Ahh, Summer!

Just spent a week at an old farmhouse/cottage on Moore Lake in the Haliburtons. The lake was cool, clear and uncrowded. Lucky for me there was an abundance of natural subjects flittering about the nearby fields to keep me occupied for hours!

Alexandra Cousteau

Grand prize winner Elizabeth, with Alexandra and me

I attended the Groundswell Conference last night to hear Alexandra Cousteau, Jacques Cousteau's granddaughter, speak about her work as an explorer, filmmaker and activist in protecting our sources of fresh water.

Eamon won the elementary school grand prize

She was also the judge of a children's photo contest, and I had the honour of joining her on stage to speak about Focus on Nature and hand out the grand prizes, Focus on Nature workshops for their schools, to the two winning students!

Thanks to FON volunteer Cyndi Alton for taking these photos.

Garden Party

On June 1st my former neighbour in Guelph, Patricia Ing, hosted a garden party for Focus on Nature. It was a perfect spring afternoon to be welcoming 150 guests in her delightful garden!

We raised over $6000 to support our school program but more importantly we raised a lot of awareness in the community about the work we do.

Trevor & Megan

The VanVeens

A perfect afternoon

Liz of the Towne Winer

Jacqueline & Paul

The "power" table

Shirley & friend

Gail & me

Spring Bird Migration

Prothonotary Warbler at Hillman Marsh

For many years now it's been one of my delights of spring to see the migrating birds return to southern Ontario in May.  With binoculars and camera in hand, my birding friends and I toured Rondeau Provincial Park, Blenheim Lagoons, Point Pelee National Park, and Hillman Marsh Conservation Area. Together we counted 110 species in 3 days!

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

American Woodcock

Bay-breasted Warbler

This year the highlights included the uncommon prothonotary warbler, a flock of rose-breasted grosbeaks feeding by the trail, a bay-breasted warbler and a cryptic woodcock calling for a mate in the fading light.

Good Friday Paddle

For 30 years Guelph paddlers have gathered on Good Friday for a day of canoeing on the local rivers.

Friend, Paul Zago, and I joined a flotilla of over 15 boats  to paddle 14. 5 kms. down the Speed River from Guelph to Hespeler.

The river was high making it an easy ride but with a few challenges. Two canoes capsized but all those made a wet exit were soon in dry clothes and enjoying the gourmet lunch that we all shared.


The day ended with nachos and beer at our favourite pub 'The Wooly"!

SPARK Photo Festival

I was invited to Peterborough this weekend by my old friend, Robert Boudreau, to do a Focus on Nature workshop in conjunction with SPARK, the local photo festival he runs there.

Gail, who took these photos,  joined me and my small group of young photographers for a great day exploring nature along the banks of the Otonabee River with our cameras.

Red Squirrel

Red squirrel at Terra Cotta CA

Encountered a red squirrel today. He's smaller and noisier than the grey squirrels. But I was quite amazed at just how red his tail is!

New Volunteers

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Louise, Ryan, Claudette, Lauren, Eliz, Teigan, Bob (FON board chair), Craig, Val, Pete & Annabel

Meet Focus on Nature's newest volunteer program assistants! They've just completed two days of training with me  - on some of the coldest of winter days - and are keen to start mentoring students outdoors in the art of nature photography!

March Break Camp

photo by Ryan

At Focus on Nature's March Break Camp, I led 14 hardy young nature photographers through a snowstorm today. They weren't deterred in the least and they got some great shots!

Panama

near Gamboa

I had the good fortune to travel to Panama in February for two weeks. I wanted to explore the  rainforests and cloud forests, to see the neotropical flora and fauna that Panama still has in abundance.

I shot mostly videos of animal behavior for future use in a children's program but I did capture a few interesting still images which I'll share with you here. There are more images on my Flickr site.

indigenous Embera woman

poison dart frog

golden-collared manakin

three-toed sloth

Me on Page Three!

Page Three is the prime spot in a newspaper for an article. So I was pretty pleased to see a story there about Focus on Nature when I open the Guelph Mercury last week! I thought I'd add the article by Troy Bridgeman here to preserve it for posterity.

Shirley Hunt and Simon Bell teach kids to Focus On Nature through photography workshops.

Kids focusing on nature with cameras in hand

GUELPH — Children are more connected online than ever before and that has community developer Shirley Hunt concerned that they are becoming disconnected from the natural world.

"More and more kids are spending most of their time at home inside in screen-related activities and we're seeing a big impact in terms of their physical and mental health," said Hunt. "We wondered if there was a role photography could play in encouraging kids to get outside and take a look at nature with new eyes."

In 2008 Hunt joined forces with Guelph photographer Trina Koster to develop Focus On Nature, a non-profit organization that aims to reconnect schoolchildren with nature by teaching them to be nature photographers.

"Generally what we do is offer full-day workshops for Grades 4 to 6," said Hunt. "We've also done as young as Grade 3 and up to Grade 8."

Hunt served as Focus On Nature's executive director from its inception until March 2013 when she handed the role over to photographer and former SNAP magazine publisher, Simon Bell.

"I had been a volunteer with them for a couple of years including being a lead instructor which means you go into the classroom with a team of volunteers to mentor the kids," said Bell. "You teach them a little bit about photography but it is more about the art of seeing, if you will, and using that as a way of exploring nature."

The program has steadily grown in size and popularity.

"The year I came we did about 12 workshops in a year and the next year, just by word of mouth, it doubled to about 25 workshops," said Bell. "Last year we did over 50 and the Wellington Catholic District School Board has asked us to provide programming for every Grade 5 class in the system bringing us up to 60 or 70 workshops this year."

The organization has more than 40 volunteers trained by Koster to instruct students on the basics of photography and the elements of design.

"We talk about how design has always been inspired by nature's lines, shapes and colours," said Hunt.

"When they go out on the field trip they have to take one photograph illustrating each of the seven elements of design and that really gets them looking at things in a new way."

Bell and Hunt said the kids take great pride in their photos and often find it difficult to select the top five or 10 to present to the class.

"They realize when they draw a picture or do a painting it is going to look like kid art but when they take a picture they are as good as any adult," said Bell. "It is surprising what a little bit of technology and youthful creativity can do."

Focus On Nature relies on donations and sponsors such as Linamar, TD Bank, the City of Guelph and private individuals to keep the workshops going.

"We also require donations of cameras and laptops that are still in good condition," said Bell. "That is basically what we use in the classrooms."

An exhibit of the students' photographs covering all the seasons is on display at the main branch of the Guelph Public Library until the end of the month. Plans for another exhibit is in the works.

Last year was the first year they held workshops during every season and this is the first year they have workshops planned during March break.

"It is a time of the year we generally don't do Focus on Nature but the Arboretum has agreed to host us for a week," said Bell. "We are going to do two short camps, one for younger kids and one for older kids."

Hunt said the response from the kids has made it worth the work.

"We actually say we are not taking snapshots we are creating art and they are all artists and we really treat them almost as adults," she said. "We tell them you are artists and you all have creativity in you so let's go out and look in a creative way at nature."

Visit www.focusonnature.ca for more information on the organization.