Making time to get outdoors and connect with nature is a great way to reduce stress during what is often a hectic time of year. Even taking a short break to immerse yourself in a natural setting has been shown to improve mood, and even boost performance on tasks requiring sustained mental focus. It can be as easy as bundling up for a walk through your neighborhood greenspace, but you may also want to check out the following conservation-themed events put on by our partners this holiday season:

Christmas Bird Count: The annual Christmas Bird Count kicks off this Sunday. Find a count near you and participate in the longest-running citizen science survey in the world. Started by the Audobon Society on Christmas Day in 1900, this early winter bird census involves thousands of volunteers across the Western Hemisphere counting birds in designated areas over a 24 hour period. The counts are held on specific days between December 14th and January 5th. Anyone can participate (it’s free!) but you have to make arrangements in advance with the person designated as circle compiler. You can get the contact details for the circle compiler in your area here from Bird Studies Canada.

Winter Celebration at Marion Creek: If you’re in the East Kootenays on Sunday, December 14^th, join the Nature Conservancy of Canada from 11am- 2pm for a winter celebration at the Marion Creek Benchlands on the west side of Columbia Lake. HCTF contributed to the purchase of this conservation property in 2010, which provides critical winter range for ungulates as well as being home to badgers and an endangered cattail community. The focus of Sunday’s celebration will be on having winter fun, with a bonfire, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, ice-skating and a free barbecue. A limited number of trees will be made available for people to cut and take home for Christmas: the trees are the remnants of a Christmas Tree farm on the property during the 1970s (please bring your own cutting & transportation tools). The event is free, but guests are asked to RSVP and obtain an event map by emailing canadianrockies@natureconservancy.ca or calling 250-342-5521.

Learn to Ice Fish: The Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC will be offering “Learn to Ice Fish” sessions in the Okanagan, Thompson-Nicola, and East Kootenay regions to families interested in trying ice fishing this winter. The interactive program covers everything you and your family will need to know to go ice fishing on your own. The lessons include safety on ice, fish identification, tackle, ice fishing techniques, proper fish handling, and of course, actual ice fishing time. HCTF provides funding approximately $80,000 annually to FFSBC’s Learn-to-Fish program as a way of encouraging families to connect with nature and learn about BC’s freshwater fish and habitats. Check out FFSBC’s website for information on learn-to-fish dates and times.

Please note : As HCTF is not directly involved in organizing any of the above events, please be sure to contact the organization to confirm dates, times and event details.

Have a conservation-themed event you’d like to share? Contact Us.

In this new video about the Blackburn Lake restoration project, Carrina Maslovat of the Salt Spring Island Conservancy (SSIC) speaks about the incredible contribution that volunteers have made to recreating wetlands on the former golf course property.

“This project, which has been organized by SSIC, would not have happened except for the huge number of volunteers that have helped us, especially with the planting,” says Maslovat. Over the past month, volunteers put approximately 1800 plants in the ground, representing 52 different native species ranging from cattails and sedges to upland shrubs and trees.

“We’re planting a huge range of native shrubs here: some of them will be fantastic for nesting habitat and others have berries on them to provide food for crossbills and towhees,” explains Maslovat. Planted species also included hummingbird favourites such as red-flowering currant and hedge nettles. “This should be a wetland full of bird life,” Maslovat concludes. Native frogs and bats will also benefit from the recreated wetland habitat.

HCTF has supported this project through both our Enhancement & Restoration and PCAF granting programs, the latter of which emphasizes volunteer contributions to conservation activities.

Click here to watch another video about the process of unearthing wetlands at Blackburn Lake.

This month, we’re blogging about HCTF projects focused on members of family Mustelidae, a diverse group of carnivores commonly referred to as the weasel family. In British Columbia, members range from the tiny Least Weasel – only slightly bigger than a mouse and found primarily in open grasslands- to the infamous Sea Otter, a marine mustelid that can live its entire life without leaving the water and that weighs up to 100lbs. Like their sizes and preferred habitats, the conservation status of mustelid species also varies greatly. For example, BC’s American Marten and River Otter populations are (as a whole) thought to be secure, but species such as the Fisher, American Badger, and Wolverine are listed as endangered or of special concern. Because of their relatively low reproductive rates and specialized habitat requirements, even currently secure species like the marten require preventative action to ensure they stay that way. HCTF grants are being used both to try to improve conditions for mustelid species in trouble and to keep the more common species common. Read about how Shannon Crowley and his colleagues at the John Prince Research Forest are using the latest in GPS technology to study the effects of salvage logging on American Marten, how Fisher expert Larry Davis is working to preserve the increasingly-rare trees critical to that species’ reproductive success, and how Dr. Thomas Sullivan’s is demonstrating that clearcut waste wood shaped into windrows could help conserve small mammal populations.

There are only a few days left until entries close for HCTF’s photo contest. We’ve received some wonderful images of British Columbia’s freshwater fish, wildlife and habitats, and we’d love to see even more! The first place photo will win a $300 VISA gift card: see our photo contest page for full contest details, and be sure to send in your photos by 4:30PM on November 14th!

HCTF’s Fall newsletter is available now! Catch up on recent blog posts and more by viewing the latest edition on our Newsletter page, where you can sign up to have future copies delivered right to your inbox.

What difference does your HCTF project make to wildlife conservation? We asked 14 wildlife project leaders this question at the annual HCTF Project Evaluation Workshop recently held in Kelowna. These workshops have become an annual highlight for HCTF Board members and staff and, as it turns out, for many project leaders as well. We learned how $14 million provided 60 project-years’ worth of habitat enhancement, population monitoring and habitat requirement studies for a multitude of species: elk, deer, moose, sheep, bear, cougar, wolves, marten, weasel, mink, bats, frogs, owls and bluebirds. The following is a list of presentations given at this year’s workshop:

Each person provided a 20 minute presentation summarizing project objectives, results and what these accomplishments implied for conservation and management. Immediately following each presentation, workshop attendees were given time to fill out a presentation evaluation form requesting their comments, suggestions, and opinions on the degree to which the project contributes to wildlife management in BC. In the coming months, HCTF will be collating this project feedback (along with participants’ assessment of the workshop itself) and incorporating it into an evaluation workshop report. We’ll post a notification on our blog when the report is available: in the meantime, you can view reports from past workshops here.

Our sincere thanks to the grant recipients who participated in the workshop, both for sharing information on your project and providing valuable insight on the work of your peers.