The hikes and tours run twice from 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.

Interpreting the past: Flintknapping workshop: Arrowheads, spearheads, knives and the remains of stone tool production are the most common prehistoric artifacts used to interpret the past. John Macdonald, rare’s resident archaeologist, has unearthed many stone tools from all over North America on rare’s property. John is an accomplished flintknapper who has spent many years replicating prehistoric tools and studying the technologies used to create them. Participants will join John on a short hike to highlight some historic features of the land and will create their own reproductions using prehistoric flintknapping tools and techniques. The identification and treatment of chert and the raw material used in stone tool production will be examined.

Difficulty: Easy

John MacDonald was born in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. He has lived in or travelled across much of Canada, studying or working in Archaeology for more than 20 years. During John’s first Arctic archaeological trip in 1984, to Devon Island, he discovered 30 prehistoric Inuit/Thule and Paleo-Eskimo sites.

John has studied Archaeology at the University of Western Ontario, Simon Fraser and McMaster. He has excavated and published articles on numerous prehistoric sites in southern Ontario. Recently retired from Timmins Martelle Heritage Consultants, John is a busy member of the rare Environmental Advisory Committee.

Solar home tour: A model of sustainable living: North House is a new and innovative pre-fabricated solar-powered house. It is a green home that produces more energy than it consumes, and makes sustainable living attractive and rewarding. The combination of passive and active solar design, integrated energy production, customized components and mobile interactive technologies, produces an attractive high performance home that sets a new standard for solar design in Canada’s northern climate. North House has been called a living lab to continually test the performance limits of systems and materials, investigate new and innovative technologies, and develop a set of responsible parameters for the design of homes in rural and urban landscapes. Solar energy generated by North House will power both the building and the Springbank farmhouse on the rare property. On this tour, explore many of the emerging technological advances and concepts of modern living showcased at North House.

Difficulty: Easy

A Day on the GrandHikes and Tours

Assessing river health hike: Take a short hike to the Grand River to learn about and view some of the indicator species that are used to assess water health. Fish are good indicators of long-term effects and broad habitat conditions because they are at the top of the aquatic food web, and are consumed by humans, making them important for assessing contamination and human health. Benthic invertebrates, insects living in river sediment, are also critical components of the food web, and exhibit a variety of responses to pollutants. Watch an electrofishing demonstration and learn how the process is used to assess the health of a waterway. We will also search for some common bugs that inhabit the river.

Difficulty: Moderate (standing for long periods)

Keegan Hicks is a PhD candidate at University of Waterloo studying the cumulative effects of human activities on fish communities in the Grand River watershed. He has been involved in research at both University of Saskatchewan and Wilfrid Laurier University, studying the bioavailability of toxicity of metals to aquatic organisms. Keegan conducted research at rare in 2013.

Tallgrass prairie exploration hike: Tallgrass prairie formerly occupied 80,000 to 100,000 hectares in southwestern Ontario, but less than five percent of that remains. In 2012, rare converted an agricultural field into a tallgrass prairie as part of a long term research project with the University of Guelph. Tour this beautiful, recently-burned prairie and learn more about the fascinating research conducted by researchers at the University of Guelph’s MacDougall Ecology Lab.

Difficulty: Moderate

The MacDougall Ecology Lab is in the Department of Integrative Biology at University of Guelph, and is headed up by Dr. Andrew MacDougall. The lab focuses on the processes that determine the structure and function of plant communities, and how those processes are altered by the co-varying impacts of global environmental change. Several students from this lab have conducted studies at rare exploring various aspects of tallgrass prairie since 2012.

Pollinator exploration hike: Pollination is a simple process with a complex ecology. It is necessary for sustainable and diverse plant communities and is an essential ecological service. More than 75 percnt of plant species are dependent on animals, usually insects, to carry their pollen, leading to the evolution of a bewildering variety of strategies and relationships. Hike participants will visit several habitats on the rare property, learn about the reproductive biology of spring-blooming plants, and (hopefully) observe some pollinators in action. Ontario Nature staff will also discuss their work in protecting wild pollinators and ways in which you can get involved.

Difficulty: Moderate

Dr. Tom Woodcock has conducted research in a wide variety of North American ecosystems over the past 20 years. His focus has been on broad-scale ecological responses to a variety of stressors, including pollution and land use change. Prior to becoming rare’s planning ecologist in 2014, he was research associate at the Canadian Pollination Initiative, a nationwide network of researchers, students and public and private sector partners improving knowledge of all aspects of pollination.

Ambushed! Lessons from bugs in our backyard: How fast is evolution and is it happening now? Why are males and females so fundamentally different? What are the limits to where species occur? Join David Punzalan on the trails at rare for a look at the secret lives of ambush bugs. Learn how these insects have provided often surprising insight into fundamental questions in biology.

Difficulty: Moderate

Dr. David Punzalan, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Natural History at the Royal Ontario Museum, has studied ambush bugs extensively. His research began at the University of Toronto and continued at the University of Ottawa and the University of Exeter in Cornwall. David has been a researcher at rare since 2012.

Children in the woods: For this hike, participants will be outdoors exploring the trails and hidden wonders at rare’s 900+ acre reserve. Dress for any weather, bring critter protection and leave your inhibitions at home. We are going to be - pure and simple - children in the woods. Bring a sense of adventure, an openness to share your nature stories, and a desire to rediscover this amazing planet.

Difficulty: Easy. Perfect for families.

Skid Crease is a highly-regarded educator, keynote speaker, workshop leader, coach, storyteller and children’s author. His classroom is the great outdoors and his curriculum is the environment. Skid is the recipient of numerous awards from his students and his colleagues. His motto is “Always leave your campsite cleaner than you found it.”

Reptile and amphibian hike: Life at ground level: For this guided hike, participants will get the chance to explore the reptiles and amphibians of rare Charitable Research Reserve. Tanya Pulfer of Ontario Nature will describe the life history of reptiles and amphibians and techniques of how to look for them. Participants will also learn about the monitoring methods set up by rare, and ways in which they can set up their own monitoring programs in their own backyards.

Difficulty: Easy.

Tanya Pulfer grew up in a farming family in rural Ontario where she developed a love for the rural landscape and the biodiversity it hosts. She has a joint B.Sc. in environment science and biology, M.Sc. in ecology and B.Ed focusing on outdoor education. She is currently the Conservation Science Manager at Ontario Nature. Before joining Ontario Nature in 2013, Tanya worked for several conservation organizations including Florida Marine Research Institute, Ministry of Natural Resources, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Lanark Stewardship Council and the Natural Heritage Information Centre – where she worked on the first Ontario Herpetofauna Summary.

Magnificent raptors hike:Join Kevin Dance on a short hike to the perfect raptor viewing spot, overlooking the Grand River on top of the reef-formed limestone outcrops. Bring your binoculars to spot eagles, hawks, ospreys and other raptors, as well as other birds. Along the way, check out rare’s newest Osprey Tower, erected this past wivnter with support from Cambridge North Dumfries Hydro.

Difficulty: Moderate Kevin Dance obtained a Master of Environmental Studies from the University of Waterloo in 2011 for his research on raptor mortality and behavior at wind turbines along the north shore of Lake Erie. Kevin has been hooked on raptors since he was 10 years old, having visited Texas and Arizona to add to his hawk checklist. Kevin has spoken about raptors at a number of natural history club meetings and birding festivals in southern Ontario, and is a long time member of Waterloo Region Nature.