by Andrew Bryant 19 October 2023 Jason Addy lived for years just beside Stillwater Bluffs and knows the area well. He’s also an experienced alpinist, and shared some of his epic backcountry travels in the local mountains.  Truly impressive!    

by Howard Bridger 21 September 2023 We were delighted to have Merrilee Prior as the guest speaker at our monthly general meeting.  Merrilee is the founder, director and leading light of PROWLS (Powell River Orphaned Wildlife Society) and was a wonderful fit to speak to our club.       She related the origin, history, … Continue reading Merrilee Prior – “recent PROWLS adventures”

by Andrew Bryant, 20 Apr 2023. After cancellation of another speaker, Andrew stepped up, rummaged through his slide collection yet again, and came to speak to us about hibernating bats. Way back in the dark ages (1988), it turns out that he was hired to look for bats…within abandoned gold mines.  To say this was … Continue reading Andrew Bryant – “Looking for hibernating bats in the South Okanagan”

by Andrew Bryant, 16 Feb 2023. Jenn Blancard  came and spoke to us about the Pender Harbour Coastal Waters Monitoring Program.  This is truly a massive “citizen-science” effort, involving dozens of volunteers, boat captains, divers, birders and more. The idea is simple.  What else lives here?  What trends can we learn from monitoring their population … Continue reading Jenn Blancard – “Pender Harbour Coastal Waters Monitoring Program”

by Andrew Bryant, 16 Feb 2023. Paul and Cheryl Miniato spent a couple of weeks cruising around the Galápagos Islands in October of 2022 – and fortunately for us they took lots of photos! Although neither of them are biologists or professional photographers, they are observant naturalists, had knowledgeable guides and made the most of … Continue reading Paul & Cheryl Miniato – “The Galapagos”

by David Bedry, 19 Jan 2023. Our January speaker Michael Robinson, an Order of Canada recipient, spoke about his work with indigenous peoples and Metis of Fort MacKay affected by the mining and refining of the Fort McMurray tar sands. To recognize the importance of the land to the people living off it Micheal worked … Continue reading Michael Robinson – “My life in applied anthropology”

by Andrew Bryant, 15 Sep 2022. We had a treat for our first meeting of the 2022-23 Invited Speakers season.  Neil Hughes teamed up with Pierre Geoffray to revisit their recent birding adventures in Belize – and what adventures they had! Belize is a small country (about 73% of the size of Vancouver Island) but … Continue reading Neil Hughes & Pierre Geoffray – “Birding Belize”

by Andrew Bryant, 17 Apr 2022. In only our 2nd “in person” meeting since last November, Ken and Kathie Pritchard came to speak to us about their passion for birds. There was no concert upstairs this time – but we again had some technical issues with the Zoom meeting, and not many stayed to the … Continue reading Ken & Kathie Pritchard – “Passionate about our feathered friends”

by Andrew Bryant, 17 Mar 2022. In our first “in person” meeting since last November, Aimee Mitchell and Chris Currie came to speak to us about local endangered species and ecosystems. The good news is that it was nice to see familiar faces (although most of us were still wearing masks).  The bad news is … Continue reading Aimee Mitchell & Chris Currie – “Species and ecosystems at risk”

by Andrew Bryant, 17 Feb 2022. Having dated for a few months, I invited my “lady friend” Heather to spend three weeks exploring the Cook Islands back in November of 2000. This happened because because another well-travelled friend said: “listen, Andrew, just go:  It’s like Tahiti was 30 years ago.  And what Hawaii was like … Continue reading Andrew Bryant – “A visit to the Cook Islands”

by Andrew Bryant, 20 Jan 2022. Long-time club member Heather Harbord stepped in at short notice to share details of her trip to Bathurst Inlet Lodge back in 2005. Not only did she learn how to utilize Zoom effectively, she invited Page Burt, who’s served as staff naturalist at that very lodge for decades, to … Continue reading Heather Harbord – “A visit to Bathurst Inlet”

by Andrew Bryant, 18 Nov 2021. Bruce Nidle is a Registered Professional Biologist with over 35 years of experience in environmental assessment, habitat inventory, stormwater management, and single/multi-family urban development projects.  He presently works for PGL Environmental Consultants of Vancouver. He spoke to us about “riparian areas”.  What they are, why they’re important, what threatens … Continue reading Bruce Nidle – “Riparian Areas”

by Andrew Bryant, 21 Oct 2021. After many years with the BC Wildfire Service, Ryan Thoms now lives in Powell River and is manager of the qathet Regional District’s Regional Emergency Preparedness Service. His topic was apt, for not many remember the Vancouver Island earthquake of 1946.  Fortunately the local damage was not severe.  Some … Continue reading Ryan Thoms – “The 1946 Vancouver Island Earthquake”

by Andrew Bryant, 23 Sept 2021. Mike Moore, who many members will remember as the former owner and skipper of the Misty Isles, returned to speak again to speak to us at our first event held in our new venue at the Royal Canadian Legion. We began with a short  (15 minute) Annual General Meeting (the … Continue reading Mike Moore – “Pacific Giant Octopus”

by Heather Harbord, 20 May 2021. Dr. Ken Marr, Curator of Botany at the Royal BC Museum, and one of the Club’s first speakers, gave a fascinating account of his research on the Alpine plants of Northern BC especially in the area east of highway 37.  This is a remote and expensive area to reach. … Continue reading Ken Marr – “New plant discoveries from the northern BC alpine”

by Tom Koleszar, 21 Jan 2021. Chris is a PhD student at the Université de Montréal (UdeM) currently studying extra-solar planets, or “exoplanets.” His talk started with an introduction to the domains of astronomy and the methods used in the study of the cosmos. He then focussed in on planets and especially exoplanets, describing what … Continue reading Chris Mann – “What are Exoplanets and how are they studied?”

by Tom Koleszar, 13 Feb 2020. Glyn is the Chair of the SFU Department of Earth Sciences & Co-Director of the Centre for Natural Hazards Research.  His talk was all about the Mt. Meager volcano which lies near the upper Pemberton Valley, only 115 km NE of Powell River.  During his visit to Powell River, … Continue reading Glyn Williams-Jones – “Mt. Meager Volcano”

by Andrew Bryant, 17 Oct 2019. Mark recently completed his Masters thesis at the University of Iceland, entitled “Flat-topped volcanic edifices in Vonarskarð, Central Iceland, and on the Kolbeinsey Ridge“.   You can learn more about his research here, or read his full thesis here. Geology is one thing.  Iceland is something else. Over the course … Continue reading Mark Koleszar – “Geological tales of Iceland”

by Tom Koleszar, 26 Sep 2019. Mike is an Emeritus Research Scientist in Glaciology and Cold Region Environments who lives part-time in Lund.  Mike’s talk introduced us to Earth’s cryosphere and then focussed on mountain glaciers.  More can be learned about the cryosphere here. We learned a great deal about how to measure glaciers and … Continue reading Mike Demuth – “Cold Matters: Cryospheric Change and Related Hydro-ecological Functioning”

by Andrew Bryant, 23 May 2019. The Club’s very own Barbara Sherriff, well-known for her globetrotting adventures, recently returned from another epic voyage – this time to Easter Island and the glaciers of Patagonia! Always the consumate educator, Barbara provided a hugely informative and highly amusing talk, deftly switching from tidbits about geology (did you … Continue reading Barbara Sherriff “Moai and volcanoes of Easter Island…and Patagonian glaciers”

by Andrew Bryant, 25 Apr 2019. Jeff Belcher works for the BC Wildfire Service.  He spent the first ten years working in the interior of the province out of Williams Lake and Alexis Creek.  He grew up in Courtenay, so made the move to Powell River just over a year ago to be closer to … Continue reading Jeff Belcher “B.C. Wildfires: past and future”

by Andrew Bryant, 21 Mar 2019. Steve works for the B.C. Ministry of Environment as a “Habitat Biologist” based out of Nanaimo.   He prefaced his talk as “not to be interpreted as expressing government policy”…and then told his story.  And what a story it is.  He’s served variously as a “Land Use Planning Biologist”, “Ecosystem … Continue reading Steve Gordon – “Goats, grizzlies and goshawks: adventures of a habitat biologist”

by Andrew Bryant, 28 Feb 2019. David has spent most of his life studying west coast and arctic wildlife, but is most well-known for his work with Bald Eagles, beginning with his pioneering population surveys during the early 1960s while a graduate student at UBC. Although a world travelor, published author and interested in all … Continue reading David Hancock – “Understanding the lives of Bald Eagles”

by Andrew Bryant, 21 Feb 2019. Jason Leane is not a scientist – he works as a technologist at Brooks Secondary – but citizen-scientist he most assuredly IS.  So a lifelong interest in science and biology has translated into a most unusual and interesting hobby…and a fascinating talk for us! In a nutshell, the advent … Continue reading Jason Leane – “Citizen Science And The Discovery Of Novel Fungal Species”

by Andrew Bryant, 19 Jan 2019. Long-time club member and skilled photographer David Bedry provided an informative look at “getting it right” when creating images…no matter what gear you use. He began with a 1979 Kodak film called The Beginnings of Photographic Composition.  If that sounds dated or dull, well…trust me it wasn’t!  Indeed, it was solid … Continue reading David Bedry – “Nature photography: basics and more”

by Lois Bridger, 22 Nov 2018. Andrew provided a humorous look at the hands-on, and sometimes very labour-intensive methods needed to reintroduce a species.   The Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) is one of only four species officially listed as “endangered” or “threatened” under the BC Wildlife Act.  They were considered “extirpated” from the province by the late 1970s. … Continue reading Andrew Bryant – “The operation was successful (sort of): reintroducing Burrowing Owls, 1989-90”

by Andrew Bryant, 2 Nov 2018. Jackie Hildering (aka “the Marine Detective“) of the Marine Education and Research Society packed the Senior’s Centre with her dynamic talk about orcas, and how they’ve changed us. With a mixture of history, science and irony, Jackie delivered a powerful talk indeed. I was astounded to learn, for example, … Continue reading Jackie Hildering – “Lessons learned from killer whales”

by Andrew Bryant, 18 Oct 2018. Heather unfortunately couldn’t make it – but Barbara stepped up and gave a marvellous account of their epic trip to Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T. via the Dempster Highway. What an adventure!  Barbara was funny, informative, and vivid.  I can only imagine what it would be like to encounter a “road closed” … Continue reading Heather Harbord & Barbara Sherriff – “Heather and Barbara’s Trip to Tuktoyuktut”

by Andrew Bryant, 20 Sept 2018. We tried something a bit different for our AGM this year.  Rather than kick off the new Malanat-year by bringing in an outside speaker, we thought we’d take the opportuity to reflect on the year that’s been – and what a year it was! There were a total of 16 … Continue reading the Club – “Highlights of 2017-18”

by Nancy Pezel, 7 June 2018. Pat’s interest in marine dinosaurs was sparked when his brother Mike (and 12 year-old daughter Heather) discovered a near complete skeleton of an 80 million year old long-necked plesiosaur.  It’s called Elasmosaurus. The new specimen made a big splash in scientific circles.  Just as it no doubt did in … Continue reading Pat Trask – “Dinosaurs of Vancouver Island”