Steinbach Online, written by Darci Wilkinson Wednesday, July 3, 2025
https://steinbachonline.com/articles/nature-norm-explores-conservation-photography-and-nightjar-survey-
This month’s Adventures with Nature Norm will be an exciting experience, as Norm Gregoire from Shared Legacy will be joined by a special guest.
Ethan Freese, a conservation photographer from Nebraska, will serve as a co-guide for the event.
“Ethan is a prairie lover first and foremost,” Gregoire says. “He’s a very intelligent man with a lot of talents to share. He’s one of those guys that has more degrees than I have letters in my name. So, he has a lot of information to share.”
Freese will offer participants tips on nature photography, including how to capture rare prairie species like the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid and, if lucky, a glimpse of the Poweshiek Skipperling.
“Anyone that’s interested in nature, seeing something that you can’t see anywhere else in the world, real bucket-list items, come on down. It’ll be an amazing event, really. I’m really looking forward to it. “
Gregoire notes that having a co-guide from outside the province and country makes this event particularly unique.
“This is an international visitor coming to see our prairie here,” he explains. “We have this amazing area that does draw people into seeing it. For us locals, sometimes we forget about it because we grew up in it. So, it does really put into perspective to have a scientist, a guy like Ethan, passionate conservation biologist and whatnot, he’s coming all the way here just to see this. I think it’s very special.”
The beautiful Tall Grass Prairie
Gregoire says that the prairies can get overlooked, and he hopes to continue to raise awareness through his work with Shared Legacy.
“The Tall Grass Prairie is the most threatened ecosystem in Manitoba, in Canada, potentially globally. It’s a bit hard to really put that exact designation on it, but what we do know is we have less than one per cent, probably closer to half a per cent of Tall Grass Prairie left in all of Manitoba. We know it’s a special area, we know it’s worth saving, it’s worth people learning about it.”
Even though Gregoire has explored the Agassiz Trail many times, he says there’s always something new to discover.
“This is what’s great about the outdoors and being out just on any hiking trail in general, that you never know the wildlife that you’re going to come across when we’re talking about more terrestrial wildlife, like mammals, that you never know you can see moving or birds flying by.”
The prairie is especially vibrant during the summer months, bursting with plant life.
“Into July, August, this is when it absolutely just explodes with life,” he says. “You can come every few days, walk the exact same path, and notice different species. The diversity of plant species on the preserve is just phenomenal.”
Gregoire adds that unlike hikes with a specific destination in mind, prairie walks are about appreciating the details.
“It’s really about walking slowly, noticing your surroundings, being a part of it, noticing all the little species that are in bloom.”
Some plants are so small and close to the ground that they can easily be missed without a careful pace.
“When you go at a slower pace it is when you’ll really start to appreciate it. I like to always take a minute, just be kind of silent, quiet, listen to the bird life, listen to the wind blowing through the grass and the leaves on the aspen trees, and that’s really when you can start getting some pretty meaningful experiences in the prairie and in nature in general.”
The event is scheduled for Saturday, July 5 at 10:30 a.m. at the Weston Family Tall Grass Prairie Interpretive Centre.
Protecting at-risk birds through Citizen Science
Gregoire encourages those interested in conservation to take part in the Canadian Nightjar Survey, run by Birds Canada.
“The Canadian Nightjar Survey is essentially Citizen Science, folks like me and you, going out and keeping track of two species at risk that we have in our area, the Common Nighthawk and also the Eastern Whippoorwill.”
He says that it is simpler than it sounds, as you just drive your route, listen for bird calls, and record what you hear using an app.
“If you hear something, you jot it down. If you don’t, you jot that down. You keep track of other things like environmental factors like wind speed, rain, this and that and then at the end of the day, you send that in and that’s going to go to ornithologists or biologists.”
The idea is that, over time, researchers can use this data to track changes in species populations.
“This is really, really important because, you know, all these science folks can only do so much and they can only be on in the field so much as well. So, if we’re able to help out doing these citizen science programs, then that can really help show some great data for them to use.”
For more information on the event or how to get involved in the survey, you can reach out to Norm Gregoire at 204-408-6166 or info@sharedlegacymb.ca.
With files from Carly Koop