By Anushka Yadav, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Pointer “Conservation authorities face a practical question: do we need to pay for expensive high-resolution satellite imagery, or can free imagery do the job?,” Toronto and Region Conservation Authority Senior Manager of Ecosystem & Climate Science, Jonathan Ruppert, wondered. Nearly two years ago, Ruppert along with four other researchers set out to one of Brampton’s most ecologically important nature preserves to get an answer to that question at a time when conservationists across Ontario are increasingly being asked to do more with less. Nature’s sponges—wetlands—sit at the edge of subdivisions and highways, connecting land and aquatic ecosystems while filtering water, storing carbon and protecting communities from flooding. Yet, they are among the first ecosystems threatened as Ontario’s relentless urban growth consumes more…
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