I'm an amateur field naturalist in the Ottawa area involved in a number of volunteer environmental organizations. I also sit on the board of a conservation authority. One primary interest is preserving the Carp Hills, a candidate provincial and regional Life Science ANSI that is threatened by Ottawa's expanding urban boundary. I initiated the Carp Hills Bio-Inventory project to document the bio-diversity of the Hills across its many habitats: Canadian Shield rock barrens, beaver ponds, fens, bogs, marshes, pine forests, and mesic forests in scattered areas underlain by marble. I am always learning and appreciate any feedback or corrections.