpark's work and impact spans the Greater Toronto Area and beyond. We are a far distance from any ocean, yet we feel the impact of its health. Despite the space between us and the sea, there are still things we can do to help!