Inside this issue:

• Answer the Great Canadian Giving Challenge and honour father figures
• 2024 Trail Party early bird registration deadline extended to July 15
• Save the Date for the rare/Musagetes Long Dash Festival, August 18
• Next week is Pollinator Week!
• Reasons to join us for our July 14 BioBlitz
• Meet Helmi Hess in our latest Career Connections video
• Summer ECO Camps soon upon us
• More invasive species pulls and other volunteer dates in July
• Yoga in the Garden returns
• Thank you, Cambridge Mill Race!
• Poll results and a new poll on the sounds at rare



Give Nature for Fathers' Day, and Answer the Great Canadian Giving Challenge!

Sunday, June 16, is Fathers' Day and a perfect time to honour the father figures in your life by answering the Great Canadian Giving Challenge by protecting nature in their name.

Make your donation at this link, then click "In Honour Of", and you can dedicate your donation to an important friend or family member. You can choose one of three Fathers' Day eCards to be sent to your honouree.

Honour those who support and protect you by supporting and protecting the natural lands that support and protect us. Every donation over $10 made through the Great Canadian Giving Challenge portal enters rare into a draw to receive an additional $10,000 donation from Canada Helps, so your contribution can go that much further!

2024 Trail Party Early Bird Registration Draw for Blue Jays Tickets Extended to July 15!

Our 15th annual Trail Party is three months away, and we've extended our early bird registration to July 15! Register now to participate in the Early Bird draw for Blue Jays tickets (courtesy Cambridge Centre Honda)!

We look forward to seeing you at our autumn fundraiser! We'll gather at Riverbluffs Park at 9:00 a.m., Sunday, September 15. We'll walk the trails, visit education stations and celebrate nature with music, barbecue and family-friendly activities. All proceeds go to fund our Every Child Outdoors (ECO) environmental education program!

This event is not to be missed! So, register today, start fundraising, donate to other participants, join a team or make your own. Most of all, join us and others in celebrating healthy natural lands open for all!

Save the Date: Art and Science Unite at the Long Dash Festival, Sunday, August 18!

The Long Dash Festival, presented in partnership with rare and the Musagetes Foundation on Sunday, August 18, will run from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at rare's ECO Centre (768 Blair Road, Cambridge). The festival will feature a series of programs throughout the day that bring together the worlds of arts and science.

Join us in the morning for a nature sound walk curated by NUMUS along rare trails. The afternoon will include other activities such as a BioBlitz and art workshops led by Alexandra Gelis and Lisa Hirmer.

The festival is named for the Long Dash Skipper (Polites mystic), a brown and orange butterfly found in meadows, marshes, stream banks and forest edges, including at rare. Similar to its sister species, which has been used to name the Musagetes Eastern Comma Artist in Residence and the Question Mark Fellowship, the Long Dash brings to mind punctuation -- marks of connection that bring two parts into a relationship with each other. The Long Dash Festival brings together the worlds of art and science -- as well as those of Musagetes and rare -- to explore what happens in the overlap.

Registration opens on July 18, so mark your calendars. We look forward to seeing you explore the sounds, sights and species found at rare on Sunday, August 18!

Photo by Melissa McMasters

This Pollinator Week, Register Your Pollinator Garden!

Did you know that June 17-23 is Pollinator Week? This is a perfect time to support and celebrate our native pollinators and do all we can to protect them.

At rare, our 1,000 Gardens Project continues to gather support, with more than 760 gardens registering as pollinator gardens as part of the Toronto-Waterloo Pollinator Corridor. Many people have purchased a "This is a Pollinator Garden" sign to display in their garden.

Consider planting a pollinator garden or make your garden friendlier to pollinators. It's easy, and there is good advice online on how to do this. If you have a pollinator garden, register it with us and consider buying a "This is a Pollinator Garden" sign. Show your neighbours that you recognize the importance of our pollinators and what we need to do to keep them and the environment healthy.

There will be a prize for our 1,000th garden registrant. Then, we'll aim to expand, working with other conservation groups across the country to register 10,000 pollinator gardens and create the Trans Canada Pollinator Highway! Consider planting your native pollinator-friendly garden today and add a waystation to the 1,000 gardens!

Reasons to Join Us for our July 14 BioBlitz!

On Sunday, July 14, join scientists and other experts in our first BioBlitz since 2019. Why should you attend?

1. Learn from experts how to find and identify plant, animal and fungi species!
2. Explore Ancient Woods, going off-trail at points and experiencing nature up close!
3. Experience how scientific research is done!
4. Provide valuable data, measuring the health of the local environment!

So, take the LEEP! The BioBlitz will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, July 14, with attendees gathering at 1201 Whistle Bare Road in Cambridge. This event is limited to individuals aged 13 and up (ages 13-15 must be accompanied by an adult). No dogs are permitted. Remember to bring your water bottle, weather-appropriate clothing (long pants, hiking shoes, hat), and sunscreen.

The event is FREE, but registration is required. This BioBlitz was made possible with support from the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation.

Photo by Samuel Davison

What is a Recovery Biologist? Helmi Hess Answers Your Questions in Career Connections Video.

Our latest Career Connection video features Helmi Hess, a Recovery Biologist with Wildlife Preservation Canada! Tune in as Helmi discusses her work monitoring the endangered Eastern Loggerhead Shrike and working towards its restoration.

If you want to know what it's like to work to help the environment, our Career Connections video series opens the window to people's fascinating jobs, from teaching kids about birds of prey to being a prescribed burn boss! While checking out Helmi's video, be sure to also tune into our new Career Connection video with Environmental Consultant Connie Lum!

Don't forget that you can see Helmi Hess in person and learn more about the Eastern Loggerhead Shrike at our final Conversations for Conservation of the season, taking place at the Slit Barn (768 Blair Road, Cambridge) from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 26. This event is FREE, but registration is required.

Invasive Species Pulls and Native Plant Propagation Days Announced for June and July

Our fight against invasive species ramps up this summer, with more volunteer dates announced into July.

Among the plants we'll target is Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera), an invasive herbaceous introduced to North America as an ornamental plant with seed pods that can "explode" and spread seeds over great distances. Another plant to remove is the Flowering Rush (Botomus umbellatus). This invasive aquatic plant spreads quickly, alters water quality and impacts native fish and vegetation.

Come out to help give native plants the best chance for success. These events are FREE, but registration is required, so click below for more details and to register for your preferred dates:

Thurs, June 20 (am) - Yellow Flag Iris Pull

Tues, June 25 (am) - Native Plant Greenhouse Care

Thurs, June 27 (am) - Invasive Ground Cover Pull

Thurs, July 4 (am) - Invasive Shrub Removal

Tues, July 9 (am) - Native Plant Seed Collection Walk

Tues, July 9 (pm) - Native Plant Seed Sowing and Greenhouse Care

Thurs, July 11 (am) - Invasive Shrub Removal

Thurs, July 11 (pm) - Invasive Shrub Removal

Thurs, July 18 (am) - Himalayan Balsam and Flowering Rush Pull

Thurs, July 18 (pm) - Himalayan Balsam and Flowering Rush Pull

Thurs, July 25 (am) - Himalayan Balsam and Flowering Rush Pull

Thurs, July 25 (pm) - Himalayan Balsam and Flowering Rush Pull

Volunteers are also invited to Springbank Farm every Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. to noon and every Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (please note that Sunday's volunteer must be aged 18+) to help maintain, plant and harvest at the food bank garden. Registration is not necessary for these events; show up at Springbank Farm at 681 Blair Road in Cambridge at the times above to participate.

Yoga in the Garden Returns July 11

Our popular Yoga in the Garden returns this summer, and you can take part in this beginner-friendly exercise program open to all fitness levels amongst the beautiful scenery of Springbank Farm.

Our first Yoga event takes place at Springbank Farm at 681 Blair Road on Thursday, July 11, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Admission is free with a donation of food to the Cambridge Food Bank. Please register at this link.

Additional Yoga in the Garden events will take place on Friday, August 9, Thursday, September 26 and Thursday, October 24.

Be sure to bring your yoga mat and water. We look forward to seeing you in the Gardens as we stretch and exercise surrounded by beautiful scenery and birdsong! In case of rain, Yoga will take place at Lamb's Inn at 1679 Blair Road.

Photographer Unknown

Thanks to the Cambridge Mill Race for Supporting rare

We hope everybody enjoyed the Cambridge Mill Race this past Sunday. We are honoured to have been the Race’s charity of choice this year, and we would like to thank the participants for raising over $2,000 for rare!

Join us for another glorious walk, run or hike along our trails on Sunday, September 15, to celebrate our outdoor spaces at our 15th annual Trail Party!

Our Bi-Weekly Poll: Pull Results and a Turtle Question

Thanks to everybody who participated in the last issue's poll about seeing turtles. More than half of you have, with 33% seeing them in a natural area and another 20% seeing them in their neighbourhood. Turtles are especially active right now, and our Turtle Team has been extremely busy setting out nest protectors where appropriate, collecting eggs and incubating them where needed -- and are already at capacity. Remember to keep an eye out for turtles on our roads and give these turtles and their nests their space. If you have a sandy firepit that has been open and unused since winter, please check to ensure a turtle hasn't laid its eggs before you light it up. With vigilance and by working together, we can give our turtles the best chance to thrive.

For our next question: with a Sound Walk planned for our Long Dash Festival with the Musagetes Foundation (Sunday, August 18), what is your favourite sound walking the trails at rare?