Walk With A Naturalist - learn to experience and love nature.

This blog is meant for those who enjoy nature and learning more about the natural world around us. People enjoy nature in countless ways and I think an appreciation for the natural world is innate in almost all of us. I am a scientist, an Assistant Professor of Biology at University of Toronto Mississauga, who studies the ecology and evolution of plants and animals (see www.evoeco.org). But really when it comes down to it, I am just a simple naturalist who loves the natural world around us, and that is what this blog is about. I invite you to take a walk with me, to experience, learn and love nature.

Marc Johnson walking along Charles Darwin's "Sandwalk", Down House,  UK

I live on the banks of the Credit River, in Mississauga Ontario. This a temperate area in the St. Lawrence lowlands, where summers are warm and humid, winters are fairly cold and white, and the springs and falls are filled with colour as new life returns and fades in predictable story-book fashion.

Although I've studied ecology and evolution around the world, most of the nature I experience is in my own backyard. I take daily walks through the Credit Valley and I get to see nature unfold in its beauty and tragedy, its simplicity and complexity. I'll share what I am seeing as the days and seasons unfold. I'll try to keep the posts short and sweet, and the pictures as interesting as possible.

Come walk with me, either through this blog or on the trail and I'll share the natural world with you as I experience it. Please feel free to email me with your questions and I will do my best to answer them in a timely fashion.