2018 Youth Summit for Biodiversity & Environmental Leadership
The Ontario Nature Youth Council will host a weekend of workshops and activities for about 100 students from across Ontario, September 21-23, at Geneva Park, Orillia Ontario. The OFNC will sponsor two students in grades 9-12 from the Ottawa-Gatineau region to attend this action-packed weekend for free. Information on the summit | Apply for OFNC sponsorship
City Stream Watch: volunteers wanted
The 2018 City Stream Watch Program includes Poole Creek and Cody Creek, and will run from 11 June 2018 until 10 August 2018.
For this assessment, we will have volunteers working closely with experienced staff members, out in hip waders surveying the stream. We will be wading up the stream taking detailed measurements and site characteristics every 100m. Each group will be made up of 2-3 volunteers and 1-2 staff members. The stream surveys will be running from 9 am – 3 pm or 5 pm – dusk (weekdays only), which includes meeting at the site, training, putting equipment on, hiking to the creek and completing the survey.
We make our schedule based on what days volunteers are available to come out, and we do our very best to accommodate everyone’s preferences! Please email me if you are interested in participating. This program offers excellent hands on and educational experience while at the same time giving you a chance to meet new people and give back to nature!
If you are interested or want more information, contact Allysa at MVCA! monitoring@mvc.on.ca
Summer jobs at the Canadian Wildlife Federation
Gardener: The Canadian Wildlife Federation is seeking a horticultural student or experienced gardener to maintain its demonstration garden in Kanata. The CWF is a national nongovernmental conservation organization and uses the garden to demonstrate wildlife friendly gardening with a focus on native plants. The garden includes several perennial and shrub beds with treed areas scattered throughout. READ MORE
Garden design: The student will be responsible for updating the CWF’s wildlife-friendly and native plant demonstration garden maps. For those who cannot visit the garden in person, the maps along with a virtual tour serve as an important example of how Canadians can integrate wildlife-friendly practices at home and how such a garden might look. READ MORE
Naturalists wanted for NatureSketch Program
Junior NatureSketch is an outdoor nature program for kids that focuses on sketching and observing wildlife habitats. Guided by a sketch artist and a naturalist, children connect to nature using a pencil and a sketchbook. Six Saturday afternoon outings to various natural areas in Ottawa are planned for May and June. The role of the naturalist will be to identify important ecological features and explain their importance. The artist and naturalist will work hand in hand to plan and execute each 2-hour session. For more information, contact Dilhari at nsottawa@naturesketch.org.
Wanted: Breeding Bird Survey participants
Skilled birders are needed to survey Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) routes in Ontario. The BBS is the primary source of long-term, large-scale population data for breeding bird species in North America. Volunteers must be confident at birding by ear, have a reliable vehicle, and be able to survey their assigned route once a year for several years. Each survey consists of 50 3-minute point counts starting at sunrise and must be done sometime between late May and early July.
Volunteers are particularly needed to fill gaps in coverage in northern Ontario.
A map showing available routes is available at https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/RouteMap/Map.cfm# (choose Canada, then Ontario; the 26 unassigned routes are shown in red).
More information
Detailed information on the BBS program can be fund on the Canadian BBS website. For more information contact Liz Purves, Ontario BBS Coordinator, at lpurves@birdcanada.org.
Help the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust create the Byrne Big Creek Nature Preserve
This 100-acre property was bequeathed to the MMLT by the late Joel Byrne who was a great supporter of the Mississippi Valley Field Naturalists and the Macnarama Field Naturalists as well as the MMLT. In this act, Joel fulfilled his dream of protecting forever this special wild place that he knew would continue to touch the deepest needs of future generations.
We estimate that we will require $48,500 to pay for acquisition expenses such as appraisals, legal fees and insurance as well as longer term funding for legal defence should we need to deal with future incursions in the courts as well as an endowment to pay for stewardship in perpetuity. MORE