Comox Valley Nature

Learn about Kus-kus-sum restoration

Posted on October 20, 2024 by web_admin

Comox Valley Nature members and the general public are invited to CVN’s October general meeting for the following keynote presentation:

Title: An Overview of the Kus-kus-sum Restoration Project
Speaker: Caitlin Pierzchalski (Project Watershed)
Date: Sunday, October 27, 2024
Time: 3:00 p.m. PT
Location: Main hall of Comox United Church, 250 Beach Drive, Comox

“Sedges have edges” (Photo: Dylan Thiessen)

Caitlin will provide an update of the current restoration works and the works planned for next year at Kus-kus-sum. She will also update and summarize the status of planned work and long-term monitoring and maintenance of the site. Caitlin will emphasize the plant prescription chosen for Kus-kus-sum and the ongoing planting efforts. For more information on this project see Project Watershed’s website.

About the speaker

Caitlin Pierzchalski is the Executive Director of Project Watershed. She is a restoration ecologist, watershed steward, and experienced program manager. She was born and raised on the traditional territory of the Sylix-speaking peoples and is currently based on unceded Coast Salish territory. She is inspired by her love of oceans, and has been working in and learning from marine and coastal environments throughout the Salish Sea for the past 10 years. She believes in exploring the unique ways each of us can contribute to and support healthy, future ecosystems for our communities, and is always reflecting on her own role in this. She’s keen to support and further community-engaged stewardship in the Comox Valley that contributes to thriving watersheds, and holds a cautiously hopeful view for the future for our lands and waters.

More about the meeting

Following the keynote presentation, the meeting will include brief reports from CVN interest groups and other activity leaders.

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

If you are new to Comox Valley Nature, find out more about us here.

Posted in Conservation and Restoration, General Meetings, Guest Speakers | Comments Off

Exploring Willow Point reef, July 2024

Posted on October 5, 2024 by web_admin

The CVN Shoreline Group had a productive field trip to the Willow Point reef in Campbell River this year on July 5. As on trips to this location in previous years, the group enjoyed the excellent leadership of Campbell River’s Sandra Milligan.

This reef is rich in intertidal life, and Sandra has been accumulating a list of the species she’s seen there for many years. To provide context for this trip, Sandra made these comments about her cumulative list:

The reef species composition does change, so some species haven’t been seen recently, but I leave them on the list in hopes they will reappear. The reef is still changing because of the sea star die-off 10 years ago and subsequent increase in urchin and mussel abundance.

Following the trip, Sandra updated her list. You can download the full species list here. Check marks indicate the species that were observed on this occasion.

Thanks to CVN members Stuart and Véronique for the photo above and those below. Click a photo to enlarge it.

Posted in Field Trips, Shoreline and Marine | Comments Off

Recording for talk on Buttle Lake ecology

Posted on September 28, 2024 by web_admin

The Strathcona Wilderness Institute recently hosted the following online presentation, facilitated by the Canadian Society of Environmental Biologists:

Title: Observations on the fish and aquatic ecology of Buttle Lake
Speaker: Paige Stuart
Date: Tuesday, August 27, 2024

If you missed this event or would like to see it again, CSEB has made the recording available here. To access it you will need to provide your name and email address.

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

Posted in Ecology, Freshwater organisms, Guest Speakers | Comments Off

New article: Hybrid swans

Posted on September 7, 2024 by web_admin

In the last couple of decades you might have seen reports of some hybrid swans (Mute Swan x Trumpter Swan) in our region. In her latest long-form article, CVN member Véronique McIntyre collects those reports and delves into the behaviour and biology of swans to shed light on this phenomenon. In her inimitable style, Véronique presents the story of the swans as a conversation between a hybrid swan and a Trumpeter Swan. Be sure to check out the article here: Hybrid Swans: Mixed-up and Proud of It.

You can always find this and other long-form articles via the Articles category in the sidebar.

Posted in Articles, Birds | Comments Off

Botany at Paradise Meadows, August 2024

Posted on August 26, 2024 by web_admin

The always fascinating Paradise Meadows in Strathcona Provincial Park was the destination for the Botany Group’s field trip on August 6.

The focus species for this outing are all found only at elevations above 300 metres: Sitka alder, yellow-cedar, green false-hellebore, kneeling angelica, white mountain-heather, pink mountain-heather, crowberry, bog blueberry, common butterwort, and king gentian. Various other species were also observed.

The group’s co-leader Véronique has created another great photographic identification guide for many of the species observed on this walk using her own photos and additional research. Below is a selection of images from the guide. Download the full guide here (PDF, 7.4 MB, 28 pages). [Click a thumbnail photo to see the full photo.]

Posted in Field Trips, Learning material, Plants and fungi | Comments Off

New article: Life cycle of mosses

Posted on August 26, 2024 by web_admin

CVN member Véronique M. explains in her latest long-form article what the gametophyte and sporophyte forms of a moss are and the roles they play in the sexual reproduction of mosses. As always, she provides her own field photos to illustrate the concepts. If you’ve ever wondered what the term “alternation of generations” means, learn all about it in the article Life Cycle of Mosses.

You can always find this and other long-form articles via the Articles category in the sidebar.

Posted in Articles, Plants and fungi | Comments Off

Learn about Buttle Lake ecology

Posted on August 16, 2024 by web_admin

CVN members and the general public are invited to attend the following free online lecture hosted by the Strathcona Wilderness Institute, and facilitated by the Canadian Society of Environmental Biologists:

Title: Observations on the fish and aquatic ecology of Buttle Lake
Speaker: Paige Stuart
Date: Tuesday, August 27, 2024
Time: 7:00 p.m. PT

See the registration link below.

Situated at the heart of Strathcona Provincial Park, Buttle Lake, which was once home to large trout populations, has never recovered from the twin impacts of the building of the Upper Campbell Dam (1958) and the mining impacts of the Westmin Mine at Myra Falls. The impacts have drawn attention to short studies, notably by Dr. Tom Northcote from 1962 to 2000. Paige Stuart has reviewed the literature to date and carried out a series of preliminary observations to determine knowledge gaps and understand the situation limiting recovery.

About the speaker

Paige Stuart is a Research Student at SWI during the 2024 season.

Registration

“Seating capacity” for the talk is limited, and you need to register in advance. You can check the computer requirements for attendees here.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the webinar.

Posted in Ecology, Freshwater organisms, Guest Speakers | Comments Off

SWI workshop: Subalpine mycology

Posted on August 14, 2024 by web_admin

CVN members and others are invited to participate in the following two-day workshop organized by the Strathcona Wilderness Institute as part of its “Discovering our Biodiversity” series exploring the natural history of Strathcona Provincial Park.

Title: Subalpine Mycology Workshop (Sep 21) with Mycology Hike to Divers Lake (Sep 22)
Presenters: Andy MacKinnon, Thom O’Dell, Erin Feldman and Bryce Kendrick
Date: Saturday, September 21, 2024 and Sunday, September 22, 2024
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, and starting at 9:00 a.m. Sunday, PT
Location: Strathcona Park Wilderness Centre, Paradise Meadows.
Cost: $70.00 (students: $25.00)
Maximum number of participants: 15

See below for registration instructions.

The 6th annual SWI Subalpine Mycology Workshop will take place on September 21 in the Strathcona Park Wilderness Centre, Paradise Meadows, followed on September 22 by a hike to Divers Lake. This year the team of talented experts includes Andy MacKinnon, Thom O’Dell, Erin Feldman and Bryce Kendrick, all eminent mycologists with extensive experience in both instruction and guiding field forays.

On Saturday they will have in-class slide presentations and ID sessions, combined with forays out into the Meadows, in both the morning and afternoon, separated by a lunch featuring wild mushroom soup.

On Sunday, SWI Director Loys Maingon will lead a hike through the fungus-rich forested slopes on the trail to Divers Lake, which lies in the valley below and to the west of Paradise Meadows.

About the workshop leaders

Andy MacKinnon is a forest ecologist with research interests in plant-fungal partnerships. He is Past-President of SVIMS, and is a co-author of RBCM’s “Mushrooms of British Columbia”.

Thom O’Dell, Ph.D. has over 35 years experience studying and teaching about mushrooms.

Erin Feldman, MSc, is a research scientist turned mushroom cultivator and educator with more than 10 years sharing fungal facts through classes, forest walks and biodiversity surveys.

Bryce Kendrick, Ph.D, D.Sc., F.R.S.C. has been working with fungi for more than 70 years and has published more than 300 papers and books over that period.

Registration

To register or for further information, email .

Posted in Education, News, Plants and fungi | Comments Off

Botany at Rosewall Creek Park, July 2024

Posted on August 3, 2024 by web_admin

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 cup fungus, oak fern, spiny wood fern, devil’s club, black gooseberry, clasping twistedstalk, goatsbeard, and enchanter’s nightshade.

Also, co-leader Karen C., who recently completed a course on grasses, helped the group identify a few grasses and sedges along the way. Karen recommends the following field guides for grasses and sedges, both published by Oregon State University Press:

Field Guide to the Grasses of Oregon and Washington (currently out of print, but a new edition is expected by mid-2025)
Field Guide to the Sedges of the Pacific Northwest

Another highlight was examining an amazing nurse stump with several trees of different species growing from it.

The group’s other co-leader Véronique has created another great photographic identification guide for many of the species observed on this walk using her own photos and additional research. Below is a selection of images from the guide. Download the full guide here (PDF, 6.8 MB).

Posted in Field Trips, Learning material, Plants and fungi | Comments Off

Botany at Comox Lake Eco Reserve, June 2024

Posted on July 11, 2024 by web_admin

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 the bluffs with their uncommon dry-site plant communities, including some plants rare in this region.

The group’s co-leader Véronique has created another very useful photographic identification guide to many of the species observed on this walk using her own photos and additional research. Below is a selection of images from the guide. Download the guide here (PDF, 16.1 MB).