Mon, 20 Oct 2014
Tags: Habitat Acquisition

Historic Grasslands Conserved

Last Friday, HCTF Board member Ian McGregor joined the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) in Kamloops to celebrate the successful acquisition of 525 hectares of native grassland in the Nicola Valley. HCTF contributed a quarter of a million dollars to the Napier Lake Ranch project, which will protect habitat for migratory birds, rare grassland plants and mammals such as moose and mule deer.

“Like all of HCTF’s acquisition investments, Napier Lake Ranch was funded because it contains significant habitat values that were under threat of fragmentation,” said McGregor. “By supporting NCC’s purchase of these lands, we can be assured that grasslands, and the plants and animals that live there, will be protected now and forever. This means future generations may have the opportunity to witness Sharp-tailed grouse, spot a Swainson’s hawk, or hear the sounds of Sandhill cranes rolling across the grasslands.”

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Long_billed_curlew_in_flight_CC_Alan_Vernon_small.jpgIndeed, both Sharp-tailed grouse and Sandhill cranes were observed by celebration participants on an NCC-led tour of the newly-acquired lands. One of those participants was the land’s former owner, Agnes Jackson. Her family sustainably managed these grasslands for over 40 years, and her decision to sell to the Conservancy was based on her desire to see them remain a haven for many plants and animals.

“Grasslands hold more endangered species than any other climatic zone,” said Jackson. “Keeping large tracts of land intact is really the only way to protect them.”

In a CBC radio interview earlier this year, Jackson spoke about her hope that others would be able to experience these lands and enjoy them as much as she did. NCC plans to allow non-motorized vehicle access to the property, allowing people to further their connection to grassland conservation.

As part of the celebration, NCC acknowledged the many groups who contributed to this project, including the Government of Canada, the Jackson Family, The Sitka Foundation, the Estate of Thomas T. Forbes and HCTF. HCTF funding of this and other recent NCC conservation land acquisitions was made possible through the contributions of the province’s anglers, hunters, trappers and guides, whose licence surcharges provide approximately $6 Million for conservation projects annually. To find out more about the different types of projects HCTF supports, including conservation land acquisitions, click here.

 

 

Tue, 14 Oct 2014

Back to School – Outdoors!

This fall will see BC students heading outdoors to learn about sockeye in the Shuswap, bird habitat in Boundary Bay, and how bighorn sheep, western rattlesnakes, and little brown bats prepare for winter. These and many more hands-on learning experiences will be made possible through HCTF Education GO grants, designed to support outdoor learning experiences about BC’s environment. The September intake resulted in over $43,000 being awarded to classes and schools around the province. In the coming months, we’ll be publishing some stories about educators’ experiences with the program, so check back soon!

 

 

Tue, 7 Oct 2014
Tags: PCAF

Garnet Valley Wildlife Habitat Protected

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This past week, volunteers from the Summerland Sportsmen’s Association worked alongside the Provincial Conservation Officer Service and the South Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Program in Garnet Valley between Summerland and Peachland, posting new motorized vehicle regulations and restrictions signs as well as marking and deactivating illegal trails.

Garnet Valley has some of the Okanagan’s most valuable wildlife habitat, with south-facing slopes ideal for winter and early spring habitat for mule deer. The valley is a beautifully diverse landscape – with sensitive wetlands, grasslands, rugged terrain and open forests. It’s a link for wildlife to move and connect to other important natural areas away from the busy Hwy 97 corridor.

With the support of HCTF in the 1980’s, the Province of BC recognized the importance of the Garnet area and purchased a number of private parcels to augment crown land holdings. A significant increase in motorized vehicle damage and illegal trail building over the years has markedly degraded the habitat and resulted in disturbance to mule deer on their winter range.

In early 2014, the Province of BC established new Motor Vehicle Prohibition Regulations under the Wildlife Act for Garnet Valley to protect the values. The new regulations for Garnet Valley designate open legal routes and closed illegal routes to protect wildlife and allow habitat to recover. Leading up to the closure, BC Conservation Officers and Forestry Compliance and Enforcement Officers had been providing education and information about the coming changes to the motorized recreation community – now it was time for full implementation.

The partnerships forged during a successful PCAF project in 2012 came together once again with the Summerland Sportsmen’s Association, South Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Program and the BC Conservation Officer Service working side by side to assist in the protection of Garnet Valley wildlife habitat. With funding provided by the HCTF Public Conservation Assistance Fund 2014 and in-kind matched by the partners, vehicle closure project was completed during the last week of September. Volunteers and government staff systematically marked the open and seasonally open routes, while marking and deactivating the illegal routes over a number of blue bird fall days. A flat tire on the backhoe was the only hitch in an otherwise seamless project supervised by Sargent Jim Beck of the BC Conservation Officer Service.

Garnet_Valley_sign_installation.jpg“The success of our last PCAF project has inspired all of us, the sportsmen’s club, the conservation partnership and the provincial government to keep working together for habitat recovery in the Garnet”, said Bryn White, SOSCP Program Manager. In 2012, HCTF’s PCAF program supported an application from the groups to fence one of the last wetlands in the valley called Ritchie Lake that had been significantly degraded by mud-bogging off road vehicles and cattle. In one year after the wildlife-friendly fence was built, the dry rutted area was unrecognizable. In its place was a beautiful and lush wetland complete with reeds, dragonflies and ducks. This year, the group took some time to sit and have lunch at Ritchie Lake to enjoy the view. It wasn’t long before talk of another damaged wetland area seen in the north end of Garnet Valley came up that would benefit from excluding cattle and mud-bogging off road vehicles. McLachlan Lake looks very similar to Ritchie Lake – pre-fence. It is holding water for the first time in a number of years, and would be a perfect joint project given its location between the Summerland and Peachland Sportsmen’s Club. Stay tuned to hear how they tackle this one.

 

Our thanks to the South-Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Program for providing this update on PCAF Project #1032.

Wed, 17 Sep 2014

HCTF Online is Now Open

We are now accepting applications for 2015-16 Enhancement & Restoration projects through our online application system. Applications can be submitted via HCTF Online until the deadline of 4:30 pm November 3rd, 2014.

Applicants are encouraged to submit early in order to have time to address any issues that may arise.

Wed, 10 Sep 2014

GO Grant Deadline Extended

HCTF Education has extended the application deadline for its Get Outdoors (GO) granting program. Educators and schools now have until September 30th, 2014 to apply for funding for outdoor field experiences taking place between September 1st and March 31st, 2015. For more information on grant criteria and how to apply, click here.

 

Thu, 4 Sep 2014

Growing Mentorship, Stewardship, and Connection

In addition to providing grants for habitat enhancement and restoration work, HCTF funds environmental education and stewardship projects that connect people with the outdoors. One of these projects is the Nature Clubs Project led by the Young Naturalists Club of BC (YNC). The following article was submitted to us by Tricia Edgar, YNC leader and board member, about the program’s success in inspiring children to explore nature in their own backyards – and beyond.

 

It’s early on a spring morning, and the grass is still slightly damp. The children arrive in the field just past dawn, slip over a fence, and walk down a path. All around them, birds are singing, most of them migrants moving up from warmer climates. Some will stay in Vancouver, while others will move through this field and continue north.

This morning, the migration is in full swing, and the children pass by nets with brilliant yellow and orange warblers temporarily caught in the fine mesh. Volunteers gently remove the birds, measure and weigh them, and band them. Then the children put out their hands for the amazing experience of holding a tiny live bird, then releasing it to continue its journey.

This early morning bird banding expedition is just one glimpse into the work of British Columbia’s Young Naturalists’ Club (YNC). Nearly fifteen years ago, Daphne Solecki from Nature Vancouver began to bring together small groups of families who would learn together outdoors. She wanted these children to experience nature in their local places and to do this with their family, making nature exploration a part of family life. YNC clubs generally meet monthly, heading off into their local landscape to learn and explore.

Cultivating Mentorship

The YNC brings children outside, but asks them to bring an adult family member, weaving outdoor time into a family’s recreational life. Many children live in urban areas with limited access to forests, fields, and streams. In the last few generations, the balance has tipped from outdoor play to screen time and structured activities. The club brings shared enjoyment of the outdoors to children and adults. One YNC member says, “ I have been in the Young Naturalists’ Club for about 4 years now. I really like it, because it is something we can do together as a family and with other families that share the same interests.”

The Young Naturalists’ Club also gives families an opportunity to connect with community mentors, adults who feel a deep connection with nature. From seasoned scientists to backyard naturalists, these adults come together with their local YNC group to share and explore together, providing enthusiastic mentorship to the children. Sometimes, the children also graduate into a mentorship role. Coquitlam’s Burke Mountain Young Naturalists’ Club held a fossil day led by Nick, a club graduate in his early teens who’d been a part of the club since he was seven years old.

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Getting Connected

While school field trips and community centre programs provide children with a short-term connection to a place, Young Naturalists learn about their natural neighbourhood over the course of many years. Children can join the club in kindergarten and graduate from the club in early high school. Young Naturalists’ programs are all about exploring new topics, but they also provide a strong connection to place. Kate Short, a volunteer leader from Kelowna, says that, “ We have been all over the valley this year, taking advantage of the diverse habitats and opportunities the Okanagan has to offer. This summer we hiked through the burn zone in Myra-Bellevue to learn about forest fires, collected insects at Mission Creek Park, and de-coded genetics along Mill Creek. YNC is about pairing education with conservation, and building a love for the environment that will stick with children as they grow from curious young minds into responsible adults and conscious citizens.” The club provides long term, sustained opportunities for children to connect to the different environments in and around the place where they live.

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Growing Stewardship

 

Instead of a purely academic understanding of a place, the children get a hands-on and knees-dirty connection. From shoreline cleanups and tree planting to insect and bird surveys, children in the club are far from mere observers. They get in there and help. During one memorable adventure with the Vancouver homeschoolers’ club, twenty-five primary-aged children and families worked together to replant shrubs around a salmon spawning channel in North Vancouver. They learned about fish and local plants, and they also learned what fun it is to dig and get dirty.

Young Naturalists also get hands-on with crafts and other traditional skills, learning how to making functional and beautiful creations. Children love the hands-on aspect of the club. Eight-year-old Alexander says, “During our survival outing, it was great to learn how to weave your own shelter.” Do you remember where your childhood fort was, or where you gardened as a child? Action connects children to the landscapes where they live, and they return to see if the shelter is still there or how the trees they planted are growing.

If you know a child who’d like to get hands-on in their local places and meet wonderful community mentors, visit the Young Naturalists’ Club at www.ync.ca to find a list of British Columbia’s family and school-based clubs or to sign up for NatureWILD the Young Naturalists’ Club magazine for children and their families.

Tricia Edgar is a naturalist, YNC leader, and a board member of the Young Naturalists’ Club of BC.