Hornby Island Natural History Centre

Category: Nature Field Trips


The Steward’s Winter 2022 Update 

This past year has been filled with a flurry of activity beginning with reimagining our space as a place where visitors can learn about the complexity of relationships in the natural world through an exploration of exhibits filled with objects and information loosely organized around rocks and fossils, the sea, the air, and the land.

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Summer 2022 Calendar

We are pleased to announce that the Summer 2022 Natural History Events Calendar is now available! Check out our speaker series, nature walks, forest family circles, or exhibit with hands-on activities.

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Students and adults work together to help Helliwell

In late October, Hornby Island students removed nearly 500 Hairy Cat’s Ear weeds from three sites at Helliwell Park. They also planted 518 seedlings of three types of native grass, Woolly Sunflower and Yarrow that were grown by members of the Natural History Centre.

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Nature Walk – Hornby Rocks!

On August 13th, join Dr. John Cox for a nature walk called “Hornby Rocks! Exploring Hornby’s Unique Geology” at Sandpiper Beach. Please email hornby.naturalhistory@gmail.com to register.

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Summer 2019 Calendar

We are pleased to announce that the Summer 2019 Natural History Events Calendar is now available! Please note: Although we have speakers and nature walks, the Natural History Centre is closed for summer 2019.

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Summer 2018 Photos

Thank you to the speakers and nature walk leaders for sharing their knowledge and supporting the Natural History Centre. Check out this cool footage from Dr. Archer’s presentation of a young glass sponge reef taken just east of Hornby Island!

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Nature Field Trip: “Walking with Trees”

Exploring the Forests of Hornby with Kihan Yoon-Henderson, Natural History Centre Coordinator. Friday, August 17th, 10:30 am – 11:30 am, Helliwell Park. We will meet at the head of the trail at 10:25 am, right next to the parking lot. This walk…

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Nature Walk: “Walking with Trees”

Exploring the Forests of Hornby with Kihan Yoon-Henderson, Natural History Centre Coordinator. Friday, August 3rd, 10:30 am – 11:30 am, Helliwell Park. We will meet at the head of the trail at 10:25 am, right next to the parking lot. This…

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“A Walk in Helliwell Park to See, Hear, and Appreciate Birds”

Both the Summer Nature Walks with Art Martell are now full.  We will meet at the head of the trail at 7:55 am, right next to the parking lot. The walk will be about 3 km and take about 2…

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Summer 2018 Events Calendar

We are pleased to announce that the Summer 2018 Natural History Events Calendar is now available! Join us in learning with experts passionate in the areas of marine biology, paleontology, geology, conservation, and ornithology. The Exhibit’s Summer hours of operation begin Tuesday, July…

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Spring Birding with Art Martell and Daniel Donnecke

The Natural History Centre recently held our first spring birding event. On April 6th, Art Martell and Daniel Donnecke gave presentations on the island’s local forest and shore bird residents. In “Learning Bird Songs”, Art introduced our ears to the…

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Hornby Island Spring Birding Event, April 6th and 7th

On Friday, April 6th and Saturday, April 7th, we will be joined by two local experts to celebrate, enjoy, and learn about our shoreline and forest birds, while connecting with other birdwatching enthusiasts. We hope you can join us for…

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Plant Propagation at Helliwell

The Natural History Centre has been assisting with a plant propagation project at Helliwell Park. Last spring, the stewards each grew a variety of native plant species at their homes for the project. Finally, the time came to plant them…

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Helliwell Park Bird Walk with Art Martell

About eighty people gathered to catch a glimpse of some of the forest and shoreline birds at Helliwell Park. We sought, listened, and enjoyed their presence under the guidance of Art Martell. Art is an ornithologist and keen birder locally,…

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Nature Walk – “A Tidal Investigation”

Tuesday, August 15th – “A Tidal Investigation”: Exploring Hornby’s rich shoreline ecosystem This walk will be led by Kihan Yoon-Henderson, summer host/coordinator at the Hornby Island Natural History Centre. Pre-registration is essential as space is limited to 12 participants for each walk. For inquiries…

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Bird Walk – Hearing, seeing and enjoying our local birds

Thursday, August 10th with Art Martell Meet at Helliwell Provincial Park at 9:00 am.  The walk will be about 3 km. and take about 2 hours.  Bring binoculars if you have them. No dogs please. Art Martell is retired in the Comox…

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Nature Walk – “Walking with Trees”

Tuesday, August 8th, 10:30 am  – “Walking with Trees” Exploring the forests of Hornby This walk will be led by Kihan Yoon-Henderson, summer host/coordinator at the Hornby Island Natural History Centre. Pre-registration is essential as space is limited to 12 participants for each walk. For…

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Nature Walk – “Hornby Rocks!”

Tuesday, July 18th, 10:30 am  – “Hornby Rocks!” Exploring Hornby’s unique geology This walk will be led by Dr. John Cox, geologist, and Kihan Yoon-Henderson, returning summer host/coordinator at the Hornby Island Natural History Centre. $10 per person. Free for ages…

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Nature Walk – “Walking with Trees”

Tuesday, July 11th, 10:30 am  – “Walking with Trees” Exploring the forests of Hornby This walk will be led by Kihan Yoon-Henderson, summer host/coordinator at the Hornby Island Natural History Centre. Pre-registration is essential as space is limited to 12 participants for each walk. For…

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Summer 2017 Events Calendar

We are pleased to announce that the Summer 2017 Natural History Events Calendar is now available! This year’s topics include Hornby Island fossils, the upcoming Total Solar Eclipse (and what to expect on Hornby), a Helliwell Park Bird Walk, and Sea Otters!…

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