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Learn about growing old-growth forests at our next general meeting.Comox Valley Nature members and the general public are invited to CVN’s May general meeting. where you can hear the following keynote presentation by our guest speaker:
"Growing Old Growth: The relationships that define the future of our forests" with Tal Engel of WolfTree Integrative Forest Rehabilitation.
Date: Sunday, May 25, 2025 at 3:00 p.m.
Location: Main hall of Comox United Church, 250 Beach Drive, Comox
(Members, please also take note of the special resolution to be voted upon, detailed on our website)
Tal’s talk presents an integrative and regenerative forestry approach to foster fire-resilience, moisture retention, and overall ecological integrity so that degraded forest ecosystems may endure the ever-increasing anthropogenic pressures to one day become old growth forests. He will present evidence that for old growth forests to develop, far more than just time is required.
Tal holds workshops for community groups in which he first explores how industrial forestry has radically altered the structure, composition, function, and relationships essential for the growth of a resilient and healthy forest. The second part of the workshops cover methods he has developed to help dense young forests recover from a century of industrial forestry.
This talk is based on the first part of Tal’s workshops. He will focus on his theories relating to succession, pathology, and cultural relationships in forests and will include an overview of forest ecosystems in crisis from other parts of the world.
Tal has kindly offered to conduct a second part of his workshop on June 1st in Merville. For CVN members only. Sign up at the General meeting to tour the farm where he puts his methods into practice.
Tal Engel is a forest restoration practitioner and regenerative farmer who lives in the Merville area. On his family’s farm, Honey Grove, he researches and develops forest restoration methods and models that his organization, WolfTree Integrative Forest Rehabilitation, applies throughout eastern Vancouver Island.
see more at comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca/
www.wolftreeforestry.com/
We are pleased to offer a series of guided walks on Saturday May 17th, in Vanier Nature Park.Choose between 3 walk times that each have a different walk leader; each very knowledgeable about both oak trees, nature and the Vanier Nature Park restoration project.
The 10:00 am walk will be lead by Nick Page. Nick is a professional biologist who works on the assessment, restoration and management of species and ecosystems in coastal BC. He has a M.Sc. in plant ecology from UBC and works with Current Environmental in the Comox Valley. Nick grew up on Headquarters Road not far from the most northern Garry oak trees in Canada.
The 11:30 walk will be lead by Fred Newhouse. He is a Registered Professional Forester and has stewarded a woodlot for 27 years and worked in forest consulting for 35 years. As a Comox Valley Nature member he has volunteered for 15 years helping on projects including the Vanier Nature Park Garry Oak Restoration Project and Trees of the Year. He has conducted walks at Paradise Meadows for Strathcona Wilderness Society.
The 1:00 pm walk will be lead by Verna Mumby who has 30 years of work in arboriculture as a ISA Certified Arborist and Consulting Arborist. She says she is still learning every day from the trees. When not hugging trees she is knee deep in microscopy looking into microbes in the soil – or walking her dog in the nature of the wonderful Comox Valley.
The Vanier Nature Park project is being co-managed by Comox Valley Nature and the City of Courtenay with funding from both the City of Courtenay and the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation. Each walk leader will share their unique perspective on this forest and this very positive project.
Registration is required.
Please be at the meeting spot at least 10 minutes before the walk starts to sign in. We will have a table with further information on this exciting project.
The walk is partially on level ground with some gentle to moderate uphill walking on a forest trail that has some uneven footing. No dogs please.
For more information or to sign up, visit comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca/events/
Everything is connected, healing the land heals people:
Three knowledgeable Comox Valley Naturalists will introduce participants to the plants at the Airpark. Learn how this area was transformed from a sewage lagoon covered in slabs of concrete to a diversified city park. We will find many native plant species here that are reclaiming and recreating this natural environment.Frank Hovenden, the leading force behind these changes will highlight many plant species. Participants will have the opportunity to sharpen their native plant identification skills by the end of this botany focused walk. This is a 1 km walk on flat ground. Meet at the playground on Mansfield Drive.
Registration is required and limited space available so sign up early at This is a free event but donations are welcome. No dogs please.
Many people fear trees, especially big trees. Join us in this guided walk and overcome those fears. You will learn about tree bio-mechanics; how trees dance and move, and the importance of tree roots. Understand how trees help each other during storms and how they communicate. We will look at trees in Filberg Park in Comox on May 3 from 11 a.m. to 12:00. Please dress for the weather and wear sturdy footwear.Registration required at comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca/events/ (no dogs please)
Admission is free, but donations are welcome
Category Archives: Plants and fungi
Botany at Rosewall Creek Park, July 2024
The Botany/Mycology Group’s July field trip was popular with members. On July 2, the group observed a variety of plants and fungi in the lower part of Rosewall Creek Provincial Park, with a particular eye out for these species: eyelash … Continue reading
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Botany at Comox Lake Eco Reserve, June 2024
A small contingent of Botany/Mycology Group members enjoyed the group’s June field trip to the Comox Lake Bluffs Ecological Reserve on June 4. They explored both the forested area adjacent to the reserve and trails inside the reserve leading to … Continue reading
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SWI offers lichen identification workshop
The Strathcona Wilderness Institute is offering a workshop this summer on identifying lichens in Strathcona Provincial Park: Title: Field Identification of Basic Lichens in Strathcona Provincial ParkDate: July 27, 2024Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.Location: Strathcona Park Wilderness Centre, Paradise … Continue reading
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Mycoheterotrophs at Puntledge forest, June 2024
The identification guide linked here was updated on July 13 with a few minor changes, replacing the version that was posted originally. The Botany/Mycology Group held an extra outing in June (on June 12) at the Puntledge forest with the … Continue reading
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Botany at Little River, May 2024
The Botany/Mycology Group’s May field trip took place on May 14 at Little River Nature Park and was well-attended. This CVRD nature park has three special ecosystems which the group explored: Many of the spring flowers on the beach plain … Continue reading
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Tour native plant gardens and learn about carbon sequestration
Comox Valley Nature is sponsoring a special all-day event at Steller Raven Ecological Farm that will highlight native plant gardening techniques and research into the potential of such gardens for carbon sequestration. The public is invited to attend this free … Continue reading
Posted in Conservation and Restoration, News, Plants and fungi
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Botany at MacDonald Wood and Mack Laing Parks, April 2024
The Botany/Mycology Group was privileged to have Marta Donovan lead the group in a very informative walk through MacDonald Wood Park and Mack Laing Nature Park in Comox on April 9. Marta is a professional botanist who recently retired after … Continue reading
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Trees of the Year 2024 results
The nomination period for CVN’s Trees of the Year 2024 event ended on March 31. Once again we’ve seen how passionate and observant you, our community members, are for the trees around us in both our urban and rural environments. … Continue reading
Posted in Plants and fungi, Tree(s) of the Year
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Botany at Tsolum floodplain trails, March 2024
The Botany/Mycology Group had a well-attended field trip on March 12 to the Tsolum River floodplain trails adjacent to the Comox Valley Exhibition Grounds to see signs of early spring growth. The new leaders of the group, Véronique M. and … Continue reading
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Recording for talk on seed-based restoration
Comox Valley Nature recently hosted the following webinar, facilitated by the Canadian Society of Environmental Biologists: Title: Seed-based Restoration for Urban Settings on Vancouver IslandSpeaker: Kristen Miskelly (Satinflower Nurseries)Date: Sunday, February 18, 2024 If you missed this event or would … Continue reading
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