Andy Fyon

Andy's Northern Ontario Wildflowers Who is Andy Fyon?

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I am the owner of www.ontariowildflower.com I am a geologist by training. I have worked and travelled across Canada, but have spent most of my working career in Ontario. I consider myself to be an amateur naturalist with an interest in all aspects of the near surface of the Earth.  As a geologist, I have a close attachment and respect for the land, and the relationships between the near-surface of the Earth, the geological processes that shape the Earth and create its landforms and landscapes, the resulting habitats, plants, animals, birds and people. I also appreciate the interplay between what the Earth can provide to us in terms of food, mineral resources, energy resources, and enjoyment.  My northern friends describe this holistic and complex relationship as "git-tea-gan ah-key".  All is possible, within balance.  The challenge is our quite widely ranging views of what constitutes "balance". Photography is an hobby.  My preferred photographic interests include: flowering plants; and remote aboriginal communities and their inhabitants. Photographing flowering plants near Inuvik, Summer 2007.  The mosquitoes were exciting. In year 2000, I started the website, www.ontariowildflower.com, to depict wildflowers growing in the Sudbury area.  My goal is to help dispel the widely-held perception, especially by those who have never visited or lived in Sudbury, that Sudbury area is devoid of vegetation.  The scope of the website has expanded to include wildflowers and flowering plants found in other regions, such as the Arctic, Rocky Mountains, and Yukon, and other areas of northern Ontario, Canada. Over the past several years, with my wife and the enthusiastic support of park staff, I conduct several wildflower walks per summer at Killarney Provincial Park. My favourite flowering plant is Trailing Arbutus because it is the harbinger of spring in this area. My less favourite wildflower is Goldenrod because it signifies the rapid onset of fall and the end of the wildflower season. My favourite habitat is the alpine or tundra because it is so different, the conditions are so harsh, and the flowering season so short that only the specialized survive - it amazes me. At home: we have an eclectic wildflower garden that is under a constant state of change - much like the geological history of the Earth. I am available to deliver non-technical talks and presentations to a range of audiences on wildflowers, the relationship between geology and flowering plants, and geology and society.  Some of my recent presentations are on line. I do have a "day-job" that I thoroughly enjoy, but you can "google" my name to learn more about that. Frost polygons are circles of rock or gravel where the larger pieces are pushed, or sorted, to the outside and the the smaller pieces on the inside.  The resulting ring shape forms as a result of frost sorting.  Water seeps into cracks in the rock, freezes, and starts to sort the broken rock pieces, separating the larger and smaller pieces.  Frost sorting takes place over a very long time - perhaps hundreds to thousands of years. Andy Fyon at Keno Hill, Yukon, 2007, observing frost polygons. The core of the polygon is a micro-habitat that supports  wildflowers and sedges. King's Throne, Kluane National Park, summer 2007.  Wildflowers abound in the cirque habitat. Plateau Mountain, Alberta, July 1, 2006 Table Mountain, Alberta, June 29, 2006 Table Mountain, Alberta, June 29, 2006

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