Mayne Island Conservancy Society

Conservation Talks

Saturday October 15, Ag Hall 7:30 pm - "Crossing the Salish Sea: Land Mammals of the Gulf Islands" with Dave Nagorsen

The history of the land mammal fauna of the Gulf Islands has been dynamic with a number of past extinctions and ongoing colonizations including the recent arrival of alien species. Going back to last ice-age, Dave will trace the history of the land mammals, how they managed to reach the islands, and conservation issues associated with these animals.

Dave was the mammal curator at the Royal BC Museum for many years and has written four handbooks on the province’s mammals. He has long been fascinated by island biogeography and the mammals of BC’s islands.

February 25 2012, Community Centre - "Earthquakes" with John Cassidy

Further Details TBA

Saturday August 20th, Dinner Bay Park 8:30 pm - "Introduction to the Night Sky" - David Lee

David Lee is a well known amateur astronomer and an advocate of public outreach in astronomy and science. He is a member of the Royal Astronomical Society, Victoria Centre. His photographs have been published in Sky News, Sky & Telescope and on various space related websites. He has been the website editor for the Victoria Centre and is DaveXX of the "Royal Astronomical Society of Daves".

There will be a talk and a slide presentation in the pavillionat 8:30 with hands-on stargazing theresafter.

Plan to come early! Shortly after 7:00 o'clock we will have croquet and boules sets to occupy your time while we wait for dusk - Bring a blanket and a picnic.!

Saturday April 16th, Ag Hall 7:30 pm - "Journey Below the Surface" - Doug Biffard

Join Doug Biffard for a a slide-show journey into the undersea world of British Columbia and abroad. He will offer an historical perspective about what long time divers are saying about what they see below the surface.

Doug started snorkeling when he was 4 years old with gear he borrowed form his uncle (when he wasn't looking). In 1975, Doug signed up for open water certification in Kelowna and dove Okanagan Lake from one end to the other - no not in one dive! From freshwater beginnings Doug moved on to all sorts of diving both sport and light commercial. Exotic dive trips started with a high school road trip to Powell River in 1976, then Mexico a couple of times and followed recently to Hawaii and Rarotonga. In his other life Doug is an aquatic ecologist with BC Parks.

Saturday February 12th, Ag Hall 7:30 pm - " Native Pollinating Bees and Protecting their Habitats" - Gord Hutchings

Gord Hutchings is a Victoria native, and has lived and now owns property on Saturna Island since 1994. He worked as a field biologist for the B.C. Conservation Data Centre, the Royal BC Museum, the Canadian Wildlife Service and the Yukon Territory Gov't doing field entomology collecting. His research at UVic was on the orchard mason bees and he now volunteers with several groups on Vancouver Island such as The Compost Education Centre, Swan Lake Nature Centre, and Glendale Gardens where he teaches, and holds public awareness sessions about native bee pollinators, dragonflies and other insects.

Gord promises this will be an awesome talk with lots of display materials, including cut-aways of ground nesting bees, photos of native bees, different socialities of native bee species, handouts and more.

For more info visit Gord's Website

Workshops

Saturday Feb 11th 1:00 - 3:30 pm at the Ag Hall, Native Plant Propagation

Join the Mayne Island Conservancy Society for a Saturday afternoon of hands on learning. The workshop will begin with a short presentation by biologist Rob Underhill on the benefits of using native plants, followed by participants working their way through a series of five hands-on workstations. All materials will be provided by the Mayne Island Conservancy Society. We will be asking for small donations to help cover the cost of soil.

You will learn propagation techniques for growing arbutus, blackcap raspberry, salmon berry, red flowering currant, twinflower, stonecrop, and moss. Each participant will leave with their own native plants. Come prepared to get your hands dirty! Due to limited spots, pre-registration is required.

Please RSVP to Rob at Email: stewardship@conservancyonmayne.com Phone: 1-250-893-7110.

This event is described more fully on the Community Involvement page of Community Stewardship Project here

Movie Nights

Come to the Ag Hall on a Saturday evening for a private showing of conservation-themed movies. Sometimes the evening is hosted and lively question and answer sessions ensue.

Admission is free and your donation gets you popcorn and occasionally other refreshments.

Next Movie

• January 21st, 2012     Force of Nature- Introduced by Peter Robinson

  David Suzuki, iconic Canadian scientist, educator, broadcaster and activist delivers a 'last lecture' -- what he describes as "a distillation of my life and thoughts, my legacy, what I want to say before I die".

  Filmed before a live audience, in front of a memory box of moving, distilled images, he articulates a core, urgent message: we have exhausted the limits of the biosphere and it is imperative that we re-think our relationship with the natural world. Suzuki looks unflinchingly at the strains on our interconnected web of life -- and out of our dire present circumstances, he offers up a blueprint for sustainability and survival.

  The film interweaves the lecture with scenes from the places and events in Suzuki's life. As such, the film is a biography of ideas -- forged by the major social, scientific, cultural and political events of the past 70 years.

• October 29th, 2011     Green Fire

  The first full-length, high-definition documentary film ever made about legendary environmentalist Aldo Leopold, Green Fire highlights Leopold’s extraordinary career, tracing how he shaped and influenced the modern environmental movement. Leopold remains relevant today, inspiring projects all over the country that connect people and land.

Movies are at the Ag Hall and start at 7:30 pm

Field Trips

Know Your Island Birds - Winter Session

Saturday December 3, 2011 - Location TBA

Of the 170 or so species of birds that have been identified for Mayne Island, those that winter here make up a large proportion. This is particularly true of the marine waters around the island. As the annual Christmas Bird Count is coming up, it would be good to brush up skills on identifying the birds of winter which as many of you know do not have those bright and distinguishing colours. In addition, most do not do much singing, but rather use very terse pips, chips or twitters (not the electronic form); more challenging for sure, but very much worth it. If you are keen to know, please join Michael Dunn for a workshop on Saturday December 3, 2011.

There will be both an inside and outside portion to help with the field identification, so please dress appropriately. Guidebooks, binoculars and spotting scopes are welcome and encouraged. We will start at around 10 am for the inside portion and go till about 3 pm, spending the afternoon portion outside. So join us for part or all of this workshop. Location is still to be determined at this writing, so look for posters or contact Michael at 5745. All levels of birders are welcomed.

Attendees at this combined "Talk & Walk" and other interested foilks should also consider taking part in the December 17th Christmas Bird Count - details appear on the Birding on Mayne page hosted by the Conservancy

Sunday July 3rd Oceans Day, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm at Piggott Bay

World Ocean's Day was on June 8th in 2011 however the state of the tides in our region meant that we could not undertake our usual educatiional activities at a convenient time of day. The following is an excerpt from the Fisheries and Oceans Canada page that sets out the aims of the day:

• Change attitudes — encourage individuals to think about what the oceans mean to each of us, and what oceans have to offer
• Learn — discover the wealth of diverse and beautiful creatures and habitats found in the oceans, and how our actions affect them
.
• Change our ways — encourage each of us to become caretakers of our oceans, and to conserve them for our future
• Celebrate — organize or participate in ocean events, whether we live inland or on the coast

http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/events-evenements/oceansday-journeedesoceans/index-eng.htm

Oceans Day at Piggott Bay:Join Leanna and Michael for beach exploration, beach seine and plankton tow. Discover the fish that live in the eelgrass bed as the seine net is pulled in. Observe microscopic plankton through a microscope and explore the sand, mud and rocks where the adult versions of zooplankton live!

Be prepared to get your feet wet and don’t forget sunscreen!

... After the event

On July 3rd the Conservancy celebrated Oceans Day with the Mayne Island community. Sixty-seven people gathered at Piggott Bay and discovered fascinating creatures on the rocks, wading in shallows and observing the results of a beach seine (even an eel-like fish called high cockscomb). Low tide exposes creatures you wouldn’t normally find, like the porcelain crab and colourful chitons (a participant found one that was brilliant blue and rimmed with orange! ). It was a glorious day and a great way to celebrate our ocean!

An iImage gallery by Toby Snelgrove can be found in the 2011 directory at www.mayneislandimages.com

Sunday Walkabouts

Photo credits: Toby Snelgrove

The Conservancy announces a series of Sunday Morning Walkabouts to take place on the morning after our bi-weekly attendance at the Farmers Market (go here for the summer 2011 schedule)

The first of the series will be a hike up the Vulture Ridge Trail to a fabulous view point in Henderson Hill Community Park led by Peter Askin of Mayne Island Parks and Rec. Meet at 10:00 am June 19th in the parking lot beyond cul de sac turnaround at the end of Beechwood Drive. The trail is 1.1 km and is rated by "Parks" as difficult. Bring good footwear and water

July 17th - Birders' Ramble with Michael Dunn. Michael will be at the Farmers Market on the 16th with a number birding resources on hand to provide access to avian info of all kinds & to talk about the next days's field trip.

Michael plans to start the walk at the junction of Dalton and Merryman - meet at 10:00 am.

July 31 - Helen O'Brian - Punch's Alley to the Sea. Meet at Punch's Alley near the end of Simpson Road at 10am. Note that parking is very limited so it is best to park on Gallagher Bay Road and enjoy the pastoral walk down Simpson. Bring water and a snack to enjoy on the beach - long pants suggested and sensible footwear advised!

Aug 14 - Betty Ann Graves - The Three Trails of Edith Point. The hikers can observe how different each trail is in a relatively small area. Meet at the end of Edith Point Road at 10am. Hiking shoes/walking shoes needed. Binoculars a good idea. It will be a 5 km hike to do the 3 trails, plus a return trip to the starting point.

August 21       The Community Gardens with Steve Cropper - Want to know more about this greenest of green projects? Meet at the Community Centre at 10:00 am for a Tour & Talk

Toby Snelgrove's Pot Goddess Poster here

Coming Sunday Walkabout destinations:

• August 21       Steve Cropper - Community Gardens

Further Details T.B.A.

Saturday December 3rd, Church House 10:00 am - Know Your Winter Birds

Join Michael Dunn at the Church House, December 3, 2011 for a fun and hands-on workshop on identifying birds. This session will focus on those bird species that winter on Mayne, and around Mayne Island. Michael will provide participants with the basic skills and techniques for improving observations of birds and increasing abilities to identify them. The workshop will be part indoors and part outdoors so please bring appropriate outdoor clothing. Session starts at 10:00 am and will end around 1:00 pm. Also please bring your most used bird identification guide, paper and pens. Contact Michael if you have any further questions at 250-539-5745.

Young Naturalists Club, coming soon to Mayne Island

With such a rich natural environment all around us MICS will be kick-starting 2012 with the inauguration of the Mayne Island Young Naturalists’ Club.

The Young Naturalists’ Club of British Columbia is a province wide nature discovery and environmental action program for kids 5 to 14, (but we’re prepared to include pre-schoolers!) Young Naturalists discover nature in their local area, explore local ecosystems, learn about native wildlife and plants and take part in environmental actions to protect their habitat. This is a family club, not a drop-off, so the young participants must have an older family member or friend accompany them. It promises to be fun and informative for all ages.

On Friday January 13, 2012, Michael Dunn and Helen O’Brian will lead the inaugural Explorer Day from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm

Who’s Awake in the Forest? Just when we think the forest is asleep for the winter this exploration will lead us to the discovery of critters, both small and large, that are very much awake as well as some that have slowed right down.

Bring a lunch and dress for the weather of the day. We’ll meet at the gazebo in Miner’s Bay Park and carpool from there.

If you have any questions please call Michael at 5745 or Helen at 5619

More Pictures

Andy Mckinnon Talks & Walks

Field Trippers Walk & Listen

Attention Focused on a Fun Guy

Doug Biffard Leads a Beach Party!

They're about THIS size - bit smaller?

For a record of Talks & Walks events from last year please visit our Programme Archive page