CVN Facebook Posts
Bruce Moffat, our very own CVN Nature Photography group coordinator will be presenting at this month’s general meeting. He has prepared a handful of wildlife vignettes collected over the past 7 years on Vancouver Island. Each of these shorts will be played with Bruce pausing to describe the experiences and challenges for each of the diverse subjects covered.This presentation includes images first shown as entries in the Comox Valley Photographic Society’s annual Imagefest show at the Sid Williams Theatre. There will be time to ask questions after each short film and following the wrap up. Bruce will bring some of the equipment used to capture his images.
Bruce has been an avid photographer since his teen years and has focused on nature photography for the past 20 years. He has been published regularly in the local CV Land Trust
calendars and 4 of the last five CV Collective magazines here in the valley. His latest published shot is featured on this month’s cover of Scout Life magazine.
Comox Valley Nature is pleased to announce that Sophie Johnston has been awarded the Brandt Research Grant. This is a $5,000 grant in support of her field research on coastal areas of north Vancouver Island. Sophie is currently a PhD Student at the University of British Columbia.The intertidal zone ecosystem is critically threatened by ongoing climate change. Sophie’s PhD research is documenting the effects of ocean acidification on intertidal marine communities in the Johnstone Strait, British Columbia.
The goal of her research is to investigate how a dominant ecosystem engineer shapes marine community structure along a gradient of ocean acidification.
Ocean acidification not only alters the morphology of limpet species by increasing shell erosion, but can also increase their thermal sensitivity, limiting limpet grazing efficiency and survival in the intertidal zone. Thus, the effects of ocean acidification on such ecosystem engineers could result in large-scale, rippling impacts on marine communities, from microscopic algae to top predators.
The results of this research will be of particular interest to residents who inhabit areas near or along the Johnstone Strait and those interested in the trophic level effects of ocean acidification i.e., the reduced growth of herbivores, barnacles, mussels, and oysters can affect the population sizes of predators like sea stars and otters.
For more information on this grant and CV Nature in general, visit our website at cvnature.ca
CVRD News: Watershed Awareness Days: Discover Where Your Water Comes From 🫗The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) invites the public to explore the Comox Lake Watershed during Watershed Awareness Days, taking place from May 26 to 30, 2026. This week-long event features guided walks, lakeside talks, presentations, and family-friendly activities. It’s a unique opportunity to experience the watershed firsthand and learn how it sustains the health and wellbeing of the entire Comox Valley community.
Read the full story here 👉 comoxvalleyrd.ca/connect/news/watershed-awareness-days-discover-where-your-water-comes
View all the FREE* events here:
www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/connectedbywater
*Some events require registration
#ComoxValleyRD
Photos from Tsolum River Restoration Society's post
Author Archives: web_admin
Winter chanterelles and blue-turning coral
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on November 21. Photo 1 shows a harvest of winter chanterelles or yellow foot (Craterellus tubaeformis) from Kate. This is a smaller, more delicate species of chanterelle that often has a dimple … Continue reading
Posted in Plants and fungi
Comments Off on Winter chanterelles and blue-turning coral
Late bloomers, etc.
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on November 18. Here’s a note from Sharon that will be of interest, along with a lovely photo of gumweed, a “late bloomer” [click the photo to enlarge it]: The Kamloops … Continue reading
Posted in Plants and fungi
Comments Off on Late bloomers, etc.
Recording available for microplastics talk
CVN’s November webinar was Establishing a baseline of microplastics in marine food webs: a case study in Baynes Sound, B.C., presented by oceanographer Natalie Mahara. If you missed this event or would like to see it again, the recording is … Continue reading
Posted in Guest Speakers
Comments Off on Recording available for microplastics talk
Colourful Cortinarius
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on November 14. Cortinarius is the biggest genus of gilled mushrooms in the world, with thousands of species. The Pacific coast is a hotspot for “corts,” with a rich abundance and diversity. A … Continue reading
Posted in Plants and fungi
Comments Off on Colourful Cortinarius
Fly agarics and more!
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on November 10. [Click a photo to enlarge it.] Here are some fly agarics (Amanita muscaria) growing in an unusual spot! (More down the hole, but I didn’t look too closely.) You never … Continue reading
Posted in Plants and fungi
Comments Off on Fly agarics and more!
Using iNaturalist: BC Parks project
On May 14 of this year, CVN’s guest speaker Dr. John Reynolds presented a very informative webinar on how to use the iNaturalist online platform for recording and viewing nature observations from around the world. Following the tutorial part of … Continue reading
Posted in Guest Speakers, Miscellaneous
Comments Off on Using iNaturalist: BC Parks project
CVN invites the public to learn about microplastics in Baynes Sound
Comox Valley Nature is pleased to host a free online lecture by Natalie Mahara. The lecture entitled “Establishing a baseline of microplastics in marine food webs: a case study in Baynes Sound, B.C.” is on Sunday November 15, 2020, 7:00 … Continue reading
Posted in Guest Speakers, News
Comments Off on CVN invites the public to learn about microplastics in Baynes Sound
Plums-and-custard and the decorated mop
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on November 8. The “shroom season” is winding down, and we will move on to other topics soon, but not quite yet! Here are a few fungi in the genus Tricholomopsis. As … Continue reading
Posted in Plants and fungi
Comments Off on Plums-and-custard and the decorated mop
Death caps in Comox Valley
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on November 7. Many of you have likely heard about the discovery of the death cap mushroom in the Comox Valley. Here is some more information from Alison M.: Re: the … Continue reading
Posted in News, Plants and fungi
Comments Off on Death caps in Comox Valley
Social distancing?
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on October 31. During these days of social distancing it’s heartening to see troops of gregarious fungi gathering in the woods…quite heedless of human disasters. Here are some groups and clusterings I’ve … Continue reading
Posted in Plants and fungi
Comments Off on Social distancing?
