Summer 2018 Events Schedule

“A Walk in Helliwell Park to See, Hear, and Appreciate Birds” with Art Martell, ornithologist.
Friday, July 13th, 8:00 am – 10:00 am, Helliwell Park.

This walk is part of the Nature Field Trip Series. Admission is $10.00 per person. Youth 18 and under attend for free. Pre-registration is essential as space is limited to 10 participants. For inquiries or to register, email hornby.naturalhistory@gmail.com. After Tuesday, July 3rd, email hornby.naturalhistory@gmail.com, call 250-335-1021, or come to the Centre.

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 hours. We will listen to and identify bird songs and try to see any birds that might cooperate. Art will provide information on local birds and answer questions. Bring binoculars if you have them. No dogs please. Please note, this walk will be cancelled if it rains.

Art Martell is retired in the Comox Valley and has had a cabin on Hornby Island for over 25 years. He is the Volunteer Caretaker for the K’omoks Important Bird Area and is active in the Comox Valley Birders Group, BC Field Ornithologists, and Bird Studies Canada. Art was also a Regional Coordinator for the BC Breeding Bird Atlas. Before retirement, Art worked as a wildlife research scientist and manager with Canadian Wildlife Service and was the first Canadian National Coordinator for the North American Bird Conservation Initiative.  Art is a keen birder who enjoys birding locally, nationally and internationally.

“Exploring Pebbles, Rocks, and the Stories they Tell” with Eileen Van der Flier-Keller, geologist.
Thursday, July 19th, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Hornby Island Community School Library.

This presentation is part of the Expert Speaker Series. Admission is $5.00 per person. Youth 18 and under attend for free. Please enter through the Natural History Centre door.

In this interactive presentation, Eileen will identify pebbles and rocks and explore the stories they tell.

Eileen is a geologist and Associate Professor in Earth Sciences at the University of Victoria. She is passionate about rocks, beaches and teaching students and teachers about the stories rocks tell us about our Earth’s history. She is the author of the South Vancouver Island Earth Science Fun Guide and lives in Victoria with her family, Peter, Connor and Alison. Eileen was the 2009 recipient of the Geological Association of Canada Neale Medal.

“A Walk in Helliwell Park to See, Hear, and Appreciate Birds” with Art Martell, ornithologist.
Friday, July 20th, 8:00 am – 10:00 am, Helliwell Park.

This walk is part of the Nature Field Trip Series. Admission is $10.00 per person. Youth 18 and under attend for free. Pre-registration is essential as space is limited to 10 participants. For inquiries or to register, email hornby.naturalhistory@gmail.com. After Tuesday, July 3rd, email hornby.naturalhistory@gmail.com, call 250-335-1021, or come to the Centre.

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 hours. We will listen to and identify bird songs and try to see any birds that might cooperate. Art will provide information on local birds and answer questions. Bring binoculars if you have them. No dogs please. Please note, this walk will be cancelled if it rains.

Art Martell is retired in the Comox Valley and has had a cabin on Hornby Island for over 25 years. He is the Volunteer Caretaker for the K’omoks Important Bird Area and is active in the Comox Valley Birders Group, BC Field Ornithologists, and Bird Studies Canada. Art was also a Regional Coordinator for the BC Breeding Bird Atlas. Before retirement, Art worked as a wildlife research scientist and manager with Canadian Wildlife Service and was the first Canadian National Coordinator for the North American Bird Conservation Initiative. Art is a keen birder who enjoys birding locally, nationally and internationally.

“A Journey Back in Time with the Fabulous Fossils of Hornby Island” with Dan Bowen and Betty Franklin, paleontologists.
Friday, July 27th, 11:30 am – 12:30 am, Savoie Farm Beach

This walk is part of the Nature Field Trip Series. Admission is $10.00 per person. Youth 18 and under attend for free. Pre-registration is essential as space is limited to 12 participants. For inquiries or to register, email hornby.naturalhistory@gmail.com. After Tuesday, July 3rd, email hornby.naturalhistory@gmail.com, call 250-335-1021, or come to the Centre.

Meeting place coming soon… Please Note, make sure to bring water and appropriate footwear. The walk occurs on the beach and not on a trail. There is a steep slope down to the beach. The sun can be very hot and a hat and sun protection measures are recommended. No dogs please.

Dan Bowen has been a member of the VIPS since 1992, a member of the Executive for 23 years, Vice-Chair four years, and Chair for the last 10 years. Dan has also been a director on the BCPA for over 10 years. As the field trip coordinator for 23 years, Dan has provided many exciting trips for the VIPS members. His contributions to the science of paleontology continues to add up, with many specimens donated to the Courtenay Museum.

“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.

This walk is part of the Nature Field Trip Series. Admission is $10.00 per person. Youth 18 and under attend for free. For inquiries or to register, email hornby.naturalhistory@gmail.com. After Tuesday, July 3rd, email hornby.naturalhistory@gmail.com, call 250-335-1021, or come to the Centre.

We will meet at the head of the trail at 10:25 am, right next to the parking lot.

Kihan Yoon-Henderson is a 4th year student at UBC and returning summer coordinator for the Hornby Island Natural History Centre.

“Counting on Every Species: An Introduction to Marine Biodiversity and Why it Matters” with Jessica Shultz, marine biologist.
Thursday, August 9th, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Hornby Island Community School Library. 

This presentation is part of the Expert Speaker Series. Admission is $5.00 per person. Youth 18 and under attend for free. Please enter through the Natural History Centre door.

We value biodiversity for its beauty, ecological importance and the benefits it provides to people.  British Columbia is home to some of the most productive and diverse waters on the planet.  In this talk, you’ll learn about local marine biodiversity, and how biodiversity is related to the way ecosystems work.  We’ll talk about specific examples from underwater habitats, such as sea star food webs, kelp forests and glass sponge reefs.  In addition, you’ll learn some basic techniques to help you identify the fish and invertebrates you see in tide pools, underwater and on the beach.

Jessica Schultz is the Manager of the Howe Sound Research and Conservation program at the Vancouver Aquarium (Ocean Wise), where she and her team investigate coastal ecology, marine biodiversity and climate change.  Jessica is a professional diver-turned-marine ecologist, as well as a PhD student at the University of Guelph.  Her current research explores how DNA-based technology can be used to measure biodiversity and improve conservation management.

“Hornby Rocks!: Exploring Hornby’s Unique Geology” with John Cox, geologist. 
Friday, August 10th, 10:00 am, Sandpiper Beach.

This walk is part of the Nature Field Trip Series. Admission is $10.00 per person. Youth 18 and under attend for free. Pre-registration is essential and space is limited to 50 participants. For inquiries or to register, email hornby.naturalhistory@gmail.com. After Tuesday, July 3rd, email hornby.naturalhistory@gmail.com, call 250-335-1021, or come to the Centre.

We will meet at the entrance to the beach at 9:55 am. Please Note, make sure to bring water and appropriate footwear. The walk occurs on the beach and not on a trail. The sun can be very hot and a hat and sun protection measures are recommended. The walk lasts about 1 1/2 hours (with an option to leave earlier after 1 hour).

“Vancouver Island Marmot Recovery” with Adam Taylor, conservationist.
Thursday, August 16th, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm  at the Hornby Island Community School Library.

This presentation is part of the Expert Speaker Series. Admission is $5.00 per person. Youth 18 and under attend for free. Please enter through the Natural History Centre door.

Learn about the natural history of the Vancouver Island Marmot and efforts to recover this critically endangered species from the brink of extinction. Once, this marmot numbered fewer than 30 individuals in the wild. Today, the population has recovered to over 150 animals, but challenges remain before this Canadian endemic has secured its place in the wild.

Adam Taylor is the Executive Director of the Marmot Recovery Foundation. He has worked in conservation for over 20 years, including work with other endangered species, such as Western Painted Turtles, Little Brown Bats, and Blue-grey Taildropper slugs.

“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.

This walk is part of the Nature Field Trip Series. Admission is $10.00 per person. Youth 18 and under attend for free. Pre-registration is essential as space is limited to 12 participants. For inquiries or to register, email hornby.naturalhistory@gmail.com. After Tuesday, July 3rd, email hornby.naturalhistory@gmail.com, call 250-335-1021, or come to the Centre.

We will meet at the head of the trail at 10:25 am, right next to the parking lot.

Kihan Yoon-Henderson is a 4th year student at UBC and returning summer coordinator for the Hornby Island Natural History Centre.

“Canada’s Glass Sponge Reefs” with Stephanie Archer, marine biologist.
Thursday, August 23rd, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Hornby Island Community School Library.

This presentation is part of the Expert Speaker Series. Admission is $5.00 per person. Youth 18 and under attend for free. Please enter through the Natural History Centre door.

Glass sponge reefs are an ecosystem unique to the coastal and shelf waters of the US and Canada’s Pacific coast. Since the late 1980’s, when the first glass sponge reefs were discovered in Hecate Strait, researchers at Natural Resources Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada have discovered and surveyed many reefs along BC’s coast- including one just East of Hornby Island. I will introduce you to this amazing ecosystem, the sponges that build the reefs, the animals that call the reefs home, and our research aimed at conserving this ecosystem for future generations.

Stephanie has a PhD from North Carolina State University where she worked in the Layman Lab studying how sponges alter community composition and ecosystem function in tropical and subtropical nearshore marine ecosystems. She is now an NSERC Visiting Fellow with Fisheries and Oceans Canada where she studies species interactions and ecosystem function of Glass Sponge Reefs.

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