by Sherri Wretham, 20 October 2011.   Dr. David Largent is a mycologist and former Professor of Botany at Humbolt State University in California. David spoke to us about the mushrooms he’s studying in Australia.   The talk emphasized the two areas in which the research was done, namely The Wet Tropics Heritage Areas in far … Continue reading David Largent – “Collecting mushrooms in Australia”

Vanessa Kilburn – “Western Painted Turtles” by Heather Harbord, 5 May 2011.  Vanessa Kilburn is an independent biologist who, for over a decade, been active in the fields of conservation biology and herpetology, both in Canada and abroad.   Some of her work in conservation work in Canada has been described here.   Vanessa also works with the Toucan Ridge Ecology … Continue reading Vanessa Kilburn – “Western Painted Turtles”

by Sherri Wretham, 24 March 2011.        

Pat Trask – “Dinosaurs” by Heather Harbord, 24 February 2011 Pat is the curator of natural history at Courtenay and District Museum and Palaeontology Centre.  This centre attracts scientists from around the world, and his tours have helped reveal the secrets of a little-known fossil record. His talk highlighted his many years of hunting for dinosaur … Continue reading Pat Trask – “Palaeontology and dinosaurs”

by Sherri Wretham, 20 Jan 2011    

by Sherri Wretham, 18 November 2010  Liz Gillis is a Professor in the Resource Management Officer Technology (RMOT) program at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo.  Her talk focused on the diversity and behavior of squirrels, and how interesting their private lives really are. Liz also explored the facts, myths and great unknown about the encroachment … Continue reading Liz Gillis – “Squirrels”

by Sherri Wretham, 28 October 2010 Long-time member Heather shared some of the details of her trip to the Antarctic in 2009.  What an adventure!    

by Sherri Wretham, 27 May 2010 Dr. John Gunton worked for resource companies around the world for over 35 years.  He lives in Nanoose Bay, where he continues to practice geology as a consultant.  His career fostered a clear understanding of the earth processes that have shaped the globe over millions of years, and continue to shape … Continue reading John Gunton – “Geology of Rivers”

by Sherri Wretham, 15 April 2010  Rick Harbo is a well-known marine biologist, diver, photographer and author based at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo.   He is the bestselling author of numerous books about intertidal life in the Pacific Northwest, including Tidepool and Reef, The Edible Seashore, Guide to the Western Seashore, Shells and Shellfish of … Continue reading Rick Harbo – “Shoreline Critters”

by Janet Southcott, 15 April 2010 Susan MacKay has worked with local whale, dolphin and porpoise populations for years.  She has collected lots of fabulous pictures and sounds and information about them that she wished to share.   She provided useful information if you happen to see something really big swimming in the ocean along our coast!

by Andrew Bryant, 18 March 2010 Kyrie Mann is a local biologist who also works a a guide and kayak instructor.   She grew up here and loves everything about the outdoors.   She spoke to us about jellyfish and their unusual characteristics. Jellyfish are members of the phylum Cnidaria, which includes predominantly marine invertebrates, and … Continue reading Kyrie Mann – “Jellyfish”

by Sherri Wretham, 25 February 2010  Our globe-trotting member Heather returned with another slide show of her recent travels – in this case to New Zealand.  As always we remained impressed – and more than a little envious!  

by Sherri Wretham, 28 January 2010 Robb Bennett is an entomologist who has studied the natural history of spiders for many years.   His interest has taken him around the world, and his collected specimens reside in many museums.  Robb formerly worked as a researcher with the BC Ministry of Forests, and was the editor of the Canadian Entomologist … Continue reading Robb Bennett – “Spiders”

by Sherri Wretham, 19 November 2009 Wendy Cocksedge is a club member and is also affiliated with the Centre for Non-timber Forest Products, located at Royal Roads University in Victoria. Wendy spoke about non-timber forest products (NTFP), which in layman terms are items and services that can be commercially harvested from forests and other habitats for culinary, … Continue reading Wendy Cocksedge – “Non-timber Forest Resources”

by Andrew Bryant, 15 October 2009.  Accomplished writer, long-time club member and global explorer, Heather Harbord again regaled us with her tales of derring-do. This time it was from the deck of a Russian polar icebreaker…the Kapitan Klebnikov…as it cruised from Resolute Bay to the upper reaches of Ellesmere Island and back again, from 28 Aug-16 … Continue reading Heather Harbord – “The Ice Was All Around: natural history from the deck of an icebreaker”

by Sherri Wretham, 14 September 2009 Dr. John Gunton worked for resource companies around the world for over 35 years.  He lives in Nanoose Bay, where he continues to practice geology as a consultant.  His career fostered a clear understanding of the earth processes that have shaped the globe over millions of years, and continue to … Continue reading John Gunton – “Geohazards of the Georgia Basin”

by Sherri Wretham, 23 May 2009 Dr. David Ballantyne has spent his entire life working with plants, beginning in his parent’s greenhouse business in Victoria.  After completing graduate work in horticulture at Washington State and the University of Maryland, he worked at the Agriculture Canada Experimental Farm at Saanichton.   In 1963 he obtained a teaching and … Continue reading David Ballantyne – “Botanical Gardens on the Big Island of Hawaii”

by Sherri Wretham, 23 April 2009  Dr. Richard Mackie is an award-winning author and historian from Victoria. He worked as an archaeologist for a number of universities and museums, studied mediaeval and modern European history at St. Andrews University, and studied Canadian history and historical geography at the universities of Victoria and British Columbia. Combining his … Continue reading Richard Mackie – “Salal and Roses”

by Sherri Wretham and Andrew Bryant, 26 March 2009 Graham Gillespie is a Research Biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo.  Graham is Head of the Intertidal Bivalve, Cephalopod and Crab Programs, conducting stock assessments for commercially important species, providing scientific advice and participating in ecosystem-level research involving these … Continue reading Graham Gillespie – “Marine invasive species”

by Andrew Bryant, 26 February 2009  Daniel Francis, together with co-author and long-time Vancouver Aquarium staff member Gil Hewlett, wrote Operation Orca:  Springer, Luna and the Struggle to Save West Coast Killer Whales.  This book was awarded “Best Nature Non-Fiction Award” by Forward Magazine, and has been excerpted in The Tyee, which you can find here. Daniel described … Continue reading Daniel Francis – “Orcas”

by Andrew Bryant, 27 January 2009 Bruce Cousens is an independent biologist who works for the Western Purple Martin Foundation (WPMF), a non-profit charity based in Nanaimo. Bruce has worked with Purple Martins (Progne subis arboricola) since the mid 1980s, when he began to help construct nest boxes for this species, which is listed as a … Continue reading Bruce Cousens – “Purple Martins”

by Sherri Wretham, 27 November 2008 Karen Needham is Assistant Curator of the Spencer Entomological Collection, which is hosted by the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at UBC in Vancouver. She spoke about the tremendous diversity of “bugs”, or more formally, arthropods.  She explained the differences between the “true bugs”, which includes leafhoppers and cicadas (the order Hemiptera), ants … Continue reading Karen Needham – “Bugs”

by Sherri Wretham, 23 October 2008 Rick O’Neil spoke to us about the ecology and natural history of newts and salamanders.    

John Kelly – “Cougars” by Sherri Wretham, 25 September 2008 John Kelly works as a Wildlife Biologist for the Fish and Wildlife Section based in Surrey.   He spoke to us about cougars, including their behaviour, ecology and interactions with humans.

by Heather Harbord, 19 June 2008 Dana Lepofsky is a professor of  archaeology from Simon Fraser University.  She, along with her students and members of Tla’amin (Sliammon) First Nation, have spent several years uncovering the past. Dana’s talk focused on the results of the Sliammon & Simon Fraser University Heritage and Archaeology Project.   This ambitious and ongoing effort is systematically creating a … Continue reading Dana Lepofsky – “Archaeology of the Coast Salish Region”

by Sherri Wretham, 22 May 2008. Kym Welstead is an Ecosystem Biologist with the B.C. Ministry of Environment, and is based in Surrey. She spoke about the taxonomy, behavior, ecology and conservation status of Great Blue Herons.   Her talk highlighted the relationship between heron colony nesting performance and predation by bald eagles.

by Heather Harbord, 8 April 2008. Dr.  Wilf Schofield of the UBC Botany Deptartment at UBC gave a presentation on bryophytes.  We had been trying to get him as a speaker for a couple of years but this time he made it. If you ever wondered about the moss and lichen family, Dr. Schofield had … Continue reading Wilf Schofield – “Bryophytes”

by Sherri Wretham, March 13, 2008. Nikki Wright is Executive Director of the non-profit SeaChange Marine Conservation Society, which designs and delivers programs focused on community based environmental monitoring, restoration, management and education. Nikki spoke about the importance, ecology and management of eelgrass communities, which are important for all manner of creatures. Including us!

by Heather Harbord, February 21, 2008. Morgan Black talked about Bats.  A nature lover since she could walk, at university she focused on biology, ecology and zoology.  Her undergraduate thesis project was on bats, specifically their habitat requirements in our climate.  Bats have become near and dear to Morgan, so she had begun volunteering her … Continue reading Morgan Black – “Bats”

by Sherri Wretham, January 24, 2008. Ernie Sellentin is Project Coordinator of the Coastal Invasive Plant Committee, a registered non-profit society. Ernie’s talk focused on invasive plant species typical of our area, such as the Giant hogweed (Heracleum mantegazzianum), Scotch broom (Sarothamnus scoparius), Himalayan blackberry (Rubus armeniacus), and numerous others such as Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) or garlic … Continue reading Ernie Sellentin – “Invasive Plants”