IN THIS ISSUE:
- GENERAL NEWS
- UPCOMING EVENTS
- ANOTHER EYE-CATCHING MUSHROOM FROM THE ELK RIVER TRAIL
GENERAL NEWS
The Summer Season at SPWC is almost over. Labour Day has passed and Schools are back in session. At the end of August we bade farewell to four of our five summer students, as they prepare to return to their studies. Mateo, our Programme Coordinator for the past 4 years, is travelling overseas to pursue post graduate studies in the Jazz programme at the Royal Academy of Music in London, England. Research Assistant Paige and SPWC Staffer Sable resume their studies at Mt Allison and UVic respectively. Research Assistant Zeke returns to High School. Jesse will continue as Staffer at the Centre at weekends in September, while he completes his apprenticeship as a Farrier. The enthusiastic assistance and commitment to SWI of all five has been much appreciated. We wish them all the best for the Fall and Winter.
Paige and Zeke both gave excellent presentations on their chosen projects at the end of August. If you missed them they are available on our website through the links on the Research and Presentations Page: https://strathconapark.org/
One further note, Zeke has created a specific project dedicate to the Slime Moulds of Strathcona Provincial Park on iNaturalist, accessible here . It complements the SWI Data Collection Project, in the same way as the projects on Bryophytes of SPP and Lichens of SPP do.
At the SPWC, to add further to our renovations and new interpretive posters, staffers Sable and Jesse (in their non-busy moments?) undertook the project of creating accurate models of some of the birds commonly found in the Meadows to help kids and their parents identify what they see out on their hikes. The birds will fly from the craft table to perch on a branch in the south west corner of the SPWC.
The SPWC will be open until the Thanksgiving Weekend. We should be open weekends with Jesse and volunteers. We always welcome Volunteers for weekdays in September and October, Fall being the best time on the Plateau, with many people choosing to avoid the busy trails of July and August, and enjoy the quieter, cooler and more colourful days of Autumn.
To find out more or sign up, please contact
our Volunteer Coordinator Jaron at
coordinator.swi@gmail.com
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The final days of August and early September have been dry and hot on the Plateau – excellent hiking weather, notable for the lack of those pesky mosquitoes that made the trails and campsites somewhat unpleasant earlier in the season. Clear skies and a profusion of berries have brought many up to the Plateau – apart from ubiquitous blueberries (there are 8 separate species of vaccinium on the Plateau) below are a few more bright berries from both the Plateau and the Elk River area.
A lone blue berry graces the Queen’s Cup, following on its single white flower. The Stink Currant bush (whose leaves in fact have a pleasant smell) has clusters of blue/purple berries hanging in panicles. The nasty spined stalks of Devil’s Club bear stunning red clusters of berries that stand out above the large green leaves of the plant. Clasping Twisted Stalk, named for the kinked stalk of the flower, now bears elegant plum-shaped red or purple berries. And last but not least, the Western Tea Berry, relative of Salal but growing very low to the ground, bears deliciously sweet berries that look like diminutive apples.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday September 21st 8.30 – 4.30 pm
6th Annual Subalpine Mycology Workshop
Sunday September 22nd. 9:00 am
Mycology Workshop Hike to Divers Lake
The 6th Annual Mycology Workshop is now full.
In late August already some of the commonly found mushrooms were appears in the Meadows and beyond. This week’s dry spell has probably slowed production, but there is rain in the. forecast for the week before the 21s and 22nd so we are hopeful that there will be a good array of fungi for participants to observe and have identified by our team of experts. This year our team of talented experts includes Andy MacKinnon, Thom O’Dell, Erin Feldman and Bryce Kendrick, all eminent mycologists with extensive experience in both instruction and guiding field forays.
On Saturday we will have in-class slide presentations and ID sessions, combined with forays out into the Meadows, in both morning and afternoon, separated by a lunch featuring wild mushroom soup. On the Sunday SWI Director Loys Maingon will lead a hike through the fungus-rich forested north facing slopes of Mt Allan Brooks on the trail to Divers Lake which lies in the valley below and to the west of Paradise Meadows.
For fuller details of the Workshop schedule, please go to our Website https://strathconapark.org/swi-events/ and scroll down to the 6th Annual Subalpine Mycology Workshop.
Saturday September 28th 2nd ANNUAL CHRIS CARTER MEMORIAL HIKE AND TEA
This day is dedicated to long-time supporter of the Park and SWI volunteer, Chris Carter, whose decades-long association with Strathcona Park, Friends of Strathcona Park and SWI will be preserved through his countless photographs of the Park in every season. Everyone is welcome, whether to join the day hike or just a short walk in the Meadows, both of which will culminate at the end of the afternoon in Tea and Cookies in the Ruth Master’s Nature Hall, lower floor of the Strathcona Park Wilderness Centre.
9:00 am – 3:00/3.30 pm
Hike to Chris Carter Lookout
This will be a day-hike to Croteau Lake (13+ k round trip, elevation gain ~ 250m.) led by one of Chris’ hiking companions and fellow photographer, Tim Penney, with the assistance of CDMC vice-president and experienced hiking guide, Janet Beggs. The hike will start at 9:00 am from the Wilderness Centre at Paradise Meadows, going up to the Lake for lunch and returning by 3.30 pm in time for tea and cookies at the Wilderness Centre.
2:00 pm : Walk in the Meadows
For those who prefer a leisurely walk, there will be a guided meander around the Paradise Meadows boardwalk to appreciate the magnificent fall colours that grace the ponds and wetlands every fall, and have been captured so magnificently in many of Chris’ photos. Please meet at the Wilderness Centre at 2:00 pm.
3:00 pm onwards : Tea and Cookies at the SPWC
From 3:00 pm onwards there will be cookies and tea (plus coffee and juice) at the Wilderness Centre, in the Ruth Masters Nature Hall on the lower floor, for one and all to socialize, share memories, and for those who may not have known Chris personally an opportunity to find out more about him.
There is no need to register – but for more information please email us at strathconawilderness@gmail.com
FINAL NOTE: ANOTHER EYE-CATCHING FUNGUS
This late summer polypore fungus is regularly found on conifers along the Elk River Trail – commonly known as Chicken of the Woods or Laetiporus conifericola. Its bright yellow and orange shelves glow magnificently in the shade of the forest. Squirrels had already knocked down some of the brackets for a tasty meal (and we could eat it too, or at least the soft outer rim.)
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For more information or to contact Strathcona Wilderness Institute (SWI) please email: strathconawilderness@gmail.com
