It’s pretty simple and would likely mesh readily with the nature exploration & enjoyment activities of the NS Wild Flora Society and many more nature-oriented folks in NS: “basically, the challenge is to observe the natural world around you as you hike. To earn the badge, you have to do 10 hikes and submit 10 observations from each hike via iNaturalist”
Read more about it in an article by Jonathan Riley, Hike NS Board President.
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The field trip to the Polly’s Cove Trail (between Peggy’s Cove and West Dover) has been reschedule to either Saturday Oct. 29. or Sunday Oct. 30. The call for which date will be made a few days before once Charlie sees the weather forecast.
Meet at Parking area: 10:00 Am
Take route 333 from Upper Tantallon St.Margaret’s Bay Road about 23 km to site, a little past Peggy’s cove (< 1km) ,Parking for 5-6 cars on the right seaward side of the road. Area is filled with granite whale backs,barrens,bogs,small ponds etc. The seacoast also has a wide variety of coastal flora. 2-4 hrs. Bring lunch.water, binoculars,camera etc. Dress for the weather. Bogs are dry at present and hiking boots may be ok.
Please contact Charlie Cron to let him know that you plan to attend. ccron72@hotmail.com
Click on one of the photos above to see the full collection. Ian passed away in 2020, Bernice earlier this year. Today there is a celebration of their lives. They had their honeymoon at Ogac Lake, shown in the lower photo above, where Ian was conducting limnological studies; together they collected wild flowers as a hobby (and as formal herbarium records for the National Museum). – David P
Our next member’s meeting will be via Zoom at 7:00pm on Oct 24. Nina Newington will be our guest speaker.
The Last Hope camp was a protest camp established on a logging road in Annapolis County on 2nd December, 2021. The goal was to protect a 24ha forest. By the time we finally packed up and went home on 22 June, 2022, enough occurrences of Species At Risk lichens had been documented to put 60% of the forest off limits for cutting and make the remainder hard to access and uneconomical to cut. Nina will focus in particular on the crucial role that naturalists, notably lichenologists, played in protecting the forest.
As the climate and nature crises barrel down on us, and as governments continue to pledge action but permit business as usual, those who recognize the urgency of the situation must join forces. Activists willing to get in the way of what damages the earth need people whose love of nature takes the form of observing and learning about very specific life forms, and vice versa. The provincial government’s commitment to protecting 20% of Nova Scotia’s land and waters by 2030 is a starting point. By working together, we can identify and protect ecologically valuable forests before they are logged, not after as seems to be the current plan.
The talk will be accompanied by photographs and a 5 minute mini-documentary about the camp.
Nina Newington is a writer, gardener, carpenter and forest protector. Her second novel, Cardinal Divide, was published in 2020. She lives with her wife on the North Mountain in Kespukwitk, District One of the 7 traditional districts of Mi’kma’ki.
Members should have received a Zoom email invitation. Contact ocotillo8@gmail.com if you did not receive it.
Due to the impact of hurricane Fiona, the Polly’s Cove and Cape Breton Field Trips are cancelled until further notice.
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of one of our members: Burkhard Plache. He was a pillar of the Halifax naturalist community and will be sorely missed by his wife Ingrid and all of us who knew him.
There will be a a Service of Remembrance and Thanksgiving on Sep 28.
Please see his obituary for details https://necrocanada.com/…/burkhard-plache-june-21…/amp/
The field trip to the Polly’s Cove Trail (between Peggy’s Cove and West Dover) has been moved to the following weekend due to Hurricane Fiona.
Meet at Parking area: 10:00 Am Sunday Oct 2. Rain Date Sat. Oct 1.
Take route 333 from Upper Tantallon St.Margaret’s Bay Road about 23 km to site, a little past Peggy’s cove (< 1km) ,Parking for 5-6 cars on the right seaward side of the road. Area is filled with granite whale backs,barrens,bogs,small ponds etc. The seacoast also has a wide variety of coastal flora. 2-4 hrs. Bring lunch.water, binoculars,camera etc. Dress for the weather. Bogs are dry at present and hiking boots may be ok.
Please contact Charlie Cron to let him know that you plan to attend. ccron72@hotmail.com
Our next member’s meeting will be via Zoom at 7:00pm on Sep 26. Invitations will be emailed to members closer to the date.
Bees pollinate many flowers that are important for people. There are far more bees that share NS with us than most people appreciate. We will explore what bees are in NS and how we can provide habitat and resources for bees to increase pollination.
Alana Pindar, is an early career scientist and recently appointed Weston Family Visiting Professor in Ecosystem Health and Food Security at Cape Breton University. She has been studying changes in wild bee communities in Eastern Canada for over 15 years. In 2016, She led a provincial report on the Status and Trends for Pollinator Health in Ontario for the Ontario Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs was awarded the Webster Postdoctoral Fellowship in Environmental Sciences for her work.
David McCorquodale, biology professor at Cape Breton University for more than 30 years. A naturalist who has monitored bird populations, recorded long-horned beetles and lady beetles in eastern Canada and is currently teaching plant taxonomy. Service roles have included Chair of Science Atlantic and currently Co-Chair of COSEWIC Arthropods and the NS Insect Recovery Team.
Southdale site on Aug 15, 2022. Trees had been cleareddown to the wetland. From p 6 of Letter
Click on image for larger version
An invitation from Shape Our City Halifax has just been issued to “to share your feedback on the draft policies, development agreement and submitted plans” related to the Southdale Future Growth Node which includes the ‘Eisner Cove Wetland’.
Feedback is to be submitted via simple one-box form by Monday September 19, 2022.
The “draft policies, development agreement and submitted plans” can be accessed via this webpage: Case 23820: Southdale Future Growth Node Planning Process
Tree-clearing at the Southdale site began in early August, so it’s not clear what decisions about the development yet to be taken might be modified by public input.
As readers are probably aware, there have been some hitches along the way in the form of growing protests, appeals, and an industrial site incident.
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