BELATEDLY WISHING YOU ALL A HAPPY 2024
In this Issue:
- WINTER CONDITIONS IN THE PARK
- UPCOMING EVENTS
- WORK WITH US
- THREE NEW ADDITIONS TO OUR COLLECTION OF RESEARCH ARTICLES
WINTER CONDITIONS IN THE PARK
Unfortunately, a somewhat gloomy prospect. Many of you who would normally by this time in February have covered many kilometres into the back-country on skis or snowshoes up on the Plateau will have been disappointed by the meagre snow pack. The first snow back in November all but vanished, and after further falls interspersed with thawing and rainfall, Mt Washington this week has finally recorded 1 metre of snow around 1200 m. The Battleship-Helen MacKenzie loop is a well-trodden trail requiring only hiking boots and crampons, the summer trail and boardwalks clearly visible. On the Piggott Creek bridge, normally supporting a narrow track above the level of the railings, the decking is almost clear. There will be more precipitation in late February, but it seems unlikely that there will be any substantial build-up of the snow pack.
Over in the Buttle area the slopes are clear up to at least 1000m, depending on aspect, and the earlier snowfalls plus rain have raised the level of the Buttle and Upper Campbell Lakes to marks not seen in quite a few years. The tiny islands linked by spits are now isolated and the flats at the Ralph River and Elk River estuaries are inundated. However, those levels will not last if we continue to have a warmer spring and without the usual volume of meltwater to maintain levels, drought conditions will inevitably follow.
All this may mean an early spring (and hiking season) in the subalpine, if the el Nino weather pattern holds for the next 3 months; however, longer term predictions suggest a hotter dryer summer than last year with the consequent hazards.
UPCOMING EVENTS
VIMFF – March 22nd at the Stan Hagen
SWI is thrilled to host the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival again this year – its 27th Annual Tour. The program as usual features some of the best thought-provoking and action-packed mountain films, running the gamut of climbing, snow-sports, biking, the environment and more!
DETAILS:
Date: March 22nd, 2024
Time: 7pm – 9:30pm (Doors Open at 6:30pm)
Location: Stan Hagen Theatre, North Island College, Courtenay
Tickets: Adults $25, Youth (Under 16) $15
For more information see SWI Website: https://strathconapark.org/
and the VIMFF website: https://vimff.org/
TO PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE
There is a link to Eventbrite on our Home page: https://strathconapark.org/
or else go directly to Eventbrite here.
If not sold out, Tickets may be available at the door (cash or card).
The View from My Back Yard - April 20th
SWI is delighted to invite back Astrophotographer Les Disher for a dazzling evening illustrating wilderness wonders in the skies. Les has been capturing deep sky celestial images since 1994 from his home near Courtenay and from various locations in B.C. and western North America. As an avid astrophotographer, he has been a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, and his photos have received a number of awards.
DETAILS:
Date: April 20th, 2024
Time: 7pm – 9pm (Doors Open at 6:30pm)
Location: Stan Hagen Theatre, North Island College, Courtenay
Tickets: Adults $15, Youth (Under 16) $5
Les will put on a slide display of images that illustrate the majesty of the deep sky splendours to be found in the night skies right over our heads, and talk about his experiences taking them. He will also talk about the processes involved in taking and producing these images. The talk will be flavoured with interesting and humorous anecdotes and new and little-known facts. He will also do a few interesting and fun demonstrations to review of some relevant basic concepts.
For more information see SWI Website: https://strathconapark.org/
TO PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE:
There is a link to Eventbrite on our Home page : https://strathconapark.org/
Or go directly to the Eventbrite site here.
Tickets may be available at the door (cash or card).
SWI AGM and Presentation - April 24th
This is a preliminary announcement that SWI will hold its Annual General Meeting on April 24th in the Evergreen Lounge of the Filberg Centre at 7:00 pm in Courtenay. Please take note.
Our guest speaker will be Island Mountain Rambler, Mike Taylor, presenting a slide show on his 1991 expedition with three friends to Mt Denali in Alaska, the highest peak in North America (6190m). For the team this 23-day adventure was also an opportunity to raise money in support of cancer research. Mike, now living in Duncan, is a retired BC and Canada Lands Surveyor, whose work has taken him through BC, Alberta, the Yukon and Nunavut, and who was also involved in consultations when the Strathcona Park Master Plan (1993) was put together.
More details on the presentation and the documents for our 2024 AGM will appear in our next Enewsletter in March. Or else contact us at strathconawilderness@gmail.com.
WORK WITH US: 5 CSJ positions
SWI has submitted its annual application for support from the Canada Summer Jobs Programme to employ students to work in the Park this summer. So we are looking for energetic, self-reliant and environmentally conscious students who would enjoy working in Strathcona Provincial Park. Two of these will staff our information centres at Paradise Meadows and Buttle Lake, providing information to the public on the Park , its trails and natural history. Three will facilitate our Environmental Program: of these, two will act as Naturalist Interpreters for our scheduled walks and hikes, as well as assist in our ongoing Inventory of Species in the Park by documenting flora and fauna to be uploaded to the SWI Data Collection project on iNaturalist. We also require a Coordinator who will assist in the coordination of educational and research programs including the implementation of our summer interpretive walks and hikes and the SWI Data Collection project.
The positions are 8-9 weeks long, 35-40 hours per week. Those eligible must be between 15 and 30 years of age, and legally entitled to work in Canada. For detailed information on each position, with rate of pay see our webpage under the “work with us” tab: http://strathconapark.org/work-with-us/
Although these positions are subject to funding, we have been successful over the past 10 years in being awarded the grant, and so we encourage those interested to apply now as we hope to prepare a short-list for interviews.
THREE NEW ADDITIONS TO OUR COLLECTION OF RESEARCH ARTICLES
On our page devoted to research activities you will find Reports of Dan Strickland’s Canada Jay Research Project, now in its 8th year. For the Interim 2023 Report click here .
Two recent articles by Loys Maingon have been added:
“Mycetozoans and the Continuity of Life” describes a tiny single-celled organism observed last spring on the bark of Vaccinium ovalifolium , one of the common blueberries to be found in the Subalpine. These organisms are neither fungus nor plant nor animal. For the full PDF click here.
“Toxic Myra Falls Mine 2024 and BC’s “Protected Areas”: Are We Waiting for the Time-bomb to blow up?” considers the serious consequences of the most recent closure of the Myra Falls Mine. For the full PDF click here.
A PS on slime molds in the Park; this colourful one with the tantalizing common name “Red Raspberry Slime Mold” was observed on an alder near the Buttle Lake Boat Launch in early February.
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