Comox Valley Nature hosted the following presentation at our May 2026 general meeting:

Title: Island vignettes from a nature photographer’s life
Speaker: Bruce Moffat (moffatphotography.zenfolio.com)
Date: Sunday, May 24, 2026

If you missed this event or would like to see some of it again, Bruce has kindly provided his slides (PDF, 72 MB) and links to the subset of the videos he showed for which the sound track is suitably licensed (on YouTube).

Black bear video

Black Oystercatcher video

Surf Scoter video

For more information about this talk, see the announcement in our earlier post.

The post Bruce Moffat’s nature photography talk materials appeared first on Comox Valley Nature.

Comox Valley Nature marked a major milestone this spring—our 60th anniversary. Founded in 1966, CVN is one of the North Island’s oldest and most active nature organizations, dedicated to fostering environmental education, stewardship, and appreciation for the natural world.

To commemorate six decades of community engagement and ecological leadership, the society hosted a 60th Anniversary Celebration on April 26.  The event brought together members, volunteers, and guests to reflect on CVN’s long legacy of protecting and learning from the region’s forests, wetlands, and shorelines.

Over the years, Comox Valley Nature has championed numerous restoration and education initiatives. These include programs such as Garry oak and wetland restoration, Courtenay Airpark Walk restoration, birding, botany and shoreline groups, an annual bursary for high school graduates, and ongoing community partnerships to maintain sustainable access to local trails and habitats.

In 2026, we are also incorporating our anniversary theme throughout our public walks. To check the various upcoming nature walks, visit our Events web page.

As we look ahead to our next chapter, we remain rooted in our founding mission—to know nature and keep it worth knowing. Through guided walks, lectures, interest groups and conservation projects, Comox Valley Nature continues to inspire stewardship and connection with the rich ecosystems of Vancouver Island’s Comox Valley.

Here’s a selection of photos from the event [click a photo to enlarge it].

CVN’s long history was represented in a graphic timeline display. You can read the entries in the images below the full timeline by zooming in on each one.

The post CVN celebrates 60 years of stewardship and community appeared first on Comox Valley Nature.

Title: Island vignettes from a nature photographer’s life
Speaker: Bruce Moffat (moffatphotography.zenfolio.com)
Date: Sunday, May 24, 2026
Time: 3:00 p.m. PT
Location: Main hall of Comox United Church, 250 Beach Drive, Comox

CVN’s own Bruce Moffat will present several short videos based on his experiences over the past seven years on Vancouver Island. Bruce will comment on each of these engaging videos to describe his experiences and the challenges of capturing his images of each of the diverse subjects. He will take questions after each video and again at the end.

The videos will include some of those first shown as entries in the Comox Valley Photographic Society’s annual ImageFest show at the Sid Williams Theatre.

About the speaker

Bruce Moffat is a retired professional photographer, currently the coordinator of CVN’s Nature Photography Group, and a member of the Comox Valley Photographic Society. He has been an avid photographer since his teen years and has focused on nature photography for the past twenty years. He has been published regularly in the local CV Land Trust calendars and in four 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.

Bruce is well known to CVN members, particularly to the birders. He generously shares his excellent photographs with this website and with CVN’s Newsletter. In the last couple of years Bruce has had fun with drone photography, and he organized CVN’s group members and volunteers from CVPS to create the spherical panoramas that you can see in our online Nature Viewing Guide.

More about the meeting

This will be an in-person only meeting.

As always, there will be an intermission after the presentation with a chance to meet new people and socialize with old friends. Tea, coffee and treats will be available.

A brief business meeting follows. Reports from some of our interest groups and projects are an opportunity for guests to learn more about what we do.

The post Hear about a nature photographer’s experiences at our May general meeting appeared first on Comox Valley Nature.

The post Come to our 60th Anniversary Celebration! appeared first on Comox Valley Nature.

Comox Valley Nature hosted the following presentation at our March 2026 general meeting:

Title: Embracing our planet – one adventure at a time
Speaker: Sunniva Sorby (sunnivasorby.com)
Date: Sunday, March 22, 2026

If you missed this event or would like to see it again, a recording is available here (MP4, duration 0:50, 375 MB).

For more information about this talk, see the announcement in our earlier post.

The post Recording for talk on polar adventures and citizen science appeared first on Comox Valley Nature.

Title: Embracing our planet – one adventure at a time
Speaker: Sunniva Sorby (sunnivasorby.com)
Date: Sunday, March 22, 2026
Time: 3:00 p.m. PT
Location: Main hall of Comox United Church, 250 Beach Drive, Comox

Our speaker will relate tales and insights from her life’s work which bridges exploration, environmental advocacy, and the power of human connection. She is best known as one of the first two women in history to overwinter in the Arctic without men—an extraordinary 19-month experience (2019–2021) at a remote trapper’s hut called Bamsebu (little bear hut) in Svalbard, 78^o N latitude. There, Sorby and her expedition partner co-founded Hearts in the Ice, a groundbreaking citizen-science and climate-action platform that connected scientists, students and the public worldwide. From their frozen cabin, they collected valuable data for research institutions and engaged over 150,000 youth in virtual dialogues about climate change, biodiversity, and hope.

More about the speaker

Sunniva Sorby is a Norwegian-Canadian polar explorer, educator, citizen scientist, and storyteller. A lifelong explorer, she first made history in 1993 as a member of the first all-women’s team to ski to the South Pole. She has skied the epic Sierra High Route in California, skied across King George Island, Antarctica, skied across the Greenland Icecap as expedition leader, and has climbed many mountains only to realize that the greatest mountain is the internal one, often less explored.

Over three decades, she has worked extensively in both polar regions as an expedition member, historian, and naturalist for organizations such as Hurtigruten, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and Polar Latitudes. Her storytelling blends science and emotion, weaving tales of endurance, wonder, and connection to inspire people to act for the planet.

Through her current platform, Embrace the Planet Project (ETPP), Sorby continues to elevate stories of environmental stewardship, citizen science, and hope. She believes that each of us can be a “citizen scientist,” actively observing, learning from, and protecting the natural world around us.

More about the meeting

Although this will be a hybrid meeting (in-person and videoconference), we encourage you to attend in person. Members (only) who cannot attend can participate via videoconference. The link to register for the Zoom meeting will be sent to members by email before the meeting.

As always, there will be an intermission after the presentation with a chance to meet new people and socialize with old friends. Tea, coffee and treats will be available.

A brief business meeting follows. Reports from some of our interest groups and projects are an opportunity for guests to learn more about what we do.

The post Learn about polar adventures and citizen science at our March general meeting appeared first on Comox Valley Nature.

Date: Sunday, February 22, 2026
Time: 3:00 p.m. PT
Location: Main hall of Comox United Church, 250 Beach Drive, Comox

This is an opportunity to hear our interest groups and projects give an overview of the past year’s events and progress, along with a peek into their upcoming activities.

The business part of the meeting promises to be relatively short, with elections for all positions on the board of directors, and information on the state of our finances and our budget for this year.

As always, there will be an intermission with a chance to meet new people and socialize with old friends. Tea, coffee and treats will be available.

This will be a hybrid meeting (in-person and videoconference). We encourage members and the public to attend in person. Members (only) who cannot attend can participate via videoconference. The link to register for the Zoom meeting will be sent to members by email before the meeting. This meeting will not be recorded.

The post Join us for our 2026 AGM appeared first on Comox Valley Nature.