by Barbara Sherriff and David Bedry, 27 February 2016.  No, it’s not the title of  bad movie.  Rather, because our members gain so much from having such a wonderful network of local trails, we thought it time to give something back. So on a misty February morning, seven intrepid Malaspina Naturalists set out to clear the … Continue reading Trail-busting with ORUG

by Tammy Siddall, 22 July 2015.  It was a perfect July day in Lund when 12 naturalists boarded the Misty Isles in search of rocks. Captain Mike and crewmate Amy had planned an exciting two-day circumnavigation of Cortes Island for us.  From Lund Harbour we first headed north towards the Twin Islands. As we travelled, … Continue reading Cortes Island geology

by Andrew Bryant, 14 June 2015.  David Bedry, Heidi Rohard and I arranged (led is too strong a word)  a leisurely stroll out to Myrtle Rocks on a fine Sunday morning. Fifteen club members and a few interested passers-by participated. Together we braved the bright sun, quiet winds, noticeably low tide conditions, and still waters  to … Continue reading A low-tide stroll out to Myrtle Rocks

by Heather Harbord, 11 June 2015.   Twelve of us went on Captain Mike Moore’s schooner, Misty Isles, to check out the entrance to Bute Inlet and circumnavigate Maurelle Island. After the compulsory visit to Nancy’s Bakery, we left Lund at 10am, and powered up Thulin Passage to see the pictograph.   It was nice to … Continue reading Bute Inlet and Maurelle Island

by Tom Koleszar, 30 May 2015.  Sixteen  Naturalists traveled to Vancouver Island to visit the Horne Lake Caves. Lead by our guide, Sarah, we had a 1/2 hour walk (uphill!), complete with interpretive stops, to the entrance of the Riverbend Cave. From there, with helmets and lights on, all 16 of us descended (steeply!) into … Continue reading Underground! Horne Lake Caves

by Cindy Dalcourt, 9 May 2015.  On a beautiful, sunny morning 12 members carpooled to Lund where we met Captain Mike Moore aboard the Misty Isles for a trip to the B.C. Park nature preserve Mitlenatch Island. The very personable Captain briefed us on what the trip would consist of and shared his vast knowledge … Continue reading A day on Mitlenatch

by Andrew Bryant, 25 April 2015. Pierre Geoffray and Neil Hughes led eight of us on a leisurely ear-birding expedition along along the muddy trails behind the Italian Hall.  We started at the crack of eight and walked neither fast nor far. The rains held off, but the woods were relatively quiet.  There were a … Continue reading Birding by ear Part V

by Barbara Sherriff, 21 March 2015. Diana Rosburgh and Suzan Roos led nineteen of us on a gentle walk along the forest trails at the rear of the Recreational Complex.  They not only identified many plants, they also explained which ones were edible and which would make us very sick.  Among the plants that they described were trailing blackberry, … Continue reading Edible plants, mosses and ferns

by Andrew Bryant, 28 February 2015. Saturday was sunny and calm as nine of us gathered for a low-key birdwatching excursion with Neil Hughes and myself. We began at Palm Beach Regional Park, where we saw a hundred or more Surf Scoters, together with smaller numbers of the “usual suspects” (Horned Grebes, Harlequin ducks, Buffleheads, … Continue reading Casual birdwalk

by Andrew Bryant, 23 January 2015. As somewhat of a non sequitur to his talk about Madagascar the previous evening, Bill Merilees followed up with  a more informal discussion of his garden in Nanaimo and the mysteries of plant phenology.   “Phenology”, by the way, is just a scientific buzzword to describe the study of … Continue reading Plant phenology workshop

by Heather Harbord, 21 January 2015.  7 Jan 2015 trip:  The fog horn sounded every 2 minutes as nine of us crossed over to Egmont and then drove to Secret Cove where the fog began to lift. From there John Dafoe on the HiBaller II, a small landing craft, took us over smooth seas to Jedediah Island.  En … Continue reading Two landings on Jedediah Island

by Tom Koleszar, 22 November 2014. As a follow-up to the talk on Thursday, on Saturday twelve of us, led by Rod Tysdal (Director) and Al Barker (Operations Manager) of the Powell River Community Forest, toured parts of the Community Forest area, stopping at five sites to discuss various aspects of forest ecology and site … Continue reading Sustainable Forests field-trip

by David Bedry, 17 October 2014.  Twenty adults and three children headed into the woods for a follow-up field trip after our monthly meeting. Brian Lee, the previous nights speaker, led a great trip into the forest at Squirrel Crossing. Despite a forecast of heavy rain and strong winds the weatherman cooperated for our field … Continue reading Mushroom cook-out