The Nature Club began the year in
style with our traditional AGM potluck and an excellent presentation
by UBC marine mammal expert, Professor Andrew Trite, explaining why
BC Steller sea lions are thriving whilst their Alaskan relatives are
in sharp decline. The answer appears to be food quality, since they
thrive on high food value fish such as herring, whereas low value
foods such as pollock cause them to have lower birth and infant
survival rates. This suggests that the hard work of the Fish and
Wildlife Club and other stream keepers associations, restoring
herring spawning grounds in our area, will pay off in terms of
increased sea mammal activity around Bowen and in the Sound. At the
AGM we also heard about the exciting adventures planned for this
year, beginning with two Nature Club events in March.
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The remarkable mountain wall rising
above Howe Sound
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On March 17th at 7pm, Bob Turner
will be discussing our local geological landscape. Living on Bowen,
with its rocky shores and beaches full of pebbles, we encounter lots
of geology to look at and questions to ponder. Our shoreline bedrock
can be pale-coloured, or dark grey, or full of layers –what’s the
difference? Smooth bedrock surfaces abound – is this the work of
ancient glaciers? And how big was the glacier that carved our rock?
Many pebbles that you find on a Bowen beach are different from Bowen
bedrock – so where did they come from? Elsewhere, curious layers
of clay contain marine fossils, yet are high above the sea. And what
about Bowen Island – how old is it? Has it always been an island?
Our island rocks formed in the Jurassic Era – could we find
dinosaur bones here? Across the waters of Howe Sound near Squamish
are the famous climbing cliffs of Stawamus Chief. Why are these
granite walls so steep? Rising even higher is Mount Garibaldi, a
giant volcano that erupted violently 12,000 years ago, yet it doesn’t
look like a volcano at all. Could it erupt again? And asking a
really big question – why do we have mountains along the coast of
BC? Why isn’t our coast flat like Nova Scotia?
Our geological curiosity can range
from the nature of a pebble to the origin of our coastal mountains.
This talk explores the geological wonders that are all around us. So
bring your questions and your local rocks. This event is free and
open to non-members; contact the club for further details.
During spring break, Emily van Lidth
de Jeude will be leading a (F)unschool mini camp called Bog, Beach,
Bluff on March 19, 20 and 21; 2-4pm. The mini-camp is for people of
all ages and will explore three different Bowen ecosystems. First,
participants will hike into Fairy Fen, where there is evidence of
early logging on Bowen, will look at the slow transformation of a
small lake into rainforest, and find some of the deepest mud around
in the bog and fen. On the second day local Naturalist Will Husby
will join explorations of the estuary by Mother’s Beach and the
lagoon, and help discover and identify various creatures that live
there. And finally the group will hike up a bluff, starting in the
forest down below and emerging to look out and see our island from
above.
This activity is free, and for
Nature Club members only. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Contact Emily van Lidth de Jeude at 9563 or email the Nature Club (address to the right, in the sidebar) to
register for Bog, Beach, Bluff.
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