The CVN Bursary Committee is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2021 CVN Bursary is Charlotte Kimmins of G.P. Vanier Secondary. Charlotte is planning to pursue a double undergraduate Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences and Engineering at Queen’s University. She has a particular interest in reducing plastic pollution and founded a youth non-profit organization dedicated to reducing plastic pollution in our environment. Ultimately she hopes to conduct research to create biodegradable, water soluble alternatives to plastics using marine bio-polymers.
Charlotte’s environmental background also includes:
Member of the Official City Plan Advisory Council promoting conservation
Member of the school’s Environment Club for Grades 10-12
Explore Outdoor Education participant
Ocean Wise Conservation Summit Youth Ambassador and co-founder of their YouthtoSea program
Young Women in Ocean Literacy and Leadership Academy: speaker and mentor
Youth Ocean Advocacy Summit director, helping to organize conservation workshops and action planning
Winner of the Ruth Masters Environmental Award 2019
An excellent student, Charlotte was Biology Student of the Year in 2020 at G.P. Vanier Secondary and maintained a straight A average throughout high school. Her references describe her as an excellent team member with outstanding motivation, work ethic, and ability to inspire. Outside of school she enjoys hiking, mountaineering, skiing, and competing in equestrian sports.
Congratulations Charlotte, and we wish you much success in your studies and future endeavours!
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From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on July 14.
In early July I did some exploring around the Whymper Lake area (across the Strathcona dam, west of Campbell River). Here are a few photos (mostly botany…and other things of interest. [Click a photo to enlarge it.]
The first 5 photos are from the lakeshore habitat. Some stunning miniature forests of glistening red sundews etc.
Whymper Lake view
Western yellow pond lily (Nuphar polysepala)…
…provides nice landing pads for dragonflies such as…
Chalk-fronted corporal (Ladona julia)
White-beaked sedge (Rhychospora alba): a close-up of the flowers
Great sundew (Drosera anglica)
The next 3 are flowers of the dry gravel roadside habitat. Amazing that anything can grow there!
Fireweed (Chamaenerion angustifolium) – what a flower!
Spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium)
Philadelphia fleabane (Erigeron philadelphicus)…I think this is right, or one of those fleabanes…
Finally, a bit of relic hunting around some old settlements from logging camp days. Nature reclaiming short-lived boomtowns.
The backyard tin-can & bottle dumping pit. Not much decay on those old tins in nearly a hundred years. Still, way less garbage than today’s households produce.
An intact ketchup bottle…circa 1930s. Yikes, a bit of ketchup still in the bottle!!!
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From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on July 12, with photos from Alison M.
Despite being laid up with a broken wrist and having to type with one hand, Alison has come through with some colourful photos for us of a succession of blooms from Paradise Meadows and area. The hot weather has accelerated the transition from winter to summer, in just a few short weeks!
[Click a photo to enlarge it.]
Western bog laurel (Kalmia microphylla)
Fern-leaved goldthread (Coptis asplenifolia)
Globe flower (Trollius laxus)
Avalanche lily (Erythronium grandiflorum). These are found on the knoll above Croteau Lake (a bit out of focus due to strong wind).
Jeffrey’s shooting star (Dodecatheon jeffreyi)
Utah honeysuckle (Lonicera utahensis). An uncommon honeysuckle in our area with twinned creamy-white blooms, photographed here along the trail to McKenzie Lake.
Black twinberry (Lonicera involucrata). A more common shrub honeysuckle species, with twinned yellow blooms.
Green bog orchid (Platanthera stricta)
Rosy twistedstalk (Streptopus roseus)
Meadows view June 18…note the snow!
Meadows view June 28
Battleship Lake view June 18
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In March, our Board of Directors approved a CVN proposal for a restoration and stewardship pilot project to protect and enhance Garry oaks in Vanier Forest. Much research and planning work has already been done by a dedicated team of CVN members. Now the team has been accepted as a delegation to Courtenay City Council to present CVN’s requests for access to the property to undertake the project and for some funding for the project. Bill Henderson and Karen Cummins will present these requests by videoconference to Council at their meeting on July 19.
To learn more about the project, visit our new web page for the project here. You can also find the page any time in the Activities menu.
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From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on June 14.
Last weekend I was up in Strathcona Park for the annual Strathcona Bird Search, which is always very enjoyable even if the weather was cool and showery.
View of Lady Falls
Though I was busy counting birds, there was the usual distraction of so many beautiful plants to look at, and waterfalls to admire! Here are a few highlights [click a photo to enlarge it]:
Dwarf dogwood (Cornus canadensis)
False azalea (Menziesia ferruginea)
Davidson’s penstemon (Penstemon davidsonii)
Ground cone (Boschniakia hookeri)
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For the first time, the annual “CVN Tree of the Year” has been chosen by public vote instead of by committee. The contest, inspired by European tradition and now in its fourth year, fosters a strong connection with nature by highlighting local trees that are cherished by the residents of the Comox Valley.
This year’s winning tree, nominated by Ted Grainger, is a western yew, located in the Cumberland Community Forest. Coming in a close second is a bigleaf maple found in Morrison Creek Park. Praised for its size and the swing in its branches, the maple was put forward for nomination by Marion Dulude’s Grade 6 class at École Puntledge Park. “Both are iconic trees for this area and have great but different stories attached to them,” says Karen Cummins, one of the organizers of the event.
CVN Tree of the Year 2021, a western yew, with (from left) committee members Karen Cummins and Susan Gravelle, and nominator Ted Grainger with his prize basket. (Photo: Dianne Grainger)
The western yew (scientific name, Taxus brevifolia, or Nuxalk name, kuts’ulhkwis) is a species of tree in the yew family, Taxaceae, and is native to the Pacific Northwest. “Taxus” is the Latin word for “bow”. Because yew wood is strong and stiff, it has been an important resource for coastal First Nations for millennia.
Nominated for its poetic beauty, this western yew symbolizes how community efforts, like fundraising and raising awareness, can protect and preserve threatened forests. Growing on a northwest-facing slope, just past the information kiosk, it is surrounded by artifacts from the former inhabitants of the historic Cumberland Chinatown.
“When you first see this tree, the smooth bark looks like a gnarly, twisted arbutus, but the outer foliage reveals it to be a yew tree. Its shape suggests a life of struggle and tenacity, but it is beautiful nonetheless,” says Ted Grainger, winner of this year’s gift basket and a painting by Sharon Niscak.
As conifers that produce berries, yew trees are unusual. This year’s winning yew is even more unique because of its expanse of exposed roots and wide branches. Approximately 9 metres wide and almost as tall, the squat and multiple-leader form indicates that the yew has grown in the shady understory and been shaped by the succession of the 80–100-year-old forest. This spectacular tree has grown with and around a cherry tree and is extremely slow growing. The papery, red bark—peeling and shredding on the tree’s many stems—while typical of this medicinal tree when it is not covered in moss, nonetheless sets it apart from the neighbouring trees.
Thanks to the passion and perseverance of Cumberland Community Forest Society, this western yew is one of the thousands of trees in over 500 acres of mature forests that have been protected.
CVN encourages everybody to go out and experience the beautiful and important nominated trees firsthand. According to Suzanne Gravelle “The list and location map will remain on the CVN website so the community can still tour and honour all the trees.”
The 2021 contest is dedicated to Cathy Storey. Her legacy is a testament to the CVN motto “to know nature and keep it worth knowing.”
Notes and photos from Alison M. on some of the first flowers blooming in the subalpine and other observations, distributed to the Botany Group on June 13. Click a photo to enlarge it.
We were up at Paradise Meadows last Friday (June 4th) on an overcast cool day, and while the Meadows were open (photo #1), about half of the boardwalk still had crusty old snow that softens during the day, especially when it rains (photo #2) This wet weather may help to clear away the snow – so perhaps by the end of next week.
(1) Paradise Meadows on June 4
(2) Paradise Meadows boardwalk on June 4
The most exciting thing was the eerie “winnowing” of several Wilson’s snipe, around the ponds and in the area of Paradise Creek.
On the floral front, there were lots of Caltha leptosepala (white marsh-marigold) in bloom amid the streams of snow melt-water (photos #3 and #4) .
(3) White marsh-marigold
(4) Whte marsh-marigold flowers
In sheltered south-facing spots the Kalmia microphylla (western bog-laurel) was not quite open (photo #5).
(5) Western bog-laurel
Finally, to my embarrassment, a lonely sign [a plant identification sign placed by Alison in her work for the Strathcona Wilderness Institute], quite near the trail-head, had survived the heavy snow-pack!
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From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on June 9.
A few notes from our [Botany Group] members [click a photo to enlarge it]:
Kate reported that there is some nice candystick (Allotropa virgata) emerging at Nymph Falls Park.
Some notes from Joy about the camas bloom visible from the Dyke Road (with a close-up photo of camas from the estuary taken last year):
“A most wondrous sight greeted me this afternoon whilst driving along the Dyke Road.
In the mid-distance, between the river and the road, I spotted a large spread of beautiful blue that could have been low areas of water. I parked my vehicle, and with my binoculars I was thrilled to see that it was a largish display of camas (Camassia quamash) happily and generously blooming like a grand dame staging a comeback. Oh, so beautiful! There were the usual suspects in amongst the camas and more so in the perimeter. The only one I can remember offhand is the orange of the castilleja, but there were more.
It was thrilling to see it bloom in such abundance after the heartbreak of losing the Kye Bay Road displays. It would be wonderful to be able to see it from much closer, but my guess is that it is in some very boggy ground.
Too exciting! I hope others can stop by for a ‘gander’. I parked safely at the wide pavement by the Kus Kus Sum fence.”
From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on June 6.
Last weekend (also showering, like this one) I did some wandering around Miracle Beach Provincial Park looking at all the nice blooms this time of year has to offer. You are probably thinking that beer and roses don’t exactly go together, but this gets to the truth of what we often see in the natural world…beauty side by side with human detritus.
Here are a few highlights [click a photo to enlarge it]:
June is the month for roses! The lovely Nootka rose (Rosa nutkana).
June also means that summer is coming, and with it more Lucky cans, garbage and beach fires!
Beach pea (Lathyrus japonicus). A plant that likes to lean out onto the beach, climbing over logs, rock and sand.
Dune grass (Elymus mollis). The strappy, blue-green leaves and giant spiky flowers are a showstopper. It is also a great shore stabilizer.
Maple erineum mite (Aceria calaceris). You may notice these bright strawberry-red patches on the leaves of Douglas maple (and possibly other maples…but I always seem to see it just on the Douglas maple).
Salal flowers (Gaultheria shallon). Look again at these common, but enchanting bell-like flowers covered in sticky hairs.
Vanilla leaf (Achlys triphylla), are always attractively beaded with water droplets after the rain.
A peaceful view of Black Creek.
American brooklime (Veronica americana). This veronica likes ditches, stream sides and wet places.
Damp weather brings out the gastropods! Here is a banana slug (Ariolimax columibanus) out for a stroll on a sword fern frond.
The previously unidentified maple tree (#13) on Willemar Ave. has now been identified as a Norway maple (Acer platanoides).
One intrepid group of cyclists has visited almost all of the nominated trees and sent us these photos of some of them (all photos by Angela Dawson). Click a photo to enlarge it.
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! ... See MoreSee Less
The New Forest Act Roadshow is a series of public presentations across British Columbia explaining what the New Forest Act is, why BC’s current forestry system is failing, and what a workable legislative solution looks like.That solution is the New Forest Act – a proposed policy framework developed over several years through research, public input, and lived experience in communities directly affected by forestry decisions.BC’s forestry challenges are not isolated incidents—they are the result of a system that no longer reflects the realities on the land.Join Jennifer Houghton and Dave Weaver on Monday June 15th at the Stan Hagen Theatre in Courtenay fpr a presentation that offers a clear, developed alternative.Jennifer Houghton is lead developer of the New Forest Act, a legislative proposal to replace British Columbia’s current forestry system. She works directly on forestry policy analysis, public education, and government engagement to advance structural reform in how BC’s forests are managed.Dave Weaver has 37 years of experience in British Columbia’s forestry sector, working across industry, consulting, and government. His career includes field forestry with MacMillan Bloedel, forest consulting and applied ecology instruction in the northern interior, and 12 years with the BC Ministry of Forests developing silviculture policy and training in alternatives to clearcutting.He now focuses on watershed-level impacts of forestry through his work with the Beaufort Watershed Stewards, bringing decades of on-the-ground and policy experience to the discussion of forestry reform in BC.This event is for:Residents concerned about forestry in their regionPeople working in or affected by the forest sectorThose interested in practical, policy-level solutionsAnyone who wants a clear explanation of what’s happening—and what can be doneTo view the schedule for other presentations and for full details on the legislative framework visit boundaryforest.org/the-new-forest-act-proposal/Sentinel Educational Foundation and the Watershed Sentinel magazine are the sponsors of the Vancouver Island leg of the 2026 New Forest Act Roadshow. Their support is helping bring public education about forest policy reform to communities across Vancouver Island.This is a free public event and donations are welcome ... See MoreSee Less
The New Forest Act Roadshow is a series of public presentations across British Columbia explaining what the New Forest Act is, why BC’s current forestry system is failing, and what a workable legislative solution looks like. Dave Weaver and Jennifer Houghton will be speaking at Stan Hagen Theatre on June 15th. for more information visit boundaryforest.org/courtenay🚨 ANNOUNCEMENT: The New Forest Act Roadshow - June 2–22, 2026This will be a series of in-person presentations across British Columbia focused on the New Forest Act - a legislative proposal to replace the current forestry framework.Tour stops include:Golden • Nelson • Trail • 100 Mile HouseCampbell River • Quadra Island • CourtenayPort Alberni • Honeymoon Bay • Powell River • Victoria Full details and event pages: boundaryforest.org/new-forest-act-roadshow-2026-info/About the New Forest ActThe New Forest Act is a proposed legislative framework that restructures forest management around ecological limits and long-term economic stability.It is built on a Protect–Restore–Harvest (PRH) model:• Protect primary forests and critical watershed areas• Restore degraded landscapes• Harvest only on previously disturbed land using selection-based systems, within ecological thresholdsThe framework shifts management from volume-based targets to outcomes-based management, with a focus on watershed function, ecosystem integrity, and stable regional economies.FormatEach event will be a presentation followed by a focused Q&A. Presenter Jennifer Houghton, New Forest Act Campaign Director, draws on years of research, public education, and direct engagement with communities and decision-makers across BC.Co-presenterDave Weaver (retired forestry professional) will co-present in Campbell River, and likely in Courtenay and Port Alberni as well.If you’ve been watching this issue for years...If you’ve felt like nothing ever actually changes...Come to a presentation.See it for yourself.Bring someone with you. June 2–22. Across British Columbia. Let’s go. ... See MoreSee Less
Drought in the summer is hard on plants in our environment. The trees in your yard may have begun to respond to this stress. Our next knowledge walk will help you to learn how to keep your trees healthy and thriving.Join Verna Mumby as we look at the effects of drought and climate change on trees.This knowledge walk will be at the Airpark. Taking the trees there as a sample, we will look for signs of drought stress, and indications of healthy growth. We will examine factors such as hydrology, disease vectors and soil compaction. We will discuss watering and other methods of mitigating stress.Meeting location will be sent before the walk. Bring binoculars to examine higher branches. Wear sturdy footwear and dress for the weather. We will be walking on the airpark paths.REGISTRATION required using RSVP link at comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca/event/trees-and-drought/ An easy 1 km walk on a wheelchair accessible paved path. Sorry, no dogs. This event is free, but donations are welcome. ... See MoreSee Less
