Welcome to White's Wetland and to our inaugural post. More pictures, more history, more information and more links will be added in time.

It is summer in southwestern Ontario and that means the trees are green, the vegetation is thick and lush, birdsongs fill the sky during the day, frogs croak a chorus in the summer night, and dawn or dusk brings sightings of deer,coming down to the pond to drink. Turtles bask on the rocks,soaking up the rays after a long winter. Swallows swoop and tease. Hummingbirds gather in the gardens.

Everything seems to be at play, enjoying the sun and the warmth. Animals and birds, reptiles and amphibians - all welcome summer, just as we humans do.

In the days, weeks and months ahead, I hope to share stories about our wetland, introduce you to some of the main characters who share our space and talk about the importance of wild spaces in general. Everyone these days seems to talk about the environment and about being green; but when I come home to the Wetland, I see firsthand why it is so important. It's not just an agenda for me. This is a living, breathing entity, a wondrous space that I want to see preserved. As long as it is in my power to protect the species that also call this tract of land home, I will. They deserve to be here as much as I do.

So I won't be on the pulpit about the environmental movement every day, although I do want to convey the importance of wetlands. Most of all, I want people to feel something. I believe that we have a real chance of saving species and preserving biodiversity the sooner we humans realize that we are all connected.

You have to care about something in order to protect it. The wild world deserves our care, attention ...and respect.

So until the next post.