Author: greenraven

September 30, 2026

On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day, I donated 24 organic apples that my Dad and I had picked recently from our place near the Saugeen-Bruce Peninsula and a gift of sacred tobacco from the Jocko Bay First Nation when we had recently come from a canoe trip along Chiniguchi and Wolf Lakes and sweetgrass from Tobermory and Manitoulin Island after we had visited Flowerpot Island. I also I met and said Aani-Hello to and Miigwetch-thanked several people including a man who welcomed me that I gave sweetgrass to and a young native woman I bought a beaded TMNT Michelangelo from and I offered an abalone shell to. I also painted a rock orange, thanked one of the trees in the park and felt very grateful and appreciative over the half hour. I’d also like to reflect that I learned a new-to-me phrase near Jocko Bay and Lake Nipissing that I would hope to have the chance to use moving forward; We-Dook-A-Da-Min in Anishnaabe, which is said to mean “We help each other”.

There is a naturalized area with trees and wildflowers behind a local school and on a pathway along the Don River watershed but which also has invasive species including dog-strangling vine and litter that I plan to now help remove and remediate – such that I removed about three dozen DSV invasive plants with seed pods and about six pounds of mostly plastic litter from the schoolyard and public park area and stream system.

I also deposited six hard copy books I’d read into two different local lending libraries before heading home for the day.

October 2, 2026

Just visited Michael Garron and donated 16 stuffed animals from the gift shop to children and adult patients in need. A woman operating the shop said she felt touched by this especially in that no one had come in to make a donation to directly benefit the people in-hospital as such in more than a year to her knowledge.

I was also able to help provide 3 loaves of challah bread and 4 hearty chicken sandwiches from a local bakery to needy individuals along Danforth Avenue. It felt especially nice when two guys were grateful and happy to receive a couple of the sandwiches and when several women were more than happy to receive three loaves of bread to help a larger group.

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Dear City of Toronto and Toronto Region Conservation Authority,

I have recently noticed that there is one of the largest, one of the healthiest, one of the most intact and undisturbed wetlands and forest area near the former Ontario Science Centre and in E.T. Seton Park. It would add alarming insult to begrieved injury, if in addition to removing access to scientific educational material and exponentially building up tall condo buildings in an area not designed for such massive expanded capacity that because of poor planning this wetland area became far more polluted with litter because of an unanticipated lack of planning. I am hoping that there will be more protections around the pond that enable people to clearly see the beautiful open water space and the wildlife within as well as improvements to the path and more maintenance. This special space should be deeply appreciated and protected not distinctly befouled with garbage and litter from the new 50 tall condominium buildings in the immediate radius and area.

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Please enjoy exploring and learning about nature from my new video series: Connecting to Nature: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCtdAcfq90o4 . Connecting to Nature is a video series that I have recently produced to help people connect with nature, including places to explore and learn from, natural areas that inspire, provide tranquility, peace of mind, appreciation with beautiful and wonderful landscapes, natural systems that support important weather conditions mitigation, biodiversity, fascinating wildlife and reasons to take interest in learning more about the environment and nature. This series is also intended as an environmental education and access to nature – nurturing interest in nature resource at a time where there are cutbacks to funding for schools, academic budgets as well as cutbacks to environmental education, environmental learning centers, control and restructuring of environmental permits and conservation authorities and increasing sprawl, human impacts and resource extraction. Connecting to Nature is a learning resource and a way for teachers to discover places to take field trips to, for home learners to have additional resources and places to visit, appreciate and learn from, for people in retirement homes to enjoy or for environmental groups to share for interested constituent audiences.

Locations include: E.T. Seton Park in Toronto, Downsview Park in Toronto, G. Ross Lord Park in Toronto, Colonel Sam Smith Park in Etobicoke, LaSalle Park in Burlington, Homer Watson Park and the Grand River in Kitchener, Minesing Wetlands in Simcoe County, McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve in Oshawa and Cranberry Marsh in Whitby. Please help support these free environmental education resources with a positive review or by sharing.

The Connecting to Nature Environmental Education – encouraging interest in nature series is also available though my YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCtdAcfq90o4 and are also posted on Green Raven Photography’s new Video webpage: https://greenravenphotography.com/videos/

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Currently, impacts from increasingly severe weather, pollution, water quality, wildfires, flooding, sprawl, disturbance and litter from infrastructure and commercial construction, traffic, stress, biodiversity decline, loss of access to nature, habitat and ecosystem loss are at the top-of-mind for many Ontarians concerned about the environment.

Environmental health and the integrity of natural systems have been undermined and figuratively under attack by the provincial government itself as well as also to the degree the government is influenced by apathetic wealthy third parties.

In 2012, Bill 55 proposed changes to significantly weaken the Endangered Species Act. In 2020, Ontario’s government enabled Ministers Zoning Orders which allows ministers to zone land for particular purposes without notice or public consult.

Though environments in Ontario are facing damaging and unprecedented challenges. Community members can help to pick up litter in their neighbourhoods, remove invasive noxious plants, protect natural areas of their own or support community and environmental groups. Communities and municipalities too can volunteer or work together ad hoc to help the environment, with invasive species and litter removal, habitat restoration or dedicating and planning work to protected natural areas in community neighbourhoods and municipalities.

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During the Toronto CBC day, I bumped into a member of the Toronto Ornithological Club who I spoke with along the trail where there were flocks of goldeneye and long-tailed ducks. He mentioned that a king eider had been spotted nearby recently. Interestingly, the king eider has been flocking with the long-tailed ducks in an area normally closed-off to the public, because it is a cormorant and breeding bird nesting space. Fortunately, at the exact time I also happened to visit an Ontario Field Ornithologists tour group led by ornithologist Mark Peck also happened to be visiting the site, so I had the chance to go into an area normally not accessible to the public and saw a king eider in Lake Ontario’s open waters.

This king eider, is normally a far north specialist, and like it would eat in its typical habitat, I had the chance to see it diving for and eating mussels. Albeit, I think it was likely eating zebra and quagga mussels and I wondered how much additional botulism it was consuming here, compared to the healthier and diverse range of mussels native to its habitat.

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From 2000 to 2025, I have enjoyed and profoundly appreciated the wonderful opportunity to provide public-facing photography, learn more about photography, hone my photography techniques and both finesse my photography and make helpful use of my maintained and curated photography portfolio to help protect the environment including vital habitat and natural systems, craft beautiful works of artistry as well as providing influential inspiration and meaningful messaging.

My mission statement has remained consistent since I launched Green Raven Photography and GreenRavenPhotography.com (online since 2006); Noah Cole of Green Raven Photography travels across Canada and across borders to show images of nature, wilderness and human impact on the environment as seen through the lens.  

While I am especially proud of publishing my book, Ontario Wildlife Photography, in 2021, with about 500 copies sold now, I am also deeply appreciative of the cherished success of my photography shows and of my published work with Ontario Nature and ON Nature magazine that have objectively helped to protect the environment.

A glance at the history of my experience in photography includes being published in and volunteering for The Ontarion, The University of Guelph’s Independent Student Newspaper when I began my studies at The University of Guelph in 2000. In 2003, I had the chance to launch my first photography show at Guelph’s White Wall Gallery. I’d also like to offer deep appreciation for the people whose art, perspectives and talent I have directly learned from including Michael French, Cylla VonTiedemann, Freeman Patterson, and Andrea Kucherawy of the Western Academy of Photography. Here are some further listings of my photography shows;

Gallery 1313 (Toronto, ON), May 2026

Wetlands and Wildlife

Gladstone Hotel (Toronto, ON), November – December 2014,

Summer in the Arctic

Out/Aut Gallery of Contemporary Art (Toronto, ON), November – December 2010,

As Far North, In Ontario, As the Road Travels

Campbell House Museum (Toronto, ON),November – December 2008,

Images from Atlantic Canada

Steamwhistle Brewery (Toronto, ON), January – February 2007,

Images from The Art of Land Protection. Atlantic Canada.

www.GreenRavenPhotography.com,Online since 2006

Green Raven Photography, Canadian Nature and Travel photography

Gallery 1313 (Toronto, ON), November 2006

The Art of Land Protection; Ontario’s ecologically important areas from Algonquin to Quetico

UpCountry, Art101 (Toronto, ON), May – July 2006

Visions of Haida Gwaii; a portfolio of images from my excursion to the Queen Charlotte Islands.

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