2023
Happy Holidays! In lieu of the usual Christmas round-robin letter, I am making a year-end blog post. This allows me to include a lot of pictures. Hopefully, by Christmas, there will be a full page here with details of the … Continue reading →
JohnOyston
Zonnic could save a million lives. Health organizations want it banned. Why?
Imagine, for a moment, that you are a 50-year-old who has smoked a pack of cigarettes a day since you were a teenager. You tried to quit a few times, but after a few days, you craved a smoke, like … Continue reading →
Teen vaping
Is it possible to create a regulatory environment and a culture that encourages adults who smoke to switch to vape without non-smoking teens taking up vaping as a hobby? The United Kingdom was a world leader in using vaping as … Continue reading →
Buckthorn Bashing
Note: The author has spent 20 years bashing buckthorn at his recreational property, Oak Hills Farm, which includes about five acres of buckthorn. Over the last two years, he has volunteered with Toronto Nature Stewards, tackling buckthorn at Roxborough and … Continue reading →
Frontenac Challenge 2023
A guide to completing the Challenge in six days The Challenge The challenge is to hike eleven trails in Frontenac Park in September and October. This effectively means covering every area of the park and almost all of the major … Continue reading →
Greetings to the Natural World
As I was reading “Braiding Sweetgrass,” I was impressed by the idea that we should start meetings and events by expressing our gratitude for the gifts we have received from the natural world. Specifically, the Haudenosaunee “Greetings to the Natural … Continue reading →
TNS Leaside Park Stewardship Information 2026
It is a New Year, and a new stewardship season will soon start at TNS Leaside Park! Once again, we will remove garbage and invasive species, tend the native plants, and add more native species to restore Leaside Park’s natural … Continue reading →
Safer Nicotine Products for People who Smoke
It was written by a retired medical doctor who has seen the damage that cigarette smoking can do, and has spent over 15 years working on ways to reduce the disease, disability and death caused by smoking cigarettes. If people … Continue reading →
The Chorley Switchback, revisted
Why has the Switchback become overgrown with invasive species, and could it be repaired to become a showcase for native species and pollinators?
Continue reading →Smokers Helpine contradicts Health Canada
Smokers’ Helpline is a free, confidential service operated by the Canadian Cancer Society, offering support and information about quitting smoking, vaping and tobacco use. In over 20 years of operation, it has handled 400,000 calls, and 120,000 people have registered … Continue reading →