CVN Facebook Posts
The CVN photo group met last night for its September meeting and here are a few of the photos we shared with one another.Species and photographer shown in each photo...
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.
Category Archives: Plants and fungi
Botany quiz #1: Trees
From emails by Jocie to the Botany Group on December 1 and 5. To keep you on your toes, here is a short quiz featuring deciduous trees in autumn (large and small, and a few that may be classified as … Continue reading
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Sunday pancakes?
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on November 29. My family enjoys pancakes on a Sunday morning, but I didn’t expect to find pancakes in the woods. Wandering about in the Miracle Beach Park campground, I came … Continue reading
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Toothed fungi, part 1
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on November 22. Alison M. has put together an informative overview of some of the toothed fungi: hydnums and hydnellums. [Click a photo to enlarge it.] Alison’s notes Well into November … Continue reading
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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