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Help a Toad to cross the road!
Dont miss these upcoming presentations, giving insight into wildlife rehabilitation, bird intelligence and the lives of coastal wolves:
Reporting wildfire sightings is easier with the BC Wildfire Service App:With the BC Wildfire Service app, you can quickly report wildfires electronically - even in areas with limited cell coverage. Click on the report button, prepare your report offline and your report will automatically go to the Provincial Wildfire Reporting Centre when you’re back in service.Our mobile app is free to download on both Apple and Android devices.
iOS: apps.apple.com/us/app/bc-wildfire-service/id1477675008
Google play: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ca.bc.gov.WildfireInformation&pcampaignid=web_share
Interesting and helpful advice from John Neilson and the Brooklyn Creek Watershed Stewards :Recently, BCWS has been made aware of two incidents of soapy water at the Brooklyn Creek fish ladder (see picture taken July 2nd). This has likely resulted from a release of a detergent into the stream, possibly from car washing or moss removal on roofs.As readers know, Pacific salmon are found in Brooklyn Creek every day of the year, and there certainly is no “safe” time to release detergents or other pollutants into the storm water system that connects with the Creek. Release of any deleterious substance into salmon bearing streams is contrary to the Fisheries Act, and subject to fines. Soapy water can impact young salmon by damaging their gills or skin.
In addition to posing a threat to our salmon populations, soapy water may also indicate that some people are still washing cars, which as of June 23, is not permitted under Stage 3 water restrictions. Once car washing is again allowed, consider washing on a lawn, rather than a hard surface. This simple method can greatly reduce the amount of soapy water entering the storm water system.
Thank you for considering the health of the Brooklyn Creek Watershed.
Dr. John Neilson, President BCWS
Sophia Priestman, a graduate of Mark R. Isfeld Secondary School, is the 2026 recipient of the CVN Bursary. Our $1000 bursary was presented to her at the school’s awards ceremony on May 28.Sophia graduates with straight A grades. She made extensive contributions to the Environment Club throughout her career at Isfeld, taking on the president’s role in grades 11 and 12. She was also very involved in the Model UN Program, and participated in other school clubs and sports.
Outside school, Sophia has volunteered with Anderton Therapeutic Garden and with Lush Valley for several years. At 12 years old she was offered a job by five vendors at the Farmer’s Market and chose Alderlane Bakery where she is in her sixth year of employment. She also has helped out at Pendleton Farm.
Sophia has been accepted at the University of Victoria where she will pursue a dual major in Environmental Studies and Economics with a minor in Applied Ethics. Of this somewhat unusual combination of disciplines, Sophia says:
This variety of disciplines will allow me to see complex political and environmental issues from multiple perspectives and find innovative solutions that both foster sustainability and ensure welfare for all (human and non-human alike).
Congratulations, Sophia!
Category Archives: Plants and fungi
Ripple Rock Trail: Botany highlights
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on April 26. Last weekend I took my kids for a hike on the Ripple Rock Trail (trailhead is about a 15 minute drive north of Campbell River). This is about … Continue reading
Posted in Plants and fungi
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Plants from Ships Point & Fanny Bay Conservation Area
From notes and photos by Alison M. distributed to the Botany Group on April 18. [Click a photo to enlarge it.] Ships Point Park Last Saturday (April 9th) in the warm sun at Ships Point Park, where there are a … Continue reading
Posted in Plants and fungi
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Botany walk highlights: Exhibition Grounds
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on April 16. Last Monday we enjoyed our first botany walk at the Exhibition Grounds access to the Tsolum River. Trilliums & fawn lilies, just getting started in Alison’s last photos, … Continue reading
Posted in Field Trips, Plants and fungi
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Plants & blooms from the wet west coast
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on March 28. I was over in Ucluelet from March 20-23 with my family, which coincided with 3 days of pelting monsoon rain alternating with drenching misty rain. Anyway, it was … Continue reading
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Early blooms at Comox Lake Bluffs and Tsolum River flats
Notes and photos from Alison M. emailed to the Botany Group on March 27. It seems that our usual first spring blooms are very slow to appear. After the long winter, there has not been sufficient warmth on average to … Continue reading
Posted in Plants and fungi
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Early blooms and plants from Yellow Point
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on March 22. I was down at Yellow Point Lodge (a bit south of Nanaimo) with my mother for a weekend in late February and found some interesting plants there and … Continue reading
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Hip to be a botanist!
From an email by Jocie to the Botany group on March 6. Before the spring growing season explodes, take a moment to check out some colourful rose hips! [Click a photo to enlarge it.] Our native Nootka rose (Rosa nutkana) … Continue reading
Posted in Insects and spiders, Plants and fungi
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Cooley spruce gall
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on January 30. Fanciful-looking Cooley spruce galls add a splash of colour to these grey, dreary days. Many have funky shades of purple, red and yellow. They vary depending on what … Continue reading
Posted in Ecology, Insects and spiders, Plants and fungi
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Gorse and broom a source of protein?
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on January 29. An article from the Guardian, here, tells how gorse and broom could potentially be used as a source of protein. Maybe we should be using more invasives as … Continue reading
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More Nordic botany
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on January 22. Here are a few more trees from the subalpine (photos from the Jutland nordic ski trail). One of my favourite trees is the amabilis fir (Abies amabilis). The … Continue reading
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