BC Nature FGM (Fall General Meeting) & Conference – come join us in Beautiful Salmon Arm for great speakers, presentations and outings! Its the 4th year Cycle for the Sockeye at Adams River, a spectacle not to be missed! Information in your Summer Magazine or registration link here Hosted by Shuswap Naturalists
Deadline for Club Applications for “Club Support” Grants – January 31, 2015
Wells Gray Camp – 4 Spots Available
We have had a few cancellations – if you are still interested in attending, please contact Jean Crowe or Margaret Graham 250-554-1285. Up to 4 spots available.
Issue 45
Date August 2014
FGM 2015 and AGM 2016
BC Nature is actively looking for one of our clubs to host FGM 2015 – Late September 2015 and AGM 2016 – early May 2016. Please email if your club has any interest and we can supply all the information you need to present to your board.
For any clubs interested in applying for a grant to enhance or build a new trail system please follow the link below. National Trails Coalition Grant Guidelines General Requirements
Please note the following in particular:
• Eligibility requires membership in an organization represented directly or indirectly in the National Trails Coalition. Non-motorized organizations in BC must be direct members of ORC to be eligible for funding.
• Grants can be applied to the following project categories:
o New trail construction
o Trail upgrade / improvement
o Bridge and water crossing installation and upgrade
o Trail signage installation
o Trail surveying and tracking and
o Trail rehabilitation.
• A letter of support is required from ORC for non-motorized trail projects.
• Any grant applied for must be matched equally with other funds which cannot be provided by other federal government sources.
• In virtually all cases it will be necessary to have approval from the land use managers concerned with the location of your project, whether Recreation Sites and Trails BC for Crown Land, BC Parks for Provincial Park trails, etc.
• Applications must be received by the NTC’s National Coordinator by e-mail no later than August 15.
• Projects must be completed by December 31, 2015.
Any questions or to submit grant please contact Jeremy McCall at
Nature Canada Photo Contest
July 1 – August 31 2014
There is still time to submit all your great nature photos into the Nature Canada photo contest For submission details
Now on Twitter and Facebook
Twitter
Follow @BCNature – for latest conservation and environmental news updatesFacebook
We have updated our BC Nature Facebook page. “Like” and “Share” our news, events, and photos to spread awareness. We are actively looking to promote all of our clubs via Facebook. If any clubs have events, activities, news, or photos they would like posted to BC Nature Facebook page please contact
Links to both of our accounts can be found on the top right corner of our Home page
About Town
Richmond Raptor Festival – Sunday August 17
11-4pm at Terra Nova Rural Park, Richmond – Nature Vancouver and Delta Field Naturalists will be attendance. For festival details click here Delta Farmland Trust “Day at the Farm” Sept 6, 2014
Westham Island Herb Farm 10-4pm
The Tree Planning Committee – Saturday, September 13th
11:00 am – 4:00 pm at the Riverview Hospital Grounds located at 2601 Lougheed Highway in Coquitlam. If interested in participating please contact
After a successful AGM in Victoria (Hosted by Rocky Point Bird Observatory and Victoria Natural History Society) – we are left with a couple of vacancies on our Executive. We are actively looking to have a volunteer member of any of our clubs step up to the Vice President position and we will soon be without a secretary. No experience necessary! Please contact with any queries or expressions of interest!
Notice of Bylaw Change
At the FGM in Salmon Arm a Bylaw change will be presented to the members present. Complete details are available at this link and the detailed changes will be sent to your individuals clubs BC Nature Director. This will be voted on September 27, 2014 @ FGM – Salmon Arm
Join the Comox Valley Conservation Community for a day long celebration of the watersheds and waterways that connect us all in the Comox Valley!Learn about restoration and habitat enhancement projects, salmon cycles, drinking water, forests, creeks, wetlands and estuaries – and so much more. Art projects, kids activities, volunteer engagement opportunities, hands on learning and guided walks – all looking out over the beautiful Puntledge River.Comox Valley Nature will be there with our new outreach tent. Come by and say hello, and try our bird identification game. We can also show you why native plants are best for your garden, and how to spot invasive species.Pack a picnic and stay for the day! Saturday Sept 19th from 9 am – 3 pmin Puntledge Park 1111 1st , Courtenay ...
In her memoir, Pacific Northwest author Caroll Simpson recounts the highs and lows of running a remote fishing lodge on her own following the untimely death of her husband, and of falling in love with the natural world. Simpson tells stories of living in the remote wilderness and managing the lodge, becoming an accidental environmental activist, fending off wild animals, working as an angling guide and finally, fighting off a proposed mining operation and participating in the development of a government land management plan as a spokesperson for the wilderness tourism industry.While Simpson welcomed paying guests at Ookpik Lodge, unwanted house guests included a woodchuck, a pack rat, and martens. Simpson constantly had to watch out for grizzlies, moose, and cougars. Storms and extreme weather also provided fodder for hair-raising tales. All this makes for wonderful storytelling.Caroll’s story is essentially a love story. In an essay for Sierra Club, Simpson wrote: “I developed an immense passion for flora and fauna. Just walking back and forth on the 300’ dock several times a day, I was exposed to the unbelievable beauty of the northern spectrum of water life: the golden eagle soaring above, the osprey and kingfisher diving and coming up with fish for their hatchlings, the muskrats and otters looking for an easy meal, the tireless beaver working into the late evening sunsets. All of these creatures and more expressed their generational ownership of this small piece of the world. In return each was given my utmost respect and admiration…As I listened to the loons at the end of each day and the owl and the wolf in the night, I felt blessed to be witnessing such beauty. “On September 20th, join Comox Valley Nature and Save Our Forests Team for an afternoon of storytelling about this remarkable time spent living on a remote British Columbia lake.The event is being held at the Comox United Church Hall. (250 Beach Drive, Comox) Admission is by donation. Doors open at 2:30; the event begins at 3:00 p.m. There will be time for Q&A after the presentation, as well as books available for purchase. Tea/coffee and cookies - including forest-themed cupcakes - will be available for a donation.Join us, and prepare to fall in love. ...
🎟️ Get your tickets to the Project Watershed 2026 Keeping It Living Dinner today! projectwatershed.ca/2026-keeping-it-living-dinner/Every ticket holder makes a difference. 💙 🎟️ Get your tickets to our 2026 Keeping It Living Dinner today! projectwatershed.ca/2026-keeping-it-living-dinner/When community and local businesses invest in conservation, our entire ecosystem benefits. Ticket sales directly support habitat restoration, scientific research, and environmental education, while the generosity of our sponsors helps offset event costs, ensuring that more of the funds raised can go directly toward this important work. Thank you to our incredible sponsors and dinner attendees for believing in the power of community-led conservation. Odlum Brown Community and Northwest Hydraulic Consultants, 40 Knots Winery, CNB Together, we're keeping our watersheds living. 🌿 Hope to see you September 12, 5 - 8 pm at 40 KNOTS Winery #KeepingItLiving #ProjectWatershed #CommunitySupport #Conservation #ComoxValley ...
The City of Courtenay is developing a long-term vision for Bill Moore Park and Dogwood Park to guide future improvements. To help guide these decisions, three initial concepts have been developed, and there is an opportunity for you to offer your input.The latest survey on the City website engagecomoxvalley.ca/bill-moore-and-dogwood-park asks for feedback on three concept plans and specifically which concept you prefer. The three concepts present a range of recreation possibilities and there is room on the survey for your comments.Dogwood Park is a 2.32‑hectare nature park featuring mature forested areas, natural habitat and a small wetland. Only Concept A will maintain the intact forest areas in Dogwood Park. Concepts B and C propose increased recreation in the park including an off leash dog park, disc golf course, pump track (a purpose built track for children’s cycling) and nature play areas. While the planners may say that no trees or few trees will be taken down to accommodate this, the under-story will not survive this level of trampling and fragmentation. The trees as well as all the wildlife who now call that area home will disappear over time. For those of us who value this forest, Concept A is the only option that makes sense.Dogwood Park is one of the few islands of green for many, many blocks. It provides habitat for wildlife, shade, retains water and acts as a carbon sink. On the architect's base plan of current conditions it is now characterized as an "underutilized space". The City has heard from sports enthusiasts but not nature lovers. Let them know why you value an intact forest and your connection to it. The survey is open until Sept 15. ...
The Canadian Coalition for Invasive Plant Regulation (CCIPR) wants the federal government to establish a regulatory body for the horticultural industry and create a national database identifying invasive plants and their risks in different regions. "Even if we don't prohibit them, we need to let the public know when there is potential harm," said CCIPR co-founder Cathy Kavassalis. "We do this on other products, and we should do it on plants too. It's just common sense."In July, Nanaimo council passed a motion to pursue a bylaw amendment restricting the sale of plants on a list maintained by the Invasive Species Council of B.C. A week later, Surrey moved to ban sales by businesses including nurseries, large retail chains and florists. Kavassalis said a problem that could be addressed at higher levels of government is being pushed down to municipalities."These are all patchwork solutions that, in some ways, just waste a lot of resources," she said. The CCIPR says a national database could give provinces, territories, retailers and gardeners a shared source of information about which plants pose risks in different regions. Kavassalis also wants invasive plants removed from shelves or clearly labelled.For more on this story visit www.cbc.ca/news/science/invasive-plants-sale-federal-regulation-9.7312362 or see our link in bio ...