Welcome to the Shrew blog. Here we will update you from time to time on natural happenings and observations of interest, post instructional videos, report on our field trips and projects, and let you know about some of our upcoming events.
Shrew Solutions Inc. was formed in 2012 as an “umbrella” for the various types of biological/research work that I (Doug McRae) had been doing for years in a less formal manner. In fact, for the past four decades I have worked with the natural world through various research studies, during contract biology and consulting, and in guiding birding trips for both Field Guides Inc. — a large Texas-based birding tour company — and privately for interested parties. But the overall mission has always been to connect people with nature.
It became clear over time that more was possible, especially in the area of increasing our understanding and enjoyment of nature through field trips and workshops, and by working with private landowners who love their properties and want to know more about the plants and animals that live there.
I am a firm believer that the only way we will ever achieve some kind of forward momentum for better environmental protection is through people having a better understanding of its importance. Essentially, it matters when it becomes personal. However, between regular stints working in remote field camps on the James and Hudson Bay coasts and frantically-paced biological monitoring jobs in the May–July time window, I always found it hard to get everything done that I wanted to do.
Late in 2019 I came up with a brilliant solution. I brought on two extremely talented and resourceful naturalist friends, Andrea Kingsley and Ian Shanahan, to the Shrew crew to help build Shrew into a stronger conservation/education force. Both are enormously talented and have years of experience in this line of work. Over the winter we made plans and designed a great program of spring field trips and workshops. Then Covid-19 hit and brought that plan to a screeching halt. We have designed a summer-fall program that we hope to run as soon as we get the OK to go outside in small groups. Some of these field trips are up on the website now and more will be added in the coming weeks, so please check them out. Fortunately, because it is largely solitary work, we are still permitted to do biological monitoring. We are doing biological inventories on several private properties for interested landowners and are eager to do more.
So it would seem that rolling out an expanded program during a pandemic was maybe not the best timing, but we are very keen to help you learn and appreciate nature more fully, and are chomping at the bit to get going as soon as it is safe. In the meantime, we can help you with learning more about your property if you are interested — just give us a call to discuss.
On behalf of Andrea, Ian, and myself, we wish you the very best in these worrisome times, and hope that you can find some comfort in knowing that nature's processes are still going on around us and enjoy the beautiful rejuvenation that comes with spring.
-DM