When I went on a recent online shopping spree for Parks Canada merchandise — a retro cap, tote bags, headbands, playing cards, baby onesies — I did so feeling good that my purchases would help beluga whales in Quebec.

A congregation of humpback whales that gathered in Glacier Bay has prompted national park officials there to require ships to slow down in certain parts of the 65-mile-long bay.

Thousands of orphaned oil and gas wells can be found within a 30-mile radius of national parks, creating polluted air and groundwater, according to a study conducted by the National Parks and Conservation Association.

Boating lazily down the Rideau Canal National Historic Site first on a hot summer journey and then on a cool and rainy fall one, I wonder how I lived this long in Ontario oblivious to the magic of this waterway. We glide into one lock after another, watching as Parks Canada staff use hand-powered winches to operate the gates and sluice valves, raising or lowering us from one water level to another as the watertight chambers either fill or empty.