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Saturday March 10th, Macy Woodlot Walk Mt. Washington
Fred Newhouse spoke at our AGM in February, and we are fortunate to have him leading a walk through the Harold Macy Woodlot today. Fred has spent most of his life in the woods in various roles with the forest service, consulting, and managing a crown woodlot. The visit will showcase the sustainable logging practices that are used on the Harold Macy Woodlot. Bring binoculars, water and a snack.
The walk is shady and under trees and may be cool even on a warm day. We have encountered Elk, Bear and Island Deer, but we can always expect 6 to 8 bird species and various species of slugs. The forest is 80 to 100 year old Coastal Western Hemlock Drier Maritime Zone. The trip is moderately difficult, but mostly on dirt and gravel roads with a 7 to 15 % slope. The holder of the woodlot license is Harold Macy, who has written an autobiography “The Four Storey Forest”.
We will meet by the old church on Harmston Road in Courtenay at 9:30, and car pool to the woodlot which is located off the Mt. Washington Parkway.
http://www.comoxvalleyrecord.com/news/123750144.html
https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/dcr/FSP%20%20WLP%20Files/WLP%20W1677.pdf
Saturday, March 3rd, Union Bay (Coal Hills)
This easy walk starts at the Union Bay Boat ramp and explores the remains of Dunsmuir’s Coal terminal, located on both sides of Hart (Washer) Creek. In 1887 Robert Dunsmuir had a deep water coal terminal 600 feet long built to load wind and steam freighters which carried the high quality coal from Cumberland around the world. Little of the infrastructure, which included coke ovens, a coal washer, and workers barracks remain. What does remain are mounds of low quality coal and coal dust, removed before shipping to ensure that only the best coal went aboard. Coal dust is explosive and water from Hart Creek was used to remove much of it here. Use of the site only stopped in 1960, and various uses of the area have been suggested over the years since then. This site is a fascinating, if toxic site, and a reminder of how poorly we treated the environment not that long ago. More information is available at these three web sites:
http://comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca/nature-viewing-guide/8-baynes-sound-area/union-bay/
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Emily Lohn receiving CVN Bursary Award from Jim Boulter, CVN President, at Mark Isfeld Secondary School Awards Ceremony June 5 2017
The CVN Bursary Committee chose Emily Lohn as this year’s bursary winner for her volunteer commitments in environmental and natural history-related activities and high academic standing at Mark R. Isfeld Secondary School. She is now enrolled in a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Biology in the dual admission program at North Island College (Courtenay) and will transfer to the University of Victoria in the last two of the four-year program to complete her degree.
Bursary recipients are invited to give a brief presentation to CVN members on their studies and future educational plans. This gives them an opportunity to say thank you to the CVN community and its donors an occasion to meet the students they are so proud to support.

The first Comox Valley Nature Tree of the Year award was nominated by Susan Holvenstot, who was presented with a small gift basket at the CVN general meeting in February of 2018.
Susan submitted one of her favourite trees, the “Anchor” Douglas fir on the banks of the Tsolum River, near 3326 Dove Creek Road. This tree is a fine example of the old growth forest that dominated the Valley prior to European settlement. It is estimated to be about 300 years old.
The top of the tree was lost sometime in the past, but it is still at least 28 metres high, with a trunk diameter of 245 cm.
The tree is on private land but is viewable from the road.
Happy New Year!
Presentation on January 8th
On January 8th we were treated to a fascinating presentation by Randal Mindell on the palaeobotany of our back yard, the Comox Valley; we learnt about the importance of the fossil plant record and what it tells us about climate change. In the valley there are a number of excellent locations for fossil plant material, including the Cumberland Mines, the river banks of the Puntledge, Trent and others, the seashores in the O
yster River area, and of course Hornby Island. We were shown the methodology for obtaining information from cross-sections of sandstone or mudstone concretions through acetate peels (see illustration attached). The acetate film will strip off fragments of wood, seeds, roots and leave of gymnosperms and angiosperms that can then be examined under the lenses of a high-powered microsope.
In fine paedagogic form, Randal summarized at the end what he had covered in the presentation – for your information here is that summary.
Lowland swamp and estuary thousands of kilometers to the south, 10? warmer
Ginkgo, Cycadeoids and other exotic gymnosperms
Ancient flowering plants groups- some still present in the area (Cornus), others long gone (Liriodendron,Platanaceae)
Beeches, Walnuts, Laurels and many elements now restricted to tropical and subtropical climates.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Monday February 20th – Mosses in Seal Bay Park with Randal in the lead.
This will be a week later than usual because of “BC Family Day”. Time and specific location will be announced closer to the time.
Greetings Botanists.
Report on the December 4th meeting.
We were treated to a fascinating presentation by Luise Hermanutz ( (Professor in the Biology Department, Memorial University, Newfoundland) on the research project monitoring the impact of climate warming in the tundra of the Torngat Mountains in Labrador on the lives of humans, fauna and flora. We were introduced to the ecology of the area, the joys of bugs and bears, and to a range of beautiful wildflowers, including the native dandelion, moss campion and of course Labrador tea. Luise has provided a link to the publication on flora that included the Inuit names of plants and information on traditional uses:
Announcement Reminder
Monday December 18th, 12.30 pm – our Christmas Potluck lunch. Helen Robinson has kindly offered to host this gathering again this year. Please phone Helen to confirm that you will be coming, so that she knows how many to expect. After lunch we usually share with the group whatever has been a highlight in the year for each of us botany-wise.
Upcoming Events
On the 2nd Monday in January, that is January 8th , Randal Mindell will give us a presentation on the palaeobotany of our own back yard – “Ancient Plants of the Comox Valley: 85 Million Years of Plant Evolution and Vegetation Changes” . That will be a lot to compress into an hour! Randal has a background in Geology and Botany, with a doctorate from the U. of A., and has much experience both as a teacher and researcher, including at the UBC Botanical Gardens.
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Dec 10, Sunday: Seal Bay Park at Fizell Road
Todays’ walk in Seal Bay Park starts at the little used Fizell Road entrance on the west side of the Seal bay Park. Access is via Grieve Road and Langlois Road. The walk is mostly flat, under the tall trees and along well maintained trails.
A link to our CVN website is here: http://comoxvalleynaturalist.bc.ca/nature-viewing-guide/3-strait-of-georgiaoyster-bay-area/seal-bay/