The North Columbia Environmental Society wants to bring the community together through a special event at the Revelstoke Art Gallery to raise public awareness of the airport marsh, a wetland ecosystem right in our backyard.
“We aim to shed light on the beauty and ecological diversity of this space, how it was created, current developments and the potential outcomes of our future decisions,” the NCES said in an e-mail statement Wednesday, April 16.
“Presentations will include perspectives from our past, present and future, with history from the Revelstoke Museum and Archives, ecological values from local biologists, development potential with the Chamber of Commerce and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, and much more.”
There will be local landscape and wildlife art, and wine and cheese will be served.
More information can be found at northcolumbia.org or any questions can be e-mailed to ncesociety@gmail.com. Entrance is by donation.
The Columbia Mountains Institute for Applied Ecology (CMIAE) will also be organizing a field trip to the airport marsh area earlier that day; details and registration can be found online at http://cmiae.org/event/annual-researchers-meeting-agm/.
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Every year CMIAE members get together to provide updates on their projects (research, field trials, new initiatives in southeastern British Columbia) and catch up on each others’ news. It’s an informal atmosphere and non-CMIAE members are welcome to join us in Revelstoke, says a statement from the CMIAE.
Presentations will commence in the morning, and continue into the early afternoon, followed by local field trips. The institute’s short Annual General Meeting will be held right after lunch. A social community event focusing on Revelstoke’s Wetlands will take place in the evening, hosted by the NCES, which will be open to all participants in CMI’s researchers’ forum.
Please click here to register. NOTE: You will be asked to choose from one of two afternoon field trips, their descriptions are below.
List of speakers, posters and field trips
SPEAKERS: 9 am-1:30 pm
Dr. Robert Serrouya, Columbia Mountains Caribou Research Project and Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, Director of the Caribou Monitoring Unit, 5 or 6 easy steps to recover endangered Mountain Caribou
Kevin Bollefer, Revelstoke Caribou Rearing in the Wild Project, Revelstoke Rearing in the Wild: Maternity Pen Project
Lisa Larson, Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks, Highlights of monitoring alpine birds and wolverine in Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks
Harry VanOorte, Cooper Beauchesne and Associates Ltd., What impacts do reservoir operations have on riparian songbirds when their nesting habitat becomes flooded?
Jennifer Greenwood, University of British Columbia, Forest Conservation Sciences, Proximate and ultimate causes of elevational variations in life histories of songbirds
Carrie Nadeau, Summit Environmental Consultants, Goals, objectives and targets: Learning how to plan a successful restoration program
Ryan Gill, Cooper Beauchesne and Associates Ltd., Threatened Bobolinks in the Middle Shuswap
Steve Arndt, Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program, BC Ministry of Forests Lands and Natural Resource Operations, A review of the Arrow Lakes Reservoir Fishery and fish population trends following 15 years of nutrient additions
POSTERS
Amy Leeming, Thompson Rivers University, Fine scale habitat needs may reveal ‘hotspots’ for management: where exactly do turtles hibernate in the reservoir?
Mandy Kellner, Kingbird Biological Consultants Ltd., Floating nest platforms buoy up common loon nesting success in a reservoir
Sarah Boyle and Mandy Kellner, Mount Revelstoke and Glacier National Parks, Using passive acoustic monitoring to confirm presence of bat species in the Nakimu Cave System, Glacier National Park, British Columbia – Interim results
FIELD TRIPS
Harvesting with a Biodiversity Emphasis, Kevin Bollefer, Revelstoke Community Forest Corporation. 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm
We will leave Revelstoke and head north approximately 30 minutes along Lake Revelstoke to the Revelstoke Community Forest Corporation’s Tree Farm License. There we will examine a number of harvested blocks up the Key Road. The blocks have been harvested with biodiversity, wildlife and visuals objectives in mind as well as timber. Some areas have a beautiful park like setting while others have gorgeous views of the Lake and surrounding mountains. Forest harvesting can meet many different objectives at the same time but require certain site requirements. This will be discussed as well as other challenges with this type of harvesting. Also, there is a chance that the mountain caribou may still be on the road this time of year! BRING: A pair of good boots, a snack, and dress appropriately for the weather. COST: free
Birding, bird-banding and turtle telemetry in Revelstoke Wetlands, Michal Pavlik, Cooper Beauchesne and Associates Ltd., and Amy Leeming, Thompson Rivers University. 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Departing from the Revelstoke United Church we will carpool south of town to a site near Montana Bay and “Airport Marsh” area for some birding and research method demonstrations. With the aid of a mist net, we’ll aim to capture and band some birds with one half of the group. The other half of the group will learn more about turtle nesting sites in the area and partake in a telemetry demonstration – then the groups will switch. BRING: Binoculars and gum boots, dress appropriately for the weather. COST: free
Revelstoke Wetlands: past, present, future, The North Columbia Environmental Society and partners. 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
A community event to raise public awareness of wetlands in the Revelstoke area. This event will shed light on the beauty and ecological value of areas such as the “airport marsh,’ how it was created, current developments and the potential outcome of future decisions. Presentations will include perspectives from history (Revelstoke Museum and Archives), ecological values (local biologists), development potential (Chamber of Commerce), beauty (local artists), etc!. This event takes place at the Revelstoke Visual Arts Centre, wine and cheese will be served. COST: Entry is by donation to be paid at the door
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The Community Choir, with guest oboe performer Akane Setiawan, is performing a fundraiser for the Community Connections Food Bank on April 27.
The Feast for the Ears concert is being held at the United Church at 7 pm. $5 from every $15 ticket, available at the Community Centre, goes to support the Food Bank. And, if you donate a non-perishable food item you will have a chance to win a prize!
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Australian musicians Tony King and Nina Vox of the band Beautifully Mad are touring Canada in June and hoping to perform in Revelstoke.
“We are also looking for anyone interested in hosting a home concert in the Revelstoke area for us to perform at,” Tony said in an e-mail to The Current.
If you’d like to host them, you can click here to send them an e-mail.
The duo has just recorded a new album, Spin. You can listen to three of the songs on the album here:
If you like, you can click here to visit their album’s page at iTunes.
They also have a Facebook page you can visit by clicking here.
