Biodiversity can be found all around, in the local forest, along our favorite hiking trail and even in your own backyard. At HCTF we believe that by making BC’s unique and abundant biodiversity accessible and giving other the tools to explore it we can inspire a passion for the natural world within the next generation of conservationists.

While learning about and exploring nature may be more difficult at the moment, our HCTF Education team has collected some resources for children, families and students of all ages. You can find the full list of HCTF E-Learning resources here or try this list of 25 ideas to explore the biodiversity from your own home.

Top 25 ideas to explore and learn about biodiversity at home!

1. Make your own backyard nature trail or park. No backyard? Then create a fairy sized trail on your patio or draw one with washable markers on your living room window or create nature trail inside your home with pictures and signs noting special features.
2. Do a nature count! How many different birds, bugs, animals, spider webs, tracks do you see? Monitor them daily and graph. Join a citizen science program like Frog Watch, Plant Watch, Nest watch or participate in bird counts or a bio blitz.
3. Create a nature journal. Record observations of critters you see coming and going or what you hear.
4. Build a habitat such as an insect hotel, toad home, bird house or design a replica of one for your favourite animal.
5. Record sounds of nature in the morning and evening. See how many different kinds of wildlife you can identify. Use an app such as ebird to help you solve the mystery voices in nature.
6. Setup a bird feeder or make one. The most popular type of bird food is sunflower seeds – black oil (thin shell) or striped (thick shell). Use your binoculars or make some out of toilet paper tubes for younger children (how to guide) and observe what species are using your feeder.
7. Look for tiny creatures. Make a pooter (how to guide), put an old pillowcase on the ground or have someone hold it, then gently shake a branch of a tree or shrub atop it. Use your pooter to collect what you find and put it temporarily into a container and take a closer look.
8. Check out some live wildlife web-cams. If you have some technology to video, try videoing your own backyard creature or pretend to interview an animal. Use your imagination and pretend that the animal responds to your interview questions.
9. Map the species in your area. Check out the creature feature map.
10. Design a travel or info brochure about the plants and animals that live in your area.
11. Create an animal mask, model or replica. Write a movie script or play animal charades.
12. Play Nature Bingo! Draw a 5 x 5 grid of squares on a 8 ½ by 11 sheet of paper and then play bingo for a fun family activity. Use any of the Backyard Scavenger Hunt lists for the bingo ideas.
13. Make a plant rubbing ID guide with plants in your yard or nearby green space. Put a piece of paper on top of a leaf or tree bark and gently rub a crayon on top of the paper to see the pattern.
14. Design an outdoor wildlife garden. What species would live there? What kind of food, water or shelter do they need?
15. Sit Spot. Choose a special spot in your yard and sit quietly for 5 minutes.What can you see or hear that you might not notice otherwise? Go to your sit spot every day and notice the world around you and what changes.
16. “Adopt a plant”. Choose a flower or shrub in your yard or a houseplant in your home to “adopt”. Measure it (or part of it that you can easily recognize, its stem or a prominent leaf). Notice if any insects have eaten any part of it or if other life is in its soil or living on its surface. Sketch or photograph what you see. Come back regularly to your adopted plant to record how it is changing. Make a photograph series or a flip book showing how your plant changed over time.
17. Pattern Hunt – How many different shaped leaves can you find? How many shades of green? How many things are flying by? If you have a partner to play with, take turns choosing a category (you could choose 6 categories then roll a die to see which one is your challenge) and then see how many patterns in that category you can find.
18. Pollinator Survey Keep your eye on flowers to see who visits them and helps them to produce fruits. Watch for hummingbirds, butterflies, and other insects. Learn how to tell the difference between different types of insects and do a pollinator survey. Check out the NatureKids Pollinator Survey.
19. Photography Mysteries. Take zoomed-in photographs of nature in your yard, such as the texture of a tree’s bark, a close up of a leaf surface, the inside of a flower, anything that is interesting to you. Show the photos to someone else and challenge them to guess what it is or to go outside to find the object.
20. Nature Sketching. Everyone can be an artist. Use a pencil and paper and sketch what you see. (Tips & resources here!)
21. Biodiversity in a spoon. Get a variety of measuring spoon sizes (1 Tbsp size to 1/8th teaspoon). Find small natural objects that fit in your spoon and try to bring them to a tray or larger container without letting them fall. Show off your miniature “museum” collection, then return them to their original spots.
22. Create Nature Art. Make nature mandalas or temporary structures out of natural objects that are on the ground- cones, petals, branches, rocks.
23. Nature in a Minute. Count how many different types of living organisms you can find in one minute.
24. Host an Animal Olympics. Find out how far and fast some animals can move and then see how you compare to them.
25. Alphabet Soup. Look for the shape of every letter of the alphabet on bark, leaves, branches and other objects around you.

At HCTF we believe in the importance of educating youth about BC’s amazing biodiversity, inspiring the next generation of conservationists. Learning may look a little different at the moment but there’s still lots of opportunities for kids and their families to get to know charismatic creaturess like the caribou, one of many species that HCTF supports through our conservation programs.

HCTF is partnering with LiveIt to bring families a free educational series on these amazing animals May 25^th – 29^th, 2020. This will include a broadcast talking with caribou experts about the Klinse-Za caribou maternal pen, where caribou moms (cows) and babies (calves) are protected during the time they’re most vulnerable to predators before being released back into the wild. Kids will have the opportunity to ask caribou experts questions live via Twitter with the help of an adult.

To sign up for this free series:

1. Visit https://www.liveit.earth/10-week-sign-up to subscribe.
2. Confirm your subscription via email (please check your spam/junk mail if you do not receive an email from LiveIt following sign up).
3. You’ll receive a welcome email from LiveIt providing access to the Free Series webpage. Info about next week’s caribou series will be sent out on Monday, May 25^th.

A special thanks to our project leaders at the Nîkanêse Wah tzee Stewardship Society and Wildlife Infometrics for their help with this broadcast! This is an incredible opportunity to learn about BC’s woodland caribou from some amazing conservationists so we hope your family can join us!

HCTF is looking for an energetic, self-directed and positive individual to administer and coordinate some of our most important granting programs.

The Grants Officer is part of our Biology and Evaluation Team. This position reports to the Manager of Biology & Evaluation and is a permanent full-time role based in our Victoria office. The Grants Officer supports the administration and coordination of the HCTF’s largest granting program, Enhancement and Restoration grants (Fisheries & Wildlife projects) and the Stewardship grants, and plays a lead role in database entry and management.

Visit our Careers webpage for more information

*Updated March 31, 2020

It’s a challenging time for all of us in BC. The recent measures to stop the spread of coronavirus have impacted us all in different ways and keeping each other safe and healthy is top priority. With that in mind, HCTF staff are providing increased flexibility to reduce stress and support our grant recipients in completing their projects.

Here’s a summary of what we’re currently doing to help. We will continue to monitor the situation as it evolves and adapt as needed.

For current Enhancement & Restoration, and CHRF grant recipients:

• We’ve extended the deadline for applying for a current-year contract extension to April 30, 2020. If recent events mean you’re no longer able to complete your project prior to March 31st, 2020, please submit a contract extension request using the instructions here. Similarly, if you now need to change part of your currently approved project for 2019-20, please send us a project change request form by following the instructions here.
• We’ve extended the deadline for submitting grant reports. We have automatically extended this year’s deadline for submitting grant reports to June 30th, 2020. You do not need to apply for this extension. Please note: if you’re able to submit your report prior to the usual April 15th deadline, we highly encourage you to do so! This will allow us to get you your final payment sooner, by cheque or electronic fund transfer (New! – contact us for more information)

For current Fisheries O & M and Quality Waters grant recipients:

• We’ve extended the deadline for submitting grant reports. We have automatically extended this year’s deadline for submitting grant reports to June 30th, 2020. You do not need to apply for this extension. Please note: if you’re able to submit your report prior to the usual April 15th deadline, we highly encourage you to do so! This will allow us to get you your final payment sooner, by cheque or electronic fund transfer (New! – contact us for more information).

For recipients of recently approved (fiscal 20-21) Enhancement & Restoration, Stewardship, or CHRF grants:

• We will accept contract extension requests now for recently approved enhancement & restoration, stewardship and CHRF projects if project leaders already know they will need to defer their project for a year due to impacts to the spring field season, etc. We recognize you have other priorities right now so there is no rush to submit these requests: HCTF will accept contract extension requests up until February 15, 2021. However, we recognize it may be helpful to have some certainty sooner given the other uncertainties you may be facing.
• HCTF will accept project change requests throughout the year if you need to make modifications to your approved 2020-21 proposal.
• Staff are available to review responses to funding conditions. Some recently approved projects have funding conditions that need to be fulfilled prior to entering into a conditional grant agreement with HCTF. Though we’ve adjusted our work arrangements to keep staff and others safe, we will continue to review your responses to project funding conditions so you can confirm your grant as soon as possible.
• Grant recipients can electronically sign and return their grant agreement without leaving home. New for this year, HCTF will be sending out all Conditional Grant Agreements via email to e-sign and return electronically using DocuSign. If you would prefer to sign a paper copy of the agreement and return via post you can find the form below;

Electronic Funds Transfer Authorization Form

For recipients of HCTF Education Grants (GO Grants, Leap Grants):

• 2019 GO Grant February and September reporting can be submitted up until April 15th.
• 2020 GO Grant recipients have been sent an email outlining options for deferring your grant.
• 2019 LEAP Grants reports can be submitted up until July 15th. For those whose projects were still in process please contact the HCTF Education office at educationgrants@hctf.ca to discuss.

*For organizations planning to apply for a Habitat Acquisition Grant:

• Given the uncertainty that is expected to continue over the next few months, HCTF is taking a conservative approach and will delay funding decisions for our Habitat Acquisition Grant until our fall Board meeting scheduled for October 2-4, 2020. As a result, the deadline for submitting habitat acquisition grant applications has been extended to Friday, July 17^th, 2020. If proponents have already prepared applications, they may be submitted early but please note that our review process won’t start until the summer. Proponents will be notified of funding decisions shortly after the fall Board meeting.

For individuals/organizations planning to apply for a Public Conservation Assistance Fund (PCAF) grant:

• We’ve extended the application deadline to June 15^th, 2020.

Contacting our Staff

HCTF staff continue to be available to process payments, answer application questions and assist with the administration of current grants. As most of our staff are now working remotely, we suggest contacting team members via email rather than telephone for a faster response (our staff directory is available here). We are currently receiving a high volume of enquiries and are prioritizing responses: rest assured we will get back to you as soon as possible. We will continue to monitor the situation and adapt as needed. Thank you for your patience during this challenging situation.

Best regards,

Dan Buffett

HCTF CEO

In support of efforts to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the HCTF office will be closed to the public until further notice. We will continue to monitor the situation and update you as soon as it is deemed safe to return to normal office operations.

During this time our employees will be working from home wherever possible but will still be available to respond to your inquiries. We recommend that you address any questions, comments or concerns via email. A full list of staff contact information is available here.

The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation team thanks you for your patience and understanding. The health and safety of our employees and the BC public is of greatest importance at this time and we encourage you to take the advice of medical experts and observe social distancing procedures.

Stay safe!