You are presumed to be honest and responsible without evidence to the contrary beyond a reasonable doubt… on the balance of probablilties you are justified by 51 % likelyhood.
Alan Burger and a speaker discuss a presentation, Nicola Naturalists, Merritt BC ,Ca
File Photo KDG
Leafing Through History: Exploring Fossil Plant Deposits in Western Canada.
The Nicola Naturalists Society is hosting the Kamloops Exploration Group and giving the meeting over to them evening.
[Note the change in dates – not theusual third Thursday of the month.]
Dr. Christopher West is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He has degrees in Earth Sciences and Paleobiology, including a PhD from the University of Saskatchewan. He has published research on late Paleocene and early Eocene fossil floras from the Canadian High Arctic, British Columbia, and Alberta. Dr. West’s research interests are focused on reconstructing ancient climates and ecosystems using plant fossils in order to better understand ancient forest ecosystems, and how these ancient ecosystems gave rise to the modern forest biome in North America.
NNS
Doors open at 6 lecture at 7PM
In the lecture theater NVIT top of the hill Belshaw avenue in Merritt. The naturalists say all welcome membership or donation requested. Free parking.
Spring time sees Ospreys return from where they go in the winter File Photo KDG
The Christmas bird count has 120 years of world wide data at the Audubon Society . Good to our feathered friends and be especially mindful of migratory birds as they are protected.
Here are some highlights of the bird count conducted by the Nicola Naturalists Society this winter in the Merritt BC area.
American Wigeon 74 up from 50 high
Northern Pintail 17 up from a high of 2
Greater White fronted Goose 1
Northern Shoveler 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
American Kestrels 6 up from a high of 3
Brown Creeper 4 up from a high of 2
Black Capped Chickadees 96 up from a high of 58
Steller’s Jay 38 up from a high of 37
7 teams of counters were out and had what the club called a pleasant day of counting . A notation that species counts are often effected by food supply an exceptional Douglas Fir cone drop made for a high count in Pine Siskins last year. Siskins were missed this year and joined 2 other species well below average: American Gold finch 9 ( average of 48) and Robins 1 ( average 23).
Alan Burger and a speaker discuss a presentation, Nicola Naturalists, Merritt BC ,Ca
File Photo KDG
The February meeting of the Nicola Naturalist will be a presentation on Big Horn Sheep. Edyta Myrcisz.
Originally from Poland, Edyta was drawn to Canada by its vastness, nature and wildlife. She is currently a graduate student at Thompson Rivers University and works in collaboration with Gerad Hales of FLNRORD (Wildlife Management). Using massive data sets collected from Bighorns fitted with satellite-tracking collars, she is looking at long-distance forays by rams in several Bighorn herds, and also the general distribution of these herds. Contact with domestic sheep is of particular interest, because recent declines in one Thompson Region population is thought to result from disease linked with domestic sheep.
Source Nicola Naturalists
The meetings start at 7PM at he Nicola Valley Institute of Technology, free parking no food or drink in the lecture theater, membership or donation requested.
Dr Kerridge gives a talk on bats at local college
File photo KDG
Thursday January 16th 2019 the Nicola Naturalists start off their 2020 schedule with a presentation on bats by Paul Mozin.
Paul Mozin is a biologist with the Nicola Watershed Stewardship and Fisheries Authority (Scw’exmx Tribal Council). This group has undertaken an ambitious project to inventory and monitor the bat species in the Nicola Valley. Paul will be presenting the results from last year’s bat inventory, some background on endangered bat species in the Nicola Valley and some actions their group has taken this year. Come and learn more about these important but poorly understood citizens of the night.
A returning Salmon rises out of the water at the Nicola river Hyway 8 train bridge walking trail, Merritt BC August 12th/16 Photo KDG
There is a speaker and topic change at this months Nicola Naturalists Society meeting. Tom Willms will present on the thermal disparities of the Nicola river.
Tom Willms is a PhD candidate with UNBC, an Instructor at NVIT, and an active member of the Nicola Naturalist Society. He will share some of his research in characterization of thermal refuge habitat in the Nicola River and the importance of these refugia to salmonid fish. His work explores groundwater-surface water interactions in streams and uses some new technologies, including drone-based thermal imagery.
Free parking membership or donation requested.
There is free parking and an opportunity for membership in the society at the meeting. No food or beverage in the lecture theater.
On this Day: November 19th 1998
Van Gogh ‘s Artist wiith out a beard sells for over 70 million dollars US.
Nicola Naturalist Society November meeting 20th at 7PM NVIT lecture theater.
[NOTE – this meeting is on Wednesday and not our usual Thursday]
An active member of our club, Loretta has been involved in the Burrowing Owl Recovery Program for several years. The goal is to re-establish these tiny owls as a viable breeding population on their past range in the interior grasslands. There are several sites in the Nicola Valley where captive-bred owls are released and breed successfully. Loretta will explain the difficulties and successes of this worthy program.
A borrowing owl up close
File photo KDG
The Naturalists always say all welcome, membership or donation requested. NO food or drinks in lecture theater.
Alan Burger and a speaker discuss a presentation, Nicola Naturalists, Merritt BC ,Ca
File Photo KDG
The Nicola Naturalists are having their annual members meeting tonight at 7: PM. The
As usual, we kick off the fall with our popular Photo Night – always an amazing collection of local nature pics taken by our members during the summer. We keep the required AGM business meeting short – but this is a good time to discuss any options or new directions for our club. The club always needs members to volunteer as directors, field outing leaders and much more, so please contact one of the directors to volunteer to help run the club
Source NNS
The club meets on Belshaw road in Merritt’s NVIT campus , top of the hill, the fall sessions are on Wednesdays as a change from the regular third Thursday of the month.
These trees didn’t grow.. Voght park, Merritt BC File photo.
Carbon planet
All that is planted does not grow. However look at this from TD Bank.
Continuing to grow and enhance green spaces for everyone to enjoy. Supporting the transition to a low carbon economy – with a CAD $100 billion target in low-carbon lending, financing, asset management and other programs by 2030.
Vibrant Planet
Carbon neutral bank
TD claims carbon neutral since 2010 in its operations. One of its mission statements is to ” develop colleagues and act with resect” Something that seems missing in the present social political climate.
Trying not failure
Even though the trees above failed to take effort always leaves a legacy of knowledge!
Canadian Chartered banks excellent.
The chartered bank system in Canada was in the forefront of the survival of the world banking system in the collapse of many large investment banks at the start of the great recession in the decade after the millennium turning. Lets hope they can be as productive in the carbon conflict.
Good luck.
Ethiopa Plants 350 million trees.
Ethiopians planted more than 350,000 trees in just 12 hours on Monday, the country’s minister of innovation and technology announced on Twitter. The mass-tree planting not only helps the environment, it sets a world record, the Associated Press reported.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed created the initiative to help restore Ethiopia’s landscape, which experts say is being eroded by deforestation and climate change, the AP reported.
CBS News
They had help from UN and government but its a good start.
Using any plastic bags for the 24 hrs of the observance whoa, hold up there may be sanctions. No its just to draw attention. No one is watching, however it is the 10th year and they are looking for input for better and more lasting ways to deal with the single use plastic issue.
About 1500 tons of waste is in process to of being burnt in Burnaby at this writing. The waste is being returned to Canada from the Philippines after being rejected as recyclable. Its seems out of sight is no longer out of mind. The million and a half could surely been spent more wisely.
Loose bags and single use plastic.
The greatest problem for the environment is the loose single use plastic that gets in the environment and smothers coral, kills birds and reeks havoc on soil dynamics.
Happy International Plastic Bag Free Day!Capture plastic before it captures us.
On this Day: July 3rd 1935
William the Conqueror becomes the Duke of Normandy.
The lightest and most abundant element in the universe is hydrogen. The sun ( our star) is burning hydrogen in a compressed fusion reaction, mostly at its core. The by-product of the reaction is helium. When a star burns up its hydrogen it goes to the next element on the periodic table, helium. The by-product of that fusion is carbon. All life on earth is carbon based that means that the element that gives use life came from a burning out star so long ago it is barley fathomable.
Carbon in a cycle on earth.
The limited supply of carbon is in a cycle of production of life giving oxygen giving us the means to make energy, the bi-product of this is carbon dioxide that will be taken up by plants to make oxygen again.
The carbon in this flora is reacting to photo chemistry to make oxygen from carbon dioxide.
File photo KDG
Life sustaining balance of gases.
Our atmosphere has been through many changes over time including some mass extinctions. Man has in recent times interceded ( acid rain and sulphur). Man is capable when deployed to sustain most natural short term unbalances.
Enjoy the suns magic today.
The sun is young and strong we are able to take action at this time.
On this Day: July 2nd 2019
Once in 400 years total solar eclipse in viewed in South America.
The goal of this agreement is to reduce the acoustic and physical disturbance to SRKW by large commercial vessels in Pacific Canadian waters, in particular those vessels that call at the Port of Vancouver, or otherwise operate in SRKW critical habitat, through the continuation of existing voluntary efforts and the commitment to develop and implement new voluntary threat reduction measures to support the recovery of the SRKW.
Kevin Griffiths
percypaschal
The Proprietor Review 