The Jardin botanique is delighted to announce that it has received a gift of three remarkable specimens of North American bonsai and a magnificent penjing. These miniature trees, fashioned with love by their generous donor, David Johnson, perfectly exemplify both the beauties of this timeless art and the expertise developed by their owner.

30 years of passion… and generosity!

David Johnson has a vast collection of bonsai and penjing, some of which have already been displayed at the National Bonsai Exhibition in Rochester, New York. He is a past President of the Toronto Bonsai Society and has given workshops, written many articles and organized tours of collections over the years. He has long been connected with the Jardin botanique de Montréal and with a wide network of artists and amateurs who share his enthusiasm.

A gift to be admired

Two of the North American bonsai donated by Mr. Johnson are already on display in the #bonsai courtyard of the Frédéric Back Tree Pavilion:

• cascading Thai occidentalis– about 205 years old
• Picea sp. – Picea glauca – 105 years old

Two others will be added to the garden’s North American bonsai collection: a Pinus strobus (about 100 years old) and a Betula nana penjing (about 25 years old).

You can watch a report on Mr. Johnson’s work on Global News

From July 16 to 30, 2018

Mercury, now fainter and fainter, vanishes in the glow of sunset during the third week of July. The tiny planet passes between Earth and the sun (inferior conjunction) on August 8 and gradually reappears at dawn a couple of weeks later.

Venus is the bright Evening Star that pierces the colours of twilight in the west, as soon as the sky begins to darken in the minutes after sunset. Venus is still pulling away from the Sun, but its orbit is tilting down on the horizon: as a consequence, Venus now sets less than two hours after our daytime star. At dusk on August 14, the lunar crescent hangs 6 degrees above Venus: with binoculars, admire the earthshine that dimly lights the otherwise dark section of the lunar disc. The scene becomes truly magnificent when the sky darkens, 30 to 45 minutes after sunset.

Mars is at opposition on July 27, which means it’s closer to Earth, larger and brighter than at any time in the past 15 years; for a few weeks, it even outshines bright Jupiter. Mars emerges above the southeast horizon at dusk, culminates around 1:30 a.m., barely 19 degrees high in the south, and vanishes in the southwest at dawn. Mars is presently performing its retrograde loop: until late August, it is moving westward (toward the right) with respect to the background stars. During the night of July 26 to 27 and 27 to 28, the full moon will shine near the Red Planet.

Jupiter appears above the south-southwest horizon during evening twilight and spends the rest of the evening slowly descending toward the west-southwest horizon where it vanishes after midnight. The waxing gibbous Moon shines 3 ½ degrees above Jupiter on the evening of July 20.

Saturn appears during evening twilight above the south-southeast horizon, culminates around 11 p.m. about 22 degrees high in the south, and then gradually descends toward the southwest horizon where it vanishes after 3 a.m. During the night of July 24 to 25, the waxing gibbous moon approaches within one degree from the ringed planet.

Five Canadian researchers, including Associate Professor Étienne Laliberté from the Institut de recherche en biologie végétale (IRBV), an Espace pour la vie partner located on the grounds of the Jardin botanique, will be studying changes in plant biodiversity across Canada as part of a very special project by the Canadian Airborne Biodiversity Observatory (CABO), using emerging spectranomics technology.

The data collected will make it possible to monitor the distribution of invasive species, changes in land use and the composition of plant communities. This revolutionary approach, led by the

Université de Montréal, will change the way plant biodiversity data are collected in Canada and around the world!

Spectranomics has enormous potential, since it uses hyperspectral sensors mounted on aircraft or unmanned drones that give researchers access to inaccessible, remote regions with a wealth of different species. Its high-resolution images are nearly as detailed as ground-based inventories, but cover much larger areas.

A timely $4 million grant

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada has awarded funding of $1 million per year over four years to support this innovative collaborative research project. This generous assistance will help Canada position itself as a world leader in biodiversity and conservation science!

From July 30 to August 13, 2018

In August, four planets are visible at twilight between the west and southeast. Appearing from right to left are Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. The Moon is also part of the scene from the 13^th to 23^rd; on August 14, the crescent Moon hangs a few degrees above Venus. Catch all five in a single viewing about 40 minutes after sunset in the colourful twilight sky; Venus is the first to sink below the horizon soon thereafter.

Mercury is presently too close to the Sun and is not observable. The tiny planet passes between Earth and the Sun (inferior conjunction) on August 8 and gradually reappears at dawn a couple of weeks later.

Venus is the bright Evening Star that pierces through the colours of twilight in the west, as soon as the sky begins to darken minutes after sunset. Venus is still pulling away from the Sun, but its orbit is tilting down on the horizon: as a consequence, Venus now sets less than two hours after our daytime star. At dusk on August 14, the lunar crescent hangs 6 degrees above Venus: with binoculars, admire the earthshine that dimly lights the otherwise dark section of the lunar disc. The scene becomes truly magnificent when the sky darkens, 30 to 45 minutes after sunset.

Mars was at opposition on July 27, which means it’s presently closer to Earth, larger and brighter than at any time in the past 15 years; for a few weeks, it even outshines bright Jupiter. Mars appears low in the southeast at dusk, culminates just after midnight barely 18 degrees high in the south, and vanishes in the southwest at dawn. Mars is presently performing its retrograde loop: until late August, it is moving westward (toward the right) with respect to the background stars. During the night of August 22 to 23 and 23 to 24, the waxing gibbous moon will shine near the Red Planet.

Jupiter appears above the southwest horizon during evening twilight and spends the rest of the evening slowly descending toward the west-southwest horizon where it vanishes before midnight. The waxing Moon will appear near Jupiter on the evenings of August 16 and 17.

Saturn appears during evening twilight above the south-southeast horizon, culminates around 10 p.m. about 22 degrees high in the south, and then gradually descends toward the southwest horizon where it vanishes after 1 a.m. During the night of August 20 to 21, the waxing gibbous moon shines a few degrees to the right of the ringed planet.

From August 13 to 27, 2018

In August, four planets are visible at twilight between the west and southeast. Appearing from right to left are Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. The Moon is also part of the scene from the 13^th to 23^rd; on August 14, the crescent Moon hangs a few degrees above Venus. Catch all five in a single viewing about 40 minutes after sunset in the colourful twilight sky; Venus is the first to sink below the horizon soon thereafter.

Mercury passed between Earth and the Sun (inferior conjunction) on August 8 and gradually reappears after August 20. Look for the tiny planet low in the east-northeast, 45 minutes before sunrise. Mercury becomes much brighter — and easier to see — in the last days of August and during the first week of September.

Venus is the bright Evening Star that pierces through the colours of twilight in the west-southwest, as soon as the sky begins to darken minutes after sunset. Venus is presently at greatest elongation from the Sun, but the inclination of its orbit keeps the planet close to the horizon during evening twilight: as a consequence, Venus now sets less than 1 ½ hours after our daytime star. At dusk on August 14, the lunar crescent hangs 6 degrees above Venus: with binoculars, admire the earthshine that dimly lights the otherwise dark section of the lunar disc. The scene becomes truly magnificent when the sky darkens, 30 to 45 minutes after sunset.

Mars was at opposition on July 27, and it’s presently closer to Earth, larger and brighter than at any time in the past 15 years; for a few more weeks, it even outshines bright Jupiter. Mars appears low in the southeast at dusk, culminates around 11 p.m. barely 18 degrees high in the south, and sets in the southwest around 3 a.m. Mars is presently performing its retrograde loop: until late August, it is moving westward (toward the right) with respect to the background stars. During the night of August 22 to 23 and 23 to 24, the waxing gibbous moon will shine near the Red Planet.

Jupiter appears above the southwest horizon during evening twilight and spends the rest of the evening slowly descending toward the west-southwest horizon where it vanishes before 11 p.m. The waxing Moon will appear near Jupiter on the evenings of August 16 and 17.

Saturn appears during evening twilight about 22 degrees high in the south, and then gradually descends toward the southwest horizon where it vanishes around 1 a.m. During the night of August 20 to 21, the waxing gibbous moon shines a few degrees to the right of the ringed planet.

From August 27 to September 10, 2018

In September, four planets are visible at twilight between the southwest and southeast. Appearing from right to left are Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. The Moon is also part of the scene from the 12^th to 19^th. Catch all of them in a single viewing during early twilight, about 20 to 40 minutes after sunset. But don’t wait: Venus is already very low on the horizon and the first to set.

Mercury is very bright at the moment and is visible at dawn until around September 10. In late August and early September, look for the tiny planet low in the east-northeast, 45 to 60 minutes before sunrise. But Mercury’s elongation from the Sun is decreasing rapidly, and during the second week of September, the tiny planet is only visible against a much brighter sky, 20 to 30 minutes before sunrise. On the morning of September 8, the thin crescent moon hangs 6 degrees above Mercury.

Venus is the bright Evening Star that pierces through the colours of twilight in the west-southwest, as soon as the sky begins to darken minutes after sunset. Presently, Venus is nearly at greatest elongation from the Sun, but the inclination of its orbit keeps the planet very close to the horizon during evening twilight: as a consequence, Venus now sets less than 75 minutes after our daytime star. At dusk on September 12, the lunar crescent hangs 9 degrees above Venus: with binoculars, admire the earthshine that dimly lights the otherwise dark section of the lunar disc. The scene becomes truly magnificent when the sky darkens, 30 to 45 minutes after sunset.

Mars was at opposition on July 27. The Red Planet is now receding from Earth, but it remains closer to us and appears larger and brighter than during any other opposition since 2003; at the moment, it even outshines bright Jupiter! Mars appears low in the southeast at dusk, culminates around 10 p.m. barely 18 degrees high in the south, and sets in the southwest around 2 a.m. Mars ends its retrograde loop on August 28, and returns to its direct motion, now moving eastward (toward the left) with respect to the background stars. During the night of September 19 to 20, the waxing gibbous moon will shine 4 degrees above the Red Planet.

Jupiter appears above the southwest horizon during evening twilight and spends the rest of the evening slowly descending toward the west-southwest horizon where it vanishes before 10 p.m. On the evening of September 13, the waxing crescent Moon will hang about 4 degrees from Jupiter.

Saturn appears during evening twilight about 22 degrees high in the south, and then gradually descends toward the southwest horizon where it vanishes around midnight. On the evening of September 17, the waxing gibbous moon shines 4 degrees to the left of the ringed planet.

From September 10 to 24, 2018

In September, four planets are visible at twilight between the west-southwest and south-southeast. Appearing from right to left are Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars. The Moon is also part of the scene from the 12^th to 19^th. Catch all of them in a single viewing during early twilight, about 20 to 40 minutes after sunset. But don’t wait: Venus is already very low on the horizon and the first to set.

Mercury is now too close to the Sun and is not visible. The tiny planet passes behind the Sun (superior conjunction) on September 20; it will emerge in October for what will be a very poor evening apparition for Northern Hemisphere observers.

Venus is the bright Evening Star that pierces through the colours of twilight, very low in the west-southwest as soon as the sky begins to darken after sunset. The angle between Venus and the Sun is now decreasing, and the inclination of its orbit keeps the planet very close to the horizon during evening twilight: as a consequence, Venus now sets less than an hour after our daytime star. Venus will completely vanish in the Sun’s glare by the end of the month. At dusk on September 12, the lunar crescent hangs 9 degrees above Venus: with binoculars, admire the earthshine that dimly lights the otherwise dark section of the lunar disc. The scene becomes truly magnificent when the sky darkens, 30 to 45 minutes after sunset.

Mars was at opposition on July 27. The Red Planet is now receding from Earth and slowly fading, but it remains a conspicuously bright object that appears low in the southeast at dusk, culminates around 9:30 p.m. barely 20 degrees high in the south, and sets in the southwest around 1:30 a.m. During the night of September 19 to 20, the waxing gibbous moon will shine 4 degrees above the Red Planet.

Jupiter appears during evening twilight about 15 degrees above the southwest horizon and spends the rest of the evening slowly descending toward the west-southwest horizon where it vanishes before 9 p.m. On the evening of September 13, the waxing crescent Moon will hang about 4 degrees from Jupiter.

Saturn appears during evening twilight about 22 degrees high in the south, and then gradually descends toward the southwest horizon where it vanishes around 11 p.m. On the evening of September 17, the waxing gibbous moon shines 4 degrees to the left of the ringed planet.

Between July 28 and August 5, everyone in Canada, the United States and Mexico was invited to take part in an International Monarch Monitoring Blitz to collect data on monarch butterflies. And what is really great is that the results are already available online, with an interactive map showing the exact location of monarch reproduction sites in the three countries, at a glance.

All in all, 486 people took part in the Blitz in 7 Canadian provinces, 16 Mexican states and 36 US states. A total of 53,588 milkweed plants were examined and 13,831 monarchs sighted. And we’re pleased to note that Canadians made a huge contribution. You can see the results in your region by clicking on the orange dots on the map.

This international Blitz is part of the Mission Monarch research project, which aims to save monarch butterflies with the help of the public. The data gathered will be used to give scientists a snapshot of the status of monarch populations all along their migratory corridor.

And even though the Blitz is over, Mission Monarch still needs your help! You can continue contributing data until mid-September, when the last monarchs usually leave the region for their long journey to Mexico.

For detailed results, see the press release from the Commission for Environmental Cooperation.

Mission Monarch:  http://espacepourlavie.ca/en/mission-monarch

From September 24 to October 8, 2018

Mercury is now too close to the Sun and is not visible. The tiny planet passed behind the Sun (superior conjunction) on September 20; it will begin in mid-October a very poor evening apparition for Northern Hemisphere observers.

Venus is visible with much difficulty in the glow of sunset, very low in the west-southwest 15 minutes after sunset. The bright planet will completely vanish in the Sun’s glare by the end of September. Venus passes between Earth and the Sun (inferior conjunction) on October 26 and will emerge in the dawn sky in early November.

Mars is receding from Earth since its opposition in late July. The Red Planet is also slowly fading, but it remains a conspicuously bright object: it appears low in the south-southeast at dusk, culminates around 9:00 p.m. some 22 degrees high in the south, and sets in the southwest around 1:00 a.m. During the evenings of October 17 and 18, the waxing gibbous moon will shine near the Red Planet.

Jupiter appears during evening twilight about 12 degrees above the southwest horizon and spends the rest of the evening slowly descending toward the west-southwest horizon where it vanishes around 8 p.m. On the evening of October 11, the waxing crescent Moon will hang 3 degrees above Jupiter.

Saturn appears during evening twilight about 20 degrees high in the south, and then gradually descends toward the southwest horizon where it vanishes before 10 p.m. On the evening of October 14, the waxing gibbous moon shines 2 degrees to the right of the ringed planet.

From October 8 to 22, 2018

Mercury begins after mid-October a very poor evening apparition for Northern Hemisphere observers. The tiny planet is visible with great difficulty very low in the west-southwest, 15 minutes after sunset. A perfectly clear horizon and the use of binoculars will be key to success in spotting Mercury in the lingering glow of sunset.

Venus is too close to the horizon at sunset and is not visible at the moment. Venus passes between Earth and the Sun (inferior conjunction) on October 26 and will emerge in the dawn sky in early November.

Mars is receding from Earth since its opposition in late July. The Red Planet is also slowly fading, but it remains a conspicuously bright object: it appears low in the south-southeast at dusk, culminates around 8:00 p.m. some 24 degrees high in the south, and sets in the southwest around 12:30 a.m. During the evenings of October 17 and 18, the waxing gibbous moon will shine near the Red Planet.

Jupiter appears during evening twilight less than 10 degrees above the southwest horizon and slowly descends toward the west-southwest horizon where it vanishes around 7 p.m. On the evening of October 11, the waxing crescent Moon will hang 3 degrees above Jupiter.

Saturn appears during evening twilight less than 20 degrees high in the south-southwest, and then gradually descends toward the southwest horizon where it vanishes after 9 p.m. On the evening of October 14, the waxing gibbous moon shines 2 degrees to the right of the ringed planet.

You’re familiar with the Mission Monarch project? Well, thanks to a $25,000 grant from Environment and Climate Change Canada awarded following an application by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority for the project Nation Monarch, there will be more chances to take part in this citizen-based research project directed by the Space for Life Insectarium.

A grant that comes at just the right time

In a participatory project like this, what’s especially key is to have the means to raise awareness and provide training not just for the general public but also for the staffs of organizations devoted to the environment, to biodiversity and to nature. The goal? Getting them involved so that they in turn can share information about Mission Monarch with their members and encourage them to participate in a project dedicated to safeguarding the monarch butterfly. For the time being this grant will make it possible for us to increase our educational activities (training, information booths, field activities, etc.) in Québec and in Ontario. We’re working hard on extending our network to the Prairies.

All details on Mission Monarch: http://espacepourlavie.ca/en/mission-monarch