IN THIS ISSUE:
Conditions in the Park
Announcement: Strathcona Park Bird Search Sun. June 2nd
Betty Brooks-SWI founding Director
Repeat Request for Volunteers
CONDITIONS IN THE PARK
Snow in the Meadows is disappearing fast – the parking lot at Raven is clear. Conditions in the Meadows were so poor that the Nordic Ski leg of the “Snow to Surf” event on April 28th was abandoned in favour of Running. Up in the Alpine, Spring Conditions require careful attention.
ANNOUNCEMENT
The annual Strathcona Park Bird Search will take place on Sunday June 2nd, organized this year by Mandy Vaughan and Jocie Brooks. The meeting point will be the Buttle Lake Campground at 8:30 am and the areas to be covered will be:
Southwest area (Thelwood Narrows bridge to Myra Falls)
Southeast area (Augerpoint to Ralph River campsite)
Northeast area (Strathcona Park Lodge to Lupin Falls)
Northwest area (Buttle Narrows to Crest Creek)
It should also be noted that if anyone were interested in covering the Paradise Meadows area of Forbidden Plateau, a count record from that area would be most welcome. By June 2nd the Meadows will most likely be clear.
For more information and to sign up as a participant
please contact Mandy Vaughan at: mandyjv@telus.net
Since the Buttle Lake Campground acts as the base for the count, with participants reconvening there are the end of the day, many opt to camp at the Buttle Lake Campground for the weekend.
Here is a link to the BC Parks reservation system: https://bcparks.ca/
BETTY BROOKS – SWI FOUNDING DIRECTOR
The Bird Count announced above is a tradition started by Betty Brooks in 1991, stemming from her days as a Parks Naturalist and her 1989 Report for BC Parks on the Natural History of Strathcona Park (Natural and Human History Themes -Strathcona Provincial Park). The Bird Count has provided the basis for her Checklist of Birds for Strathcona Provincial Park (2020 update), covering some 179 species found in the Park over the years, which is available from SWI.
Betty, now in her 90s, was one of the founding directors of SWI. The Institute was established in 1995 at the instigation of the Friends of Strathcona Park who saw the need for an organization devoted to educating the public about the Park and the importance of preserving its Wilderness. FOSP had coalesced in 1987 as a group of activists driven by their concern for the conservation of Park in the face of the Socred government’s ignoring the supposed moratorium on industrial development and granting permits for mineral exploration, particularly in the area of Cream Lake. Betty may not have expressed her strong belief in the importance of protecting the park so vociferously as did the likes of Melda Buchanan, Ruth Masters or Marlene Smith, but she was present with them on the blockades. And it was her training as a biologist, as well as her innate gift as a teacher, that stood as the driving force in the creation of SWI with its vision “to inspire awareness, appreciation and stewardship of the natural world, and Strathcona Park in particular, through research, education and participation.”
The photo above was taken at an FOSP gathering at Buttle Lake in 2002, showing from left to right: Ruth Masters, Chris Pielou, Bristol Foster, Melda Buchanan and Betty Brooks.
As a Director of SWI, since its beginnings in 1995, Betty was responsible for the natural history segments of SWI’s Summer programmes, arranging hikes, lectures and workshops. From 1996-2001 she supervised Interpretation Programs at Buttle Lake through a BC Parks contract with several “naturalists”. The contract was cut after the Liberal Government was elected, with the removal of Parks Naturalists as part of the BC Parks system. She set up materials and staff guidelines for the SWI Information “huts” at Buttle Lake and Paradise Meadows, much of which we still use. She was responsible for the preparation of all the Plant Signs that have been set out each summer season in Paradise Meadows since 2010, when the “new” Strathcona Park Wilderness Centre was constructed. She herself led many naturalist walks at both Buttle and in Paradise Meadows over the years, even after she officially stepped down as Director in 2011. We are deeply indebted to her dedication to Strathcona Provincial Park.
For a brief Bio of Betty written by her daughter Jocie, click here.
CONSIDER VOLUNTEERING for SWI THIS SUMMER
The summer season on the Plateau is only a month or so away, and we are working on our lists of volunteers for staffing the Wilderness Centre at Paradise Meadows and the Buttle Hut. We will have two students through the Canada Summer Jobs Program for July and August at the SPWC, and plan to have their time overlap at weekends – the busiest time, but there is still plenty of room for volunteers to ensure we have 2 staffers on weekdays. September can be a busy month at Paradise Meadows – the Plateau is at its best in the Fall – so we will especially need Volunteer staffers in September and up to Thanksgiving.
We are now in earnest reaching out to those who have led hikes and interpretive walks in past years (pre and post COVID) to consider volunteering for us again. Last year we initiated our Workshop series “Discovering our Biodiversity”, making use of the Ruth Masters Nature Hall on the lower floor of the SPWC, and will continue this year, We usually need some assistance in setting up these day long events, especially with the refreshments. Note that volunteers who help out with at these day-long workshops will of course not pay registration fees.
To those of you who have volunteered for us in past years, your help has been greatly appreciated. Please consider volunteering again. And of course we welcome any of you who would like to join the team for the first time, whether through completing the online form available on our website, or contacting our Outreach and Volunteer Coordinator, Jaron Piercy: coordinator.swi@gmail.com.
SWI does offer all volunteers a reimbursement towards travel costs, as well as a discount on our publications & merchandise, and a reduced registration fee for our Workshops.
For more information please contact
our Volunteer coordinator at coordinator.swi@gmail.com
or SWI in general at strathconawilderness@gmail.com.
One of the more colourful species of bird to be found in the Park:
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