As a kid, I remember riding my bicycle along the Galloping Goose trail in Victoria and seeing Scotch broom plants densely packed along the sides of the trail. Their brilliant yellow flowers caught my eye as their aromatic scent filled the hot summer air. To me their blooming marked the Read more…
Spring is a great time to identify the different plants on your property. While some plants such as trees and shrubs can be observed and identified any time of year, many herbaceous plants are annuals or go dormant during the dry summer and cold winter. For this reason, we encourage Read more…
March 23rd, 2023 Join us for a field trip to the SṈIDȻEȽ restoration project and the TEMOSEN carving shed on Thursday March 23. It will be an exciting day connecting with Indigenous knowledge keepers and experiential learning on the land. For this day long field trip, our wonderful community bus Read more…
If you stand underneath a large Douglas fir this time of year, it may not be as quiet and still as you’d expect. Chickadees peck at the cones, chittering juncos scavenge fallen seeds, a nuthatch clings upside down on the trunk and regards you curiously, flickers hunt insects in the Read more…
The new habitat restoration site at St. John Point has now been planted with native trees and shrubs thanks to the hard work of community volunteers and students from the Mayne School. All the plants were grown from locally collected seeds and cuttings and grown in our native plant nursery Read more…
Do you recall the phrase “If you build it, he will come” from the 1989 film Field of Dreams? Well, in the case of the elusive Wilson’s Snipe, we might rephrase it to “If you build it, s/he will stay.” This past spring, the owners of Hedgerow Farm on Mayne Read more…
This is part three of the “Below Our Feet” series, exploring the mysterious workings of the Rhizosphere, which is the region of soil shaped and surrounded by plant roots. In the last article, we met some of the most common soil animals and learned about the vital tasks they perform Read more…
This is part two of the “Below Our Feet” series. This series of articles aims to shine a light on the mysterious underground world of plant life beneath our feet. In the last article, we explored some of the secret superpowers of plants. Not only are roots the foundation of Read more…
When environmental factors change, as is happening with global climate change, the geographic boundaries that a species can survive within shift as well. This is known as a range shift, range expansion, or range reduction depending on the circumstances.
In 2017 our community came together in an amazing way, raising money to help purchase what is now St. John Point Regional Park. This 68 acre park is a huge addition to the small public land area on Mayne Island being managed for nature conservation and low-impact recreation. Since becoming Read more…