Malaspina Naturalists

The Malaspina Naturalists are a group of people fascinated by the flora, fauna and geology surrounding Powell River, here in beautiful British Columbia.

At heart we’re a club of enthusiasts rather than one of advocates. We don’t raise money or endorse causes, no matter how worthy they may be.
Instead we focus on doing three things:

we invite speakers to share their passion for nature, whether that be through science, exploration of amazing places, or something else.
we lead field-trips to help others explore and understand our local (and not so local) environments.
we involve young naturalists in a variety of activities that are fun, safe and educational.

We hope you’ll enjoy these pages and welcome you to join us!

Just a few images from our backyard…
(click on any image to start a full-screen slide-viewer; hit “esc” or “close” to return).

Evening light on Mt. Denman
– A. Bryant

Western Terrestrial Garter snakes
– A. Bryant

Complexity
– D. Bedry

ASY-F Purple Martin, Myrtle Rocks colony, Powell River, BC, 26 June 2013 - Andrew A Bryant

Single-year female Purple Martin
– A. Bryant

Shooting star pollination
– A. Bryant

Yearling Vancouver Island marmots "play-fighting" on Mount Washington, 23 Sept 2013 - A. Bryant

Vancouver Island marmots
– A. Bryant

softness
– D. Bedry

Silence
– D. Bedry

Great Blue heron, Powell River, BC, 17 May 2013 - A. Bryant

Great blue heron
– A. Bryant

Pacific white-sided dolphins, Powell River, BC, 17 May 2013 - Andrew A Bryant

Pacific white-sided dolphins
– A. Bryant

Resident spider in carport
– A. Bryant

It snowed on Texada
– A. Bryant

Morning light…
– A. Bryant

Peekaboo
-A. Bryant

May
– D. Bedry

Pacific Sideband Snail
– A. Bryant

Fawn lily
– A. Bryant

Go for it!
– M. Glaze

Moon jelly in Pendrell Sound
– M. Glaze

April
Clive Deary - "African Safari" 18 April 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm Rescheduled due to our recent snowfall. Clive Deary and Jean Reiter spent 22 days in South Africa, on an off-road safari covering 5600 kms. They saw wildlife galore, experienced a variety of cultures, and got lots of exercise. They will share their experience at our April meeting.
May
Chris Mann - "Travel the universe" 16 May Chris Mann will take you on a journey of the cosmos, taking a look at the most dramatic, exotic, and mystifying objects out in space. He'll build a sense of the vast range of space, distance, and general weirdness that the universe encompasses. Chris grew up in Powell River, then spent many years at UBC for his Bachelor'sand Master's degrees before getting his Ph.D. in Montreal. He is a research astronomer who focuses his studies on the observation and characterization of exoplanets (planets around distant stars). He currently works at the National Research Council

April
Princess Louisa Inlet and Chatterbox Falls 20 April Sunshine Coast Tours will pick us up in Saltery Bay for a ride up Jervis Inlet fjord,through Malibu Rapids and into Princess Louisa Inlet. Glaciation of millennia past has carved the magnificent granite-walled gorge through mountains that rise sharply from the water’s edge to heights in excess of 2,100 meters. The calm inlet, almost completely enclosed, is 300 meters deep and never over 800meters wide. When it is raining or until mid-June the sun/rain melts the snowpack creating more than 60 waterfalls that cascade and spume down the precipitous walls. Reaching Chatterbox Falls at the head of the inlet we will spend approximately 1.5 hours on land for lunch and exploring before heading back to Saltery Bay. To sign up for this trip please contact HOWARD BRIDGER at howardbridger@yahoo.ca or at 613-305-1482 to see if there is still room on the trip. Once confirmed that there is, you can e-transfer your fee to malaspinatreasurer@gmail.com or mail a cheque made out to Malaspina Naturalist Society to Paul Clements 5713 Allen Ave, Powell River B.C. V8A 4J2. If e-transferring money, be sure to include in the comments, your full name and which field trip you are paying for. Cost: $222 including gratuities.
June
Mitlenatch Island (aboard the Misty Isles) 1 June Leaving from Lund we head out to Mitlenatch Island, a protected Provincial Nature Park since 1961. This island hosts the largest seabird breeding colony in the Salish Sea as well as an abundance of Sea Lions, Seals, River Otters, fish and sedentary marine life in the surrounding waters. Weather permitting, the Misty Isles is anchored, and participants circumnavigate the island by zodiac for a close-upv iew of the wildlife. On land we enjoy a walk-through flower meadow to a bird-blind and a visit to the onsite naturalists at their cabin. After lunch and time to relax or swim, we head back to Lund. To sign up for this trip please contact HOWARD BRIDGER at howardbridger@yahoo.ca or613-305-1482 to see if there is still room on the trip. Once confirmed that there is, you can e-transfer your fee to malaspinatreasurer@gmail.com ormail a cheque made out to Malaspina Naturalist Society to Paul Clements 5713Allen Ave, Powell River B.C. V8A 4J2. If e-transferring money, be sure to include in the comments, your full name and which field trip you are paying for. Cost: $240