Free Spirit Spheres

Guest Post by Rachel Dodds As the wind blows, you gently rock back and forth hearing the whistle of the wind and the rustle of the leaves. Sometimes bears and elk walk underneath – oblivious to you watching. There is something quite surreal to realize you are hanging from a tree! The sensation is like being on a boat but …

Ecosystems In Peril: The Coastal Douglas-fir forests of British Columbia

Guest post by Vijay Somalinga Forests in British Columbia appear to stretch forever. To someone who is seeing these forests for the first time, it seems like they have remained untouched since the beginning of time. But, even the remotest stands of pristine old growth forests have been logged, and only  scattered patches of protected old-growth forests remain today. Even these remnant …

Bring Back the Bluebirds

Project update courtesy of Garry Oak Ecosystem Recovery Team The Bring Back the Bluebirds project is excited to report the first confirmed Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana) nest in the Salish Sea area since 1995. A re-introduced bluebird has laid four beautiful blue eggs at the Cowichan Garry Oak Preserve (CGOP) near Duncan. The eggs are in a nestbox claimed by …

An Estuary Walk

Guest Post by Jocie Brooks I am looking at Google Earth, following the coast south of Courtenay and I find myself staring at a river, the Trent, as it snakes down to the ocean, opening into a fan-like delta that forms a prominent bump on the coastline. Even from this bird’s eye view, I’m stuck by the estuary’s beauty—a geographic …

A Succulent Story

Guest Post by Jocie Brooks Whenever I come in my back door, I’m greeted by two pots of hardy native succulents that I planted last summer: Oregon stonecrop and broad-leaved stonecrop. Attractive rosettes of fleshy leaves have completely engulfed the pots, and I marvel at the vigour of these plants that thrive in wet winters and dry summers with no …

Great Backyard Bird Count – February 17 to 20

Like most naturalists I’ve got a couple of backyard feeders and enjoy keeping a rough tally of the species that come and go. It’s always interesting when something a little unusual turns up, but the regulars make for entertaining viewing. Bushtits come through at least two times a week following some sort of urban feeding route which includes our suet …

The Tsolum Celebrates Another Year in the Right Direction

The Tsolum River Restoration Society is celebrating a positive year of conservation and restoration work in the Tsolum River watershed, Comox Valley, British Columbia. Water quality continues to improve, our understanding fish is improving and we have  small improvements in pink and coho salmon and cutthroat trout numbers.  In addition we have been active with bank stabilization, riparian zone replanting. …

Here’s to Hemlocks!

Guest Post By Jocie Brooks Western Hemlock Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) is one of coastal BC’s most common conifers. It is also a very beautiful tree, with fine needles and attractive downward-sweeping boughs. Early settlers called the tree “hemlock” because they thought that the odour of the crushed needles resembled a European plant. “Tsuga” translates from Japanese as “tree mother,”and …

Refresh the Spirit at Tsolum Spirit Regional Park

Guest Post by Jocie Brooks This week I put on my gumboots and headed into the heart of Merville, British Columbia to explore Tsolum Spirit Regional Park. It’s a nice place to take a leisurely stroll (the trail isn’t too long, so no need to rush) and enjoy the fall colours as well as a viewpoint overlooking the river. The …

Born of Fire

Guest Post by Vijay Somalinga Last summer I was having a conversation with a friend about the native flora of British Columbia. I was quite disappointed when I learned that most of the the flower pictures I had taken that summer turned out to be invasive and non-native species. It was during this conversation that for the first time I …