Wed, 1 Jun 2016
Tags: Education

Schools Grow Connection with Nature

Wild School Kids Learning Outdoors.jpg

The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF) has announced it will provide over $62,000 for 25 BC schools selected to participate in its Wild School program. The 3-year program provides teachers and students of K-8 schools with free resources, training and support for environmental learning, outdoor field experiences and connections to conservation work in their communities.

Three schools within the Cariboo-Chilcotin School District#27 have been accepted into the Wild School program: Marie Sharpe Elementary, Horsefly Elementary and 100 Mile Elementary.

Calvin Dubray, Principal at Marie Sharpe Elementary, says the school is looking forward to beginning the program next fall, especially since it will coincide with the start of their new Nature Kindergarten program.

“Our staff and students are currently engaged in place-based education and we are seeing deeper, richer learning happening,” says Dubray. “We are excited about the additional opportunities and experiences the Wild School program will offer to enhance our outdoor learning initiatives.”

The Wild School program evolved from the successful Science in Action program that began in 2006. Science in Action was a single year program focused on providing K-8 teachers and schools with resources to support hands-on, active learning through science. In 2012, Science in Action began the transition to the Wild School program, a multi-year model that incorporates healthy and sustainable initiatives toward connecting schools to nature.

HCTF Education Manager Kerrie Mortin says the Wild School program evolved from their experiences delivering Science in Action, and is supported by current research about the effectiveness of whole-school program models. “One of the key elements of the Wild School program is professional development. The shift from a one-day workshop model to providing multiple years of professional development opportunities – including workshops, mentoring, networking and support- has been shown to be more effective in helping teachers build capacity and transform their teaching and learning, leading to better outcomes for students.”

Marie Mullen, Principal of Fulford Elementary School in SD#64, says the Wild School program has provided their teachers with the resources, activities and know-how to get their students learning outside. “[HCTF’s] generous support of field trips and eco-mentoring has enhanced our place-based learning initiatives and helped our students connect with- and become stewards of- their local environment.”

Ashley Frketich, a teacher at Ecole Margaret Jenkins School in SD61, agrees that the program was instrumental in making the transition to outdoor learning. “After attending one of the workshops, I realized I could take a lot of little steps to move my classroom outside,” says Frketich. “I was very surprised at how easy it was. As a result, my class has spent a lot more time outdoors than ever before and we are all loving it.”

Over the past nine years, the Wild Schools and Science in Action programs have helped 3500 BC teachers in 267 schools provide hands-on environmental learning experiences to over 72,000 students.

About the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF)

Since 1981, the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation has provided more than $160 Million in project funding to more than 2,000 conservation, restoration, enhancement, and educational projects across BC.

HCTF believes that investing in education is key to the future of conservation. The Wild School program is just one of HCTF’s Education program areas; they also offer GO Grants to cover transportation and programming costs for getting students learning outdoors and Connect to Conservation, a forum to connect the education community with on-the-ground conservation work.

 

Click on photos for full-resolution images.

 

Students from Monteray Middle School learn to identify a variety of intertidal animals on a GO grant funded field trip. Principal Ken Andrews says the school has greatly benefitted from the Wild School program.

 

 

 

For more information contact:

 

Kerrie Mortin

Manager, HCTF Education

Phone: 250-940-9787

Email: Kerrie.Mortin@hctf.ca

107- 19 Dallas Road

Victoria BC V8V 5A6

 

 

Mon, 30 May 2016
Tags: Wildlife

Meet the 2015 Fisher Den Box Kits

It's a little hard to make out, but in this photo, Inga the fisher is working hard to remove her kit from the artificial denbox. Fisher moms frequently move their kits around, and Inga later returned with her kit and its sibling to the denbox.

We received the following video update on the Fisher Artificial Den Box Study from biologist Larry Davis. Davis and his team are trying to determine if female fishers will use human-constructed den boxes to raise their young, as there are very few of the fisher’s natural denning sites left in some areas of their range. “Fisher require large diameter trees with heart-rot cavities for reproduction,” says Davis. “These trees are rare in managed landscapes.”

 

2015 was the third year of this HCTF-funded project, and Larry and his team continued monitoring the 56 installed den boxes to see if they were being used by fishers.

“We have been successful in attracting fishers to 50% of the den boxes, with many of the structures used for resting during winter,” reveals Davis. “We identified 45 fisher samples using hair snaggers located at the entrance to the den boxes. Of these, 14 were identified as being unique females, with 8 of them using the structures more than once, and 4 of them detected at 2 different den boxes.”

During the 2015 reproductive season, two fisher females used artificial den boxes to give birth to and raise their young. The video features footage of “Debbie”, who gave birth to one kit in April 2015. Davis explains that fisher moms often move their kits around, and Debbie was no exception: the video shows her leaving the den box with her kit on April 8th and returning the kit to the den box at the end of May. In the Chilcotin, 2 kits were photographed inside a den box on April 8, 2015. A trail cam set up to document the female (“Inga”) and her kits using the den box again in early June, 2015.

 

 

Davis has continued monitoring the den boxes in 2016 and reports there are already 3 being used by female fishers. We look forward to receiving an update on how the moms and kits are doing later this year.

Thu, 19 May 2016
Tags: Fisheries

Kids Take Part in Moberly Lake Trout Conservation Efforts

HCTF Board Chair Ross Peck helps out with the lake trout release at Moberly Lake.

At Moberly Lake last Tuesday, fifty elementary students (and HCTF Chair Ross Peck) helped government staff release 8,000 juvenile lake trout as part of an ongoing effort to rebuild a population that has come dangerously close to extinction.

When the Province began the Moberly Lake rehabilitation program back in 2010, there were less than 400 trout in the lake. Their extreme drop in numbers was thought to be caused by a combination of overfishing and competition or predation from other fish species. Historically, Moberly Lake’s lake trout were an important part of the local First Nations fishery and a favourite of local anglers, but the lake has been closed to all trout fishing since 2002, and is closed to all fishing from September 15 to October 31 to protect lake trout during their spawning season.

Last Tuesday’s lake trout release was the third release of the rehabilitation program, for a total of 36,000 released fish. The Ministry is hopeful these releases will aid in re-establishing a stable lake trout population on Moberly Lake. Over the past four years, the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation has provided funding to the Ministry to evaluate the effectiveness of their lake trout recovery program. As well as continuing to monitor the total number of lake trout in Moberly, staff are also tracking the survival, growth, fitness and reproduction rates of the stocked juvenile lake trout. The information collected will help detect shifts in the Moberly Lake fish community and hopefully identify why survival of juveniles is low, in the hopes that a long-term solution can be found.

Thu, 5 May 2016

PCAF Deadline May 16th, 2016

It’s time to submit your applications for PCAF funding! The Public Conservation Assistance Fund provides small grants to organizations and individuals who have a great idea for a conservation project, but need financial assistance to make it happen. Projects can include activities such as wetland restoration, reptile monitoring, bird banding, and bat box construction – there are all sorts of possibilities, so long as the project provides clear conservation benefits for BC fish and wildlife and has a strong volunteer component. Application instructions and forms are available here. Applications must be submitted to HCTF by 4:30PM on May 16, 2016 to be eligible for funding. 

 

Since 1974, the Province of BC and the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation have provided approximately $150,000 in PCAF grants to help implement on-the-ground conservation work, with a particular focus on hands-on, community based and public awareness initiatives. More than 1000 such projects have been carried out under the program so far.

 

 

Thu, 21 Apr 2016

HCTF Announces 2016-17 Approved Projects

 

b2ap3_thumbnail_HCTF-NEW-LOGOsmall_web.jpgHCTF is pleased to announce that 119 BC conservation projects will receive HCTF Enhancement & Restoration grants in 2016-17. In aggregate, these grants represent close to a $6 Million investment in British Columbia’s fish, wildlife and habitats.

You can view the complete 2016-17 HCTF Approved Project List here The lists describe the conservation projects taking place in each region, their approved grant amounts, and project leader contact information. Please note that some of our multi-region projects may also be taking place in your area: check back soon for the updated 2016-17 interactive project map.

 

 

 

 

Vancouver Island Projects

 

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The Provincial Government received a grant to relocate elk to areas on Vancouver Island where they had been extirpated (click on photo for larger image).

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A pair of Western bluebirds return to their nestbox. The pair are being reintroduced to the Cowichan Valley by the Garry Oak Ecosystem Recovery Team.

 

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The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation will provide over $100,000 for bat science and stewardship projects in BC.

 

Lower Mainland Projects

 

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Elk charge out of the truck at the release site near Chehalis, BC. This translocation was part of the Coastal Mainland Roosevelt Elk Recovery and Management Project. Photo: Dan Kriss. Click for larger image.

 

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Above and Below: The Seymour Salmonid Society has been approved for $60K in funding for their project to restore fish passage at the site of the Seymour River rock slide.

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Sun, 3 Apr 2016

White-Nose Syndrome Moves Closer to BC

This weekend’s headlines contained the disturbing news that White-nose syndrome has reached Washington State. This represents a huge geographic jump from previous detection sites on the East Coast and Midwestern United States, further supporting the idea that humans are likely playing a role in the spread of the disease.

Map from Bat Conservation International www.batcon.org/

Though primarily spread by bat-to-bat contact, fungal spores can be transported on equipment or clothing used at affected sites if not properly decontaminated. Though not currently known to affect humans, white-nose is devastating to bat populations: it’s estimated the fungus has been responsible for the death of 6 million bats to date.

Little Brown Bat with white-nose syndrome. Photo Jonathan Mays

White-nose is named for the fuzzy white fungus that appears on the muzzles and wings of hibernating bats. The bats wake frequently to try to groom the fungus off these areas, and the disease also causes acidosis of the blood, forcing the bats to burn more energy. The result is bats leaving their winter hibernacula in search of food, which ends in death by starvation.

The recent discovery of white-nose in Washington makes BC bat conservation efforts all the more critical. Biologist Cori Lausen is leading an HCTF-funded project that is working with cavers and other citizen scientists to identify critical bat overwintering habitats and baseline information about BC bat populations that will be critical in the fight against White-nose. You can read a recent Globe & Mail article about Cori’s project here, or visit their website to find out more information.