BC Nature
1620 Mt. Seymour Road V7G 2R9 North Vancouver, BC, Canada

Rainy weather has us reminiscing on sunny days... Check out BC Nature member Jane's summer adventure! The Stanley Glacier hike is a spectacular landscape with abundant wildflowers, hoary marmots, pikas, ground squirrels, chipmunks, waterfalls, and of course the glacier. Takakkaw Falls is always beautiful as is the surrounding area, including the confluence of the Yoho and Kicking Horse rivers. A ‘singing-in-the-rain’ Swainson’s Thrush beat the falls was a highlight. What (s...afe) summer adventures did you have? Photos: Jane Potter

Did you know all these ways bees contribute to ecosystem health? pollination (90% of the world’s food!) wild plant growth aiding in providing food and habitat for other creatures... food source (and their honey!) honey, pollen, and beeswax usage in medicine economic contribution from food production ecosystem diversity indicators of a healthy environment So what can you do to help protect the bees? Lots of things: plant a bee-friendly garden using local native plants to your area provide water for bees in a dripping water bottle or small container don’t use pesticides or insecticides on your garden, especially the flowers don’t weed your garden! Many weeds, like dandelions, make an excellent food source for bees educate yourself and others about bees look into installing a hive in your area (pro-tip: mason bees rarely sting!) Did we miss anything? Leave a comment below!

Know Nature, and Keep it Worth Knowing.

In August, the Bulkley Valley Naturalists took a canoe trip to Hidden Lake, an area noted for its carnivorous sundew plants! What looks like dew on the plant is actually a sticky fluid containing digestive enzymes which traps insects and gradually breaks them down so the plant gets the additional nutrients it needs to flourish in its wet, acidic soil. Thanks for sharing, Mel! Photos: Mel Coulson

Some motivation for your post-long weekend workday...

Global Bird Rescue is an annual event hosted by FLAP Canada, in partnership with Nature Canada, that uses the Global Bird Collision Mapper (GBCM) to document bird-building collisions across the globe. Each year, during the first week of October, teams and individuals take to the streets to search for fallen birds and raise awareness about bird-building collisions. By encouraging people to search for birds, FLAP Canada hopes to increase these birds’ chances of successful reh...abilitation and release. Interested in helping out? You can participate either solo or as part of a team. Head to flap.org or click the link in our bio to learn more about getting involved. #globalbirdrescue Photo: Keith Chrystall

You asked for more staff faces - so here we are! This is Karoline, the summer intern/communications manager at BC Nature! Karoline grew up in North Vancouver on uncedes Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish territories. She has been passionate about nature since childhood, and pursued an Associate’s of Arts in Global Stewardship and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Geography and Political Science, focused in environmental sustainability. Karoline is particularly passionate about accessible sustainability and climate action, nature-based solutions in urban planning, and climate change education. In the future, Karoline hopes to pursue a Master’s of Science to be able to help mitigate against the climate crisis and work towards a more sustainable future for all.

#FunFactFriday | Entomologists, this one's for you: introducing, the Cherry-Faced Meadowhawk! Now, the image attached is a young Meadowhawk; as they mature, their face and body become red (appropriately named!). They are frequently found around ponds, lakes, slow streams, marshes, and meadows nearby aquatic areas. They are currently marked on BC's 'Yellow List', meaning they're at the least risk of going extinct. They can be found as far north as the southern Yukon, and ar...e widespread across BC (but has not been recorded on Vancouver Island). While native to British Columbia, they can be found across continental North America. Do you have any dragonfly stories? Leave a comment below! Photo: S. Elwell.

BC Nature in a nutshell! Our organization is a platform for cross-province communication between naturalists (like you, our lovely following!) on issues surrounding conservation, environmental education, and ecological wellbeing. The BC Nature Board is composed of volunteers passionate about British Columbia’s incredible environment. We have several paid staff (like me, the summer intern and social media person! ) who work behind the scenes to keep the organization f...lowing. In supporting club activities, we are able to amplify the importance of the work being done for environmental health Some of the things we do include promoting conservation in BC by sending letters on key issues to policy makers, supporting local environmental conservation projects financially and logistically, and creating scholarship funds for young environmentalists to continue the work in future generations. Interested in learning more? Check out the link in our bio to go to our website and look into joining a club near you! @ BC Nature

#FunFactFriday When talking about Birtish Clumbia's incredible biodiversity, of course we need to mention the one and only Kermode Bear! Photo: Betty Davison

#FunFactFriday Let's talk UNESCO World Heritage Sites! Do you know of these three in British Columbia? Number one: Burgess Shale, located in Yoho National Park. This is one of the world's most prolific fossil sites, where you can find bones, shells, teeth, muscles, gills, and digestive systems of fossilized arthropods! Also, scientists have been able to study the nervous systems, hearts, livers, and eggs of arthropods here, allowing for a deeper understanding of life on ...Earth 505 million years ago. When these creatures were alive, this area was the ocean; now, this seabed is settled on top of a mountain! Second, and not surprisingly, is the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks. While this area straddles the line between BC and Alberta (nature has no regard for human-made borders!), this Site holds a plethora of icefields, glaciers, limestone caves, forests, lakes, waterfalls, and plenty of wildlife. Some gems include the dolomite walls of Marble Canyon, the orange Paint Pots, Radium Hot Springs, and Lake O'Hara. For outdoor enthusiasts, this area is nothing short of a goldmine for both winter and summer exploring. Last but not least is Kluane / Wrangell-St Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek, a group of parks found across the Yukon / BC / Alaskan border. These parks hold the world's largest non-polar ice field, as well as tectonically-active mountains, with multiple geological and climatic biomes being found here. This area, abundant in coastal environments, glaciers, inlets, river canyons, and fluvial plains mark a geographer's paradise. Have you been to any of these locations? Leave a comment below! Photo: Kalen Emsley from Unsplash.

#FunFactFriday | Let's continue this trend with a local bird: the Coastal Vesper Sparrow! The Coastal Vesper Sparrow is a subspecies of Vesper Sparrows, and is the rarest of three subspecies of Vesper Sparrows that breed in Canada. Their habitat is limited to Pacific coastal plains in Western North America, preferring grasslands with trees and shrubs and patches of gravelly soil. In Canada, the Vesper Sparrow subspecies has only been reported on southeastern Vancouver Islan...d (particularly around Nanaimo), and in the Lower Fraser Valley. Currently, there is only one known nesting site, located at the Nanaimo airport. The endangered Coastal Vesper Sparrow is not known to have bred in Canada since 2014. It is listed as Endangered under SARA, and are BC's 'Red List' (meaning they are extirpated, endangered or threatened in BC). Threats include loss of habitat, human development, encroachment of native and non-native flora, and demographic factors affecting the already small populations. They create their nests on the ground, and so human land management is especially harmful for the Coastal Vesper Sparrow. While they nest and forage on the ground, they use higher perches for singing. This species is one of many that are threatened by encroaching urban development. The work of conservationists, naturalists, and educators on BC's incredible biodiversity is needed now, more than ever, to protect nature for the future. Photo: Glen Dreger

The climate crisis poses an undeniable threat to British Columbia's natural world: from sea level rise to species extinction and loss of biodiversity, no aspect of BC's environment will be unaffected. While immediate global action is needed, some communities are taking matters into their own hands, like the cities of Surrey and Delta and the Semiahmoo First Nation. Click this article by The Narwhal to read more about 'living infrastructure'.

Happy Monday! As summer ramps up, we can't wait to spend more time outdoors. BC's mountains, forests, oceans and everything in between are calling us! Here are a few of our summer intern's favourite summer outdoor photos. What are your favourite summer outdoor recreation activities? Do you follow us on our other social media platforms, too? We can be found at:... Instagram: @bcnature_ Twitter: @BCNature

#FunFactFriday This week's feature: trees! Did you know trees communicate with one another? What's more, we can credit this incredible discovery to a Canadian forest ecologist, Suzanne Simard. Trees are able to communicate thanks to complex fungal networks that live in tree roots are able to send chemical signals from one tree to another. ... This video demonstrates how exactly these interactions work, and how they're related to and impacted by climate change.

There are 308 species, sup-species, and varieties of plants and animals found only in Canada! Check out this CBC article for more information: https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/endemic-species-1.5597186 Graphic credit: Nature Conservancy of Canada and NatureServe Canada

Whew, June flew by! Now, we're looking forward to July, and in particular... Plastic Free July! Plastic Free July is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution by refusing single-use plastics, like straws, coffee cups, and takeout containers. The good news is, no matter the level you're able to commit to - one day, one week, avoiding single-use plastic bags, for example - you're still making a difference and a step in the r...ight direction towards a more sustainable lifestyle! Their website has lots of useful resources and allows you to personalize the challenge so that it works for your current lifestyle. Will you take the challenge? Hit the link below to sign up and find out more! https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/

World Bee Day Post #2! Did you know that the majority of our native bees in BC are ground nesters? Here we have another A.miserablis female living in the sam...e nesting aggregation as the bee on our previous post- searching for her nest and digging down through the soil. Next time youre near a dry, patchy lawn on a sunny day, get low to the ground to find these beauties

#FunFactFriday Bringing back this series to discuss a different BC local each week! This week: the wolverine. The wolverine, whose scientific name is Gulo gulo (which means glutton in Latin!), is the largest member of the weasel family, ranging from 8 to 18kg in weight and 80 to 110cm in length. These opportunistic, omnivorous creatures are very solitary and can roam about 15 miles a day in search of their next meal. These elusive creatures are one of the least known animals... in Canada! While they can be found across British Columbia, they also are found in Alaska, the Yukon, and Northwest Territories, but are rare past the Prairies. Because of their thick fur, they were once a prime trapping target, with their fur being used to line parkas (though this is far less common today). Trapping and hunting in Eastern Canada has left the population vulnerable: in Quebec, its listed as a threatened species. Wolverines are sensitive to environmental disturbances, so human development has greatly impacted populations (especially in Eastern Canada), like roads cutting off habitats and ranging ability. Do you have any wolverine stories? Leave a comment below! Photo credit: National Geographic