Bennett Bay
Habitat Restoration at Bennett Bay
A Place of Many Values Many of you are familiar with Bennett Bay Park. The 26-acre property that includes Campbell Point and the area between the beach and Wilkes Rd. This part of the Gulf Read more…
Caring for the Land
Not So Jolly, English Holly
Despite the popular Christmas lyrics, please don’t deck your halls with boughs of holly. As with many invasive species that have naturalized across the Pacific Northwest, English holly was brought here in the mid 1800s Read more…
Native Plants
Our Native Plant Nursery Needs Your Support
Please help us keep this vital program growing. The demand for locally-adapted plants for habitat restoration projects in Mayne Island’s public parks has grown in recent years, as has interest from homeowners and other private Read more…
Caring for the Land
Tread Lightly: Healthy Septic Systems
When you pour yourself a cool, fresh glass of water, remember it comes out of an aquifer in the ground, sometimes not too far from where our household wastewater (sewage) ends up. Many of us Read more…
Caring for the Land
Controlling Tansy Ragwort
Tansy ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), also known as stinking willie, is a toxic invasive biennial or short-lived perennial plant introduced to Canada from Europe in the 1850s via the ballast water of ships. It is currently Read more…
Youth Education
Family Nature Explorations
What’s under that rock? Who lives in that tree? Why does that caterpillar have hair on it? The world is full of important questions, and children ask the best ones. They remind us we all Read more…
Mayne Wildlife
Unmasking the Basking Shark
What might cause a biologist to spend three hopeful days on a paddleboard in the Saanich Inlet in the middle of winter? I’d heard rumour of a basking shark sighted in the area, and the Read more…
Caring for the Land
Tread Lightly: Why Does Groundwater Matter?
Groundwater is a critical element that supports the health of our ecosystems and the hydrological function of watersheds. The concern today is that changes in seasonal precipitation, evapotranspiration, recharge, and saltwater intrusion are threatening this Read more…
Book Reviews
Book Review: A Year on the Wild Side
A Year on the Wild Side: A West Coast Naturalist’s Almanac by Briony Penn Book Review by Lori Nick Salt Spring Island resident Briony Penn wears many hats—she is an author, artist, broadcaster, educator, and Read more…