Oct 18, 2015

Announcing: The PODS Enterprise!

Pender Ocean Discovery Station

After a decade of researching and teaching about the watersheds, wetlands, lakes and streams and all the amazing terrestrial habitats here on the beautiful Sunshine Coast, we are now heading out to explore, record and share the wonderful world of marine life that we are fortunate enough to have living in the oceans around us. We are blessed to be living in such a naturally diverse region but we must ensure it stays that way. We will continue to share our discoveries with the whole Sunshine Coast community and to bring us all 'Closer to Nature' through our incredibly successful education programs and workshops.

We are absolutely thrilled to share with you the announcement of our latest endeavour -The Pender Ocean Discovery Station, or PODS. We intend to build this new state-of-the-art $10 million facility by 2020. The new buildings will be located in the heart of Madeira Park and will include marine research labs, a large conference facility and a beautiful underground aquarium and a lot more! It will be an iconic building that will offer amazing educational opportunities for our youngsters and bring a much-needed economic boost to our local community.

Read more about the PODS Enterprise on our dedicated web page - PODS Away!

 Upcoming Events

Introduction to Forest Mushrooms, with Dr. John Field

Sunday Oct 25th, 10:00am – 4:00pm
Iris Griffith Centre

We are very pleased to be welcoming our own founding board member, Dr. John Field, to share his knowledge about the wonderful world of coastal mushrooms!

Dr. John Field was a professor of biology and science at Capliano University’s Sunshine Coast Campus in Sechelt, and is a seasoned veteran when it comes to the natural history of the Coast. John has a multitude of experience with nature guiding and field instruction, and we are thrilled to have him back for another year to teach us all about the mushrooms we can find growing among our coastal forests.

Fun guys and fun gals are encouraged to join! The session will begin with a 2 hour morning lecture and introduction at the Iris Griffith Centre, followed by an afternoon foray into the forest – rain or shine. Please be prepared with good footwear and rain gear. Other collecting equipment you may wish to bring include: a basket, folding pocket knife, and ID guide (we have many available at the EarthFair Store!). Coffee and tea will be provided, but we ask that you bring your own lunch. Cost is $30, or $15 with 2015 Lagoon Society Membership.

Please note: workshop space is limited. Register by dropping by the EarthFair store, or give us a call at 604.883.9006.

Birds of the Salish Sea, with John Neville

Tuesday Oct. 27^th, 7:00pm
Iris Griffith Centre

The Pender Harbour Wildlife Society and the Lagoon Society are pleased to welcome John Neville, a renowned BC ornithologist who is the also a past president of BC Nature and a well known commentator on Canadian wildlife.

John Neville has had a lifelong interest in birds, which began in England. He specializes in bird song, and has published seventeen regional sound guides to bird identification, as well as an e-book titled Travelling the Dempster. The climax of his recording career has just been produced; Bird Songs of Canada features 4 CD set, 435 bird species listed by 2012 AOU order in English, French and Latin.

John has much experience presenting locally, regionally, and nationally, and is a recipient of the Elton Anderson Award, which celebrates his passion and dedication as a member of Federation of BC Naturalists. This event is free of charge and refreshments will be a served. The Wood Duck Bus is available for transportation to and from Sechelt, with pick up in Halfmoon Bay, Madeira Park and the Petro Canada. Please contact info(at)penderharbourwildlife.com for more information.

Book Launch – The Real Thing: The Natural History of Ian McTaggart Cowan, by Briony Penn

Sunday, Nov. 15^th, 2:00pm
Iris Griffith Centre

Join author Briony Penn for an entertaining afternoon celebrating the life of this remarkable scientist, naturalist, educator and quiet activist. 

Ian McTaggart Cowan (1910–2010), revolutionized the way North Americans understood the natural world and is known as the “father of Canadian ecology.” From his formative years roaming the mountains around Vancouver looking for venison to his last years co-editing the voluminous and authoritative Birds of British Columbia, Cowan’s life provides a unique perspective on a century of environmental change—with a critical message for the future. He was no stranger to the suppression of scientists or challenging pipelines, hydro projects, pesticides and industrial logging - all before most of us were even born. He pioneered nature television in its very earliest days and later hired David Suzuki. Clips from his original CBC TV shows will be played as well as readings from the book, recollections of his life and his thoughts on the future. http://cowantherealthing.com.

Briony Penn is a naturalist, broadcaster, educator, and writer well known across Canada. As a journalist, columnist and author, Briony has a publishing record of hundreds of articles for newspapers, magazines as well as books, government publications and peer-reviewed journals. She is also an artist and has exhibited and published widely on natural history themes. Briony is a pioneer of community mapping and has created numerous artistic community maps that have been replicated across North America and Europe. In the last 20 years, she has also been an active community researcher on biological/cultural topics, a mentor for young activists and raised two wonderful sons. 

The Real Thing will be in bookstores at the end of October.

• Publisher’s Website: http://www.rmbooks.com/book_details.php?isbn_upc=9781771600705
• Book Website: http://cowantherealthing.com
• UVic digital collection of journals: http://www.uvic.ca/library/featured/collections/bc/Cowan.php

And Here’s What We’ve Been Up To…

Check out our brand new website!

We are very excited to have our fabulous new website up and running! Thank you to my Amy and her team at Pye Design for the wonderful work on the design of the new website, and making the transition from old to new as seamless as possible!

Please browse our website and let us know what you think – we are still busy populating some pages but this will be completed very soon. We would very much appreciate your feedback.

Sunshine Coast Biodiversity Strategy - Citizen Science Projects

The fall months have been busy with citizen science projects on the Sunshine Coast! We have teamed up with Simon Fraser University and the Coastal Invasive Plant Council of BC to eliminate Japanese knotweed in the Anderson Creek Watershed, and our Action Plan is now underway. We have also been working with Pacific Salmon Foundation to do marine sampling of the Salish Sea. Both these projects will be starting up again in the spring and we will be looking for volunteers to help with these projects in the New Year.  Please watch this space or checkout our Facebook Page for all the day-to-day news from the Lagoon Society.

Our new and improved Facebook page!

Have you visited the Lagoon Society’s Facebook page recently? It keeps you up to date on the latest Lagoon Society news, shares intriguing biodiversity news from the Coast and around the world, and it now provides a record of what we’ve been doing since we formed the Society all the way back in 2002!

HUG

We are launching our brand new HUG (Help Us Grow) Fundraising campaign very shortly – stay tuned for more information!