Mon, 1 Apr 2019
Tags: Stewardship

HAT Trains Habitat Ambassadors on South Vancouver Island

Wildwood Group

South Vancouver Island has the highest species diversity in the province, yet protected lands are small and fragmented. Therefore private residents, representing over 80% of the landholders in this region, play an integral role in supporting habitat and wildlife. Habitat Acquisition Trust (HAT) has been engaging with residents through the HCTF-funded Wildwood Creek Wetland Stewardship Project to establish a network of skilled and knowledgeable Habitat Ambassadors.

Engagement activities have included workshops like “Creating Frog Friendly Spaces with Native Plants” aimed toward landowners with creeks or wetland areas on their properties. The 5-hour workshop included plant identification of common riparian invasive plants, restoration techniques, wildlife identification, and the hands-on planting of over 100 native plants.

Visit http://hat.bc.ca for information on future workshops and other events.

Thu, 28 Mar 2019
Tags: F&W / Wildlife

Congratulations on Grizzly Study Publication

SWBC Grizzly Project

Exciting news from project proponent Michelle McLellan Ph.D.

“We have been monitoring grizzly bears in the threatened Stein-Nahatlach population since 2010. This project was funded by HCTF and we’ve recently published the results of this work. Thanks to HCTF for making this possible.”

View publication on “Divergent population trends following the cessation of legal grizzly bear hunting in southwestern British Columbia, Canada” here:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320718301538

Thu, 21 Mar 2019
Tags: Caribou / Wildlife

Hands-on conservation at the Klinse-Za caribou maternity pen

Maternal pen, photo: Shari Willmott

Transporting crew to the pen, photo: Wildlife Infometrics

More than half of the caribou herds in BC are listed as ‘Threatened’. Given that predation on calves is one of the most direct causes of caribou population declines, two First Nations have partnered with Wildlife Infometrics on a maternal penning project of the Klinse-Za herd, supported by an HCTF grant.

To protect cows and calves from predators during the calving season, a proportion of the herd’s pregnant cows were captured in late March and placed in a guarded pen where they are monitored and fed by a team of First Nations Guardians. The cows and their calves will be released back into the wild in late July when the calves are 2 months old. This project is located in the historical territory of the Klinse-Za herd, northwest of Chetwynd, and the traditional territory of the West Moberly and Saulteau First Nations.

Follow the project on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pncaribou or Twitter at https://twitter.com/CaribouRecovery

 

Fri, 8 Mar 2019

2019-20 Preliminary List of Approved Projects

A preliminary list of approved 2019-20 Enhancement & Restoration projects is now available.

Download the 2019-20 Preliminary Approved Projects List

Projects included on this preliminary list have been approved in principle but may have reduced budgets or funding conditions. Over the next few weeks, all applicants will receive official notification emails including HCTF Board and technical committee comments. For approved projects, these emails will include the grant amount and funding conditions (if applicable).

Proponents of approved projects will receive a Conditional Grant Agreement by mail. Please be aware that until both you and HCTF have reviewed, accepted and signed the Conditional Grant Agreement, there is no confirmation of funding and no legal commitment in place.

Congratulations to all successful proponents! To those applicants who were not funded this time, thank you for your interest. The next opportunity to apply for an HCTF Enhancement and Restoration grant will be fall of 2019.

 

Fri, 1 Mar 2019

2019 Acquisition Grant Application Deadline Coming Up

Staff from The Nature Trust of BC celebrate the acquisition of the Antelope Brush property last June. An HCTF acquisition grant was used to help purchase this property.

The deadline for submitting an application for an HCTF Acquisition Grant is fast approaching! Completed applications must be received by 4:30PM on Friday, March 29th to be considered for funding. Full application information can be found here. Questions? Please contact Christina Waddle for further details.

 

Tue, 26 Feb 2019
Tags: Education

Educators Get Outdoors to learn about Environmental Education

In an event cosponsored by BC Parks and HCTF, educators came together at Strathcona Provincial Park to participate in HCTF Education workshop. Led by HCTF Education’s WildBC Facilitator, Luisa Richardson, the group’s goal was to learn and teach winter ecology activities they could do with their own students.

Using Get Outdoors and Below Zero activities at attune their senses to the snowy world around them, learning was brought to life through hands-on learning.

“All participants were enthusiastically and joyfully engaged. They were happy to receive activities that allowed them to teach youth about habitat, biodiversity and stewardship to lighten their foot print in snowy habitats protected places,” Richardson reported. “We were all surprised at how much harder it was to play predator prey simulations in snow. It drove home how much more energy animals need to find food, water, shelter in winter, and how much harder it is for them to survive.”

Events such as this one, bringing together HCTF workshops for educators is made possible by the BC Parks license plate funding program.