Following breadcrumbs, and other methods to preserve the natural world

Willy Waterton and Audrey Armstrong have been following breadcrumbs for years.

Unlike the dry crust Hansel crumbled to find his way out of the dark forest in the famous tale by the Brothers Grimm, Willy and Audrey follow theirs deep into the wilds of the Bruce Peninsula. 

For two years, even in the lonely days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the husband and wife team trekked through thick cover to find and photograph all the orchid species that come to life in Bruce Grey. The search for these brilliant blooms—considered the most evolutionarily advanced flowering plants—took them through swamps, bogs and thick forest; over cratered logging roads and across the pristine shorelines of Georgian Bay; and from common spots like roadside ditches, to seldom charted, secret locations deep within Bruce National Park.

The mission involved more than 6,000 kilometres of travel by car, 144 on foot, 75 by boat, and 33 by canoe which generated over 4,000 photographs. 

Why did they do it?

On the surface, it’s about the final product. A 137-page guide that is now the definitive resource for the famously mysterious plant in the orchid capital of North America. The Saugeen Bruce Peninsula, with 47 species of these often elusive, obsession inspiring plants (there are 49 total across Bruce Grey) might represent the richest diversity of orchids anywhere on the continent. The previous guide was out of print and had not been updated since 2012. 

The work by Willy, Audrey and the team at the Owen Sound Field Naturalists (OSFN) represents the first major revision since 1997. 

It was also about shared passion. 

The pair are both founding members of the OSFN over 30 years ago and have a similar affinity for the outdoors. The desire for adventure has led them to traverse the Bruce Trail, navigate the Arctic waterways of the Northwest Passage and explore the awesome vastness of Greenland. 

Willy is a retired photojournalist, who spent 35 years with the Owen Sound Sun Times. Self-taught, he worked his way up to become the newspaper’s chief photographer. More than a hundred photos framed by his keen eye won provincial and national awards, and he was named the Ontario Newspaper Photographers Association Photographer of the Year in 1990. 

Documenting the hypnotizing orchids was certainly a passion project for him. Many of the images were snapped on his iPhone. The seasoned shooter, who oversaw the transition from black and white film, to colour, to eventually digital at the newspaper, sees the camera phone as the latest evolution of his craft. He now teaches a class in cell phone photography. 

But the journey became about more than just the book for the pair. 

Along the way they have come to appreciate that their ongoing work is about conservation, preservation and awareness—about documenting what Willy calls “a slice of time and place”, information which can help inform efforts to appreciate and protect the environment in its current state. Climate change and the biodiversity crisis are the opposing sides of a vice pressing on wildlife across the globe, squeezing so tightly that a large portion of the world's animal and plant species are expected to disappear; or have their habitats be drastically altered should temperatures continue to rise, shifting seasons and rendering landscapes. 

The changes are already impacting orchids. 

A chapter in the book addresses this. It could be deadly depending on how drastic the shifts in temperature and precipitation become. The impact on the insects they rely on for pollination will determine the future for orchids. 

For Audrey, a seasoned naturalist and retired elementary school teacher, passing knowledge down to the next generation is critically important. Even if it means trudging through waist deep bogs to gather it. 

Over her 32 years as a teacher she incorporated the incredible story of the monarch butterfly’s impossible life cycle into her teachings and now leads tagging workshops. Exposing children to these magnificent creatures that travel incredible distances on wings thinner than tissue paper, they can watch as tiny markers are placed to track their awe inspiring journey from Mexico’s Sierra Madres to central Ontario.

“It is something that is very powerful,” she says.

Finally, it’s about leaving breadcrumbs for the next generation. If it weren’t for those who came before them, Willy and Audrey would have been lost in their efforts to create this new, critical resource. 

Notes from past naturalists, hand drawn maps, photos and charts, much of it prepared by citizen naturalists just like themselves, were vital to help the pair locate many of the incredibly rare flowers that are documented in the book.

Because of their delicate state, and the desire of many to uproot these blooms and transplant them into their own gardens, the locations of the unique plants are well-kept secrets in Bruce. 

Without the work of past naturalists like them, many of these locations would have been lost or forgotten. In one of the fastest growing parts of Ontario, forgetting the location of a rare species means it could easily be paved over. 

In a journal-like feature published in On the Bay magazine, Willy wrote about the profound moment when discovering one of these flowers—the eastern prairie-fringed orchid—and the realization that struck him.

“Each blossom has a jasmine-like fragrance that intensifies as the night falls, attracting their hawk moth pollinators,” he writes. “Photographing such a rare plant, as the fragrance filled the air, made me realize what an incredible place this is and how important it is to protect habitat and educate the public about the Saugeen Bruce Peninsula’s delicate environment.”

So important, that they’ve agreed to do it all over again.

This time, the pair set out to document one of the most ancient forms of life, something that has been around for about 360 million years—for context, the dinosaurs went extinct about 66 million years ago. 

This time, Willy and Audrey set out to celebrate the humble fern.

The eastern prairie-fringed orchid is an endangered species in Ontario. Willy Waterton and Audrey Armstrong documented these plants in a secret location deep inside Bruce Peninsula National Park.

(Willy Waterton)

The moss-covered walls of rock push in on either side. Leaves crunch underfoot, releasing the earthy scent of the forest with each step. The thin corridor of rock is a branch breaking off from the famous Bruce Trail which opens on a wide valley of towering red oaks and fragrant birch trees. The forest floor is a green tapestry of ferns, their fronds bursting from the earth like leafy fireworks frozen in time.

A shoestring path of compacted dirt loops below a wall of rock. The crag is 20-feet tall and alive with flora. 

Mosses, lichens and other leafy greens cling to the rocky surface in thick patches that look deep enough to swallow a person’s entire arm. 

We approach the rock and Audrey’s fingers delicately remove a long, thin leaf, shaped like a spade on a deck of cards, but with a much longer point. 

The plant has roots coiled into the carpet of moss, two species supporting one another. 

It’s symbiotic, and also a symbol of the persistence and resilience of the fern. 

It starts with a seed smaller than a peppercorn falling to the earth. A tiny brown dot packed with all the genetic material to gestate in a bed of soil and create a brilliantly symmetrical fern. It rolls down dead leaves and over roots, but instead of landing on the forest floor and nestling into the soft, wet loam the colour of dark chocolate, it takes an odd bounce and ends up in the crack of a rock. As inhospitable a place as any, but somehow, that tiny spore finds enough water and nutrients to not just survive, but thrive.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer)

For over a year now, Willy and Audrey have been working to document these plants and their rich diversity on the Bruce Peninsula, which is home to 70 percent of the fern species found in Ontario.

The duo move along, their eyes glued to the ground. This is not one of their secret locations, but they think they’ve spotted something rare nonetheless. Of the 59 species of ferns in Bruce Grey, nine of them are hybrids, meaning two different ferns have bred, leading to genetic shifting and mutation at the cellular level to form a completely new species. 

Audrey, who knows these plants down to their minutest of details, parts the leafy fronds of a fern bursting from the forest floor. She’s careful not to damage the plant. Flipping it over, small brown spores cling to the underside. Willy leans in, brow furrowed, eyes studying. 

The genetic code of these plants stretches back centuries, Audrey says, bending closer to examine the spellbindingly symmetrical geometry of the leaf pinched in her fingers.

It could be one of the hybrid species they’re looking for. 

Spores, called sori, cling to the underside of a fern leaf on the Bruce Trail. These tiny seeds are how ferns reproduce.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer) 

Beneath a canopy glowing green with diffused sunlight, the pair study the plant and its patterns closer, fingers plying lightly over the pinna (the leafy parts). 

Are they twice divided? Thrice?

Is it a fertile frond?

Are there sori clinging underneath (the tiny spore packets that many ferns use to reproduce)?

They consult iNaturalist for more context, but can’t find anything definitive. 

Though they remain unconvinced it is the rare variant they are searching for, Willy decides to photograph it anyway. With a black board, umbrella and tripod, he lightly bends the frond to lay flat against his backdrop. With scientific precision, he documents the flayed expanse of leaves, then snaps a close-up of the thin veins running inside the green skin. 

Willy Waterton and Audrey Armstrong documenting a fern as part of the work to update a field guide dedicated to these plants in Bruce and Grey counties.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer)

The love and respect the couple show these plants is visible in their slow movements, light steps, hushed words. The plant is not harmed during its brief photo shoot, and the area is left undisturbed as they make their way back to the thin corridor of rock that led us here. 

At the natural entryway, Willy stops again. 

“Look at this!” he exclaims. 

A large fern sits rooted to the top of the chest-high rock. A thick coil of root, like a muscular forearm, is punched through the earth and rock, laying flat across it. 

Willy runs his hand over the root; a powerline carrying water and nutrients to the green fronds. The exposed roots are dense, unmoving to the touch, like braided rope. 

“Amazing,” Audrey breathes, running her hand lightly over the earth. 

Willy Waterton and his wife Audrey Armstrong have dedicated years of their lives to documenting and preserving the natural world.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer)

Back in their home office, documents and charts are spread across the bed. 

These are the breadcrumbs. 

The skeleton key that led them to many of the ferns they needed to document for the updated field guide. Some of the crinkled, marked up pages are handwritten, others look like they’ve been tapped out on a typewriter. A few examples from July 1989: 

• Ostrich fern, Low, wet area near Black cottage foundation
• Christmas fern, Slightly further south, behind brick house
• Common polypody (usually grows at top of rocks, thus a.k.a. Rock-cap), Walk into large crevice at base of cliff face, south of trail to top 

Willy and Audrey relied on notes like these, spanning decades, many of them from esteemed naturalist Nels Maher. His meticulous documentation and encyclopedic knowledge was why Nels—who became known as the “Fern Man”—and his wife Jean were recognized across North America for their ability to locate the most elusive of ferns and other rare plants on the Bruce Peninsula. Sadly, Nels passed away in 2005, Jean, in her 90th year, died in 2023. Just a month before her death, she joined other members of the OSFN Plant Committee for photos and to celebrate the launch for the 5th edition of the Bruce & Grey Vascular Plant List. 

The invaluable work of Nels and Jean Maher to document ferns and other plants along the Bruce Peninsula helped Willy and Audrey in their efforts to locate and photograph 50 species of ferns.

(Image courtesy of Willy Waterton)

While the loss of the dedicated couple was a blow to the naturalist community in Bruce County, their expertise lives on in the documentation they left behind. 

Similar gold mines of information assisted Willy and Audrey during their previous expedition to draft the orchid guide.

In one instance, when searching for the northern tubercled orchid, the notes and hand-sketched maps from a decade prior were able to lead them to a single flowering plant deep inside the 8,094 hectare Bruce County swamp.

“Having grown up in this area and having worked at the newspaper for 35 years, I’m not boasting, but there really wasn’t a road I hadn’t driven on here over the years,” Willy says. His family has deep roots in the area dating back to the 1840s. There’s even a creek bearing his family’s name. But working on these projects has taken him into the heart of these watersheds he’s traversed for so long, resulting in a new level of appreciation for the delicate ecosystems in the area. “We got into some really cool places,” he says. 

Willy and Audrey venture into a bog searching for ferns.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer) 

But many of these locations could experience the same urban pressures that have severely degraded many of the watersheds in the Greater Toronto Area.

According to the 2021 Census, the population of Northern Bruce Peninsula has grown by 10.1 percent since 2016. That’s nearly double the provincial average of 5.8 percent and national average of 5.2. Over the same time period, the number of private dwellings increased 14.1 percent. 

The root of a lot of this growth can be traced back to COVID-19. The changes to work culture that resulted from pandemic lockdowns, with a lot of companies realizing employees can work from home, led to an explosion in growth in many municipalities within a two-hour radius of Toronto. The natural beauty of Bruce Grey, especially the desirable parts of the peninsula, was a draw for many.

“The pressure from cottage development along there is just mindboggling,” Willy says. “These are not small cottages, they’re mansions…That is a huge issue.”

Thankfully, the provincial and national parks, along with the Bruce Trail Conservancy—which is one of Ontario’s largest land trusts, preserving hundreds of acres of natural land annually—serve as a barrier to intense urban growth.

During the research and fieldwork, there were still reminders of what’s at stake as urban growth creeps in. 

Following the previous notes and maps to the potential location of a rare flower near Sauble Beach, Willy and Audrey found themselves in a new subdivision, the previous home of the plant replaced by pavement and expensive homes.

Ferns have been sprouting on Earth for over 360 million years. Urban growth and climate change could soon be putting new pressures on these incredible plants.

(Joel Wittnebel/The Pointer)

As of November 14th, the updated guide to ferns in Bruce and Grey is now available through the website of the OSFN.

Audrey has worked tirelessly as part of the OSFN’s Publications Committee to this point—the team met once a week throughout the winter months of the pandemic, over Zoom, to organize the orchid book. This was arguably the easy part. She had to undergo a full sequence of antibiotics for Lyme disease during the fieldwork for the orchid book after finding a fully engorged black-legged tick on her shoulder. The couple also had a run-in with a massasauga rattlesnake, which made itself known with its distinct buzzing. They’re known as “buzz worms” because they don’t rattle like typical rattlesnakes. Thankfully the buzzing was the only action the snake took. 

The fern guide is the result of a team of people coming together to produce an invaluable resource, she says. 

“Looking around in our community we do see a lot of young people who're interested in the environment and interested in making a change.”

What that change could be is now in the hands of those interested in picking up the books and going out to search for these plants themselves. 

It could be life-changing. 

The story goes that famed naturalist John Muir, who went on to found the Sierra Club, was initially pursuing a career in medicine, but completely changed his life trajectory after encountering the calypso orchid. 

“I never before saw a plant so full of life; so perfectly spiritual, it seemed pure enough for the throne of its Creator,” Muir wrote. “I felt as if I were in the presence of superior beings who loved me and beckoned me to come, I sat down beside them and wept for joy. Could angels in their better land show us a more beautiful plant?” 

The calypso orchid.

(Willy Waterton)

For Willy, the value of these two books as vital signposts increases when he thinks about his grandchildren, and the world they will inhabit. 

“My god, they’re going to be alive that much further away from now, and how much is going to change?,” he says. “This document is a slice of time and place, so for two years we looked for the orchids and this year for the ferns…which will allow people in the future to look back and see what was here at that time…That’s really, really important or otherwise it gets lost.”

But that changing world does not have to be for the worse. 

Climate change is an existential threat to us all, but with action and optimism, the worst can be avoided. And who knows what new discoveries could come along to change our perceptions of these issues, or the natural world. 

Willy points out that the overwintering grounds for the monarch butterfly in the branches of a small circle of oyamel fir trees on the side of a dozen or so closely clustered mountain areas in the Mexican Sierra Madres were only discovered in 1975—which in the grand scheme, is not that long ago. To boot, approximately 18,000 new species are found on Earth every single year. 

“There’s still this amazing magic,” Willy says. “So much to be discovered.”

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