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”
by Andrew Bryant, 17 May 2018. After 36 years with Fisheries and Oceans Canada…well the word “retired” doesn’t seem to describe Rick very well at all! Author of numerous books including Shells and Shellfish of the Pacific Northwest, Whales to Whelks and Nudibranchs of the Pacific Northwest, Rick also served as a member of the … Continue reading Rick Harbo – “Tails of the midshipman”
by Michael Stewart, 19 Apr 2018. Donna Moseanko of “Wildwood Queens” gave a fascinating talk on the life of bees and their importance in our ecosystems. Donna became interested in bees after being mesmerized by a swarm at her bee keeping father’s home. After learning about keeping bees from him and then other beekeepers, she … Continue reading Donna Moseanko – “Wildwood Queens”
by Andrew Bryant, 15 Mar 2018. Life-long naturalist, tropical specialist, guide, politician, broadcaster and raconteur, George Sirk is one of those rare individuals who’s just really hard to classify. Getting his start as a BC Parks Branch naturalist on Mitlenatch Island, George’s career has taken him from Papua New Guinea to Costa Rica, and from Baja California … Continue reading George Sirk – “The Raw, the Bleak and the Wonderful…the Vibrant Arctic”
by Andrew Bryant, 22 Feb 2018. A scheduled speaker’s non-appearance threatened doom – until quick-witted Heather Harbord decided to take us all out instead – to Antarctica! So. After a short pause, all went swimmingly well. Penguins, orcas, ice. More penguins, more ice, and then, alas… the dreaded technical glitch… So we only got to see … Continue reading Heather Harbord – “Epic Antarctica”
by Andrew Bryant, 25 Jan 2018. Mark Sloan now works as a “First Nations Relations Advisor” for the BC Government, but once upon a time he spent his days (and nights) capturing Marbled Murrelets at sea – for science! These delightful robin-sized seabirds are noteworthy for a bunch or reasons. Most of their population is … Continue reading Mark Sloan – “What can stable isotopes tell us about the decline of Marbled Murrelets?”
by Andrew Bryant, 18 Jan 2018. Pamela Zevit works for the South Coast Conservation Program (SCCP). Together with her colleage Tamsin Baker, Pamela came to speak to us about one of their latest initiatives – diversity by design. In a phrase, “diversity by design” refers to habitat restoration – and just like ecosystems, things quickly become … Continue reading Pamela Zevit – “Diversity by Design”
by Andrew Bryant, 23 Nov 2017. Duane came up from Sechelt to talk about wildflowers and other plants – some you can eat, and some you definitately should not! He’s an accomplished photographer, naturalist and author of an impressive number of natural history guides. These include titles such as Common Wildflowers of BC, Trees of the … Continue reading Duane Sept – “Wildflowers and edible plants of BC”
by Heather Harbord, 19 Oct 2017. Our very own Dr. Andrew Bryant came to tell a story – or more accurately, a whole bunch of stories – about his work with endangered species. In “Follow the money”, newly-graduated Andrew does just that. He passed up a low-paying “dream job”, instead becoming a park naturalist, answering damn fool questions from … Continue reading Andrew Bryant – “Sidehill gougers & sea monsters: one biologist’s journey”
by Andrew Bryant, 12 Oct 2017. Frank Ritcey grew up in the wilds of Wells Grey Provincial Park, and now divides his time between serving as Provincial Coordinator for WildSafe BC, host for CBC-Radio, and hunting wild creatures with camera. He returned to Powell River to share more of his wonderful images and stories. This time … Continue reading Frank Ritcey – “What’s the connection? How to stay safe while figuring it out”
by Andrew Bryant, 14 Sept 2017. Alison Bird works as Earthquake Seismologist for Natural Resources Canada, and is based in Saanich. Our club, in partnership with the Powell River Regional Emergency Program (PRREP), invited her to come talk to us about her area of expertise – earthquakes – and she graciously obliged. Beginning with the … Continue reading Alison Bird – “Earthquakes of Coastal BC”
