Rocky Point Bird Observatory: BC Nature AGM "Coastal Connections"

This year RPBO and VNHS hosted the BC Nature AGM here in Victoria from May 1-4. It was aptly named “Coastal Connections” and it gave everyone who attended the opportunity to avail themselves of all the wonderful nature venues that we have to offer in Victoria and the surrounding area.

There were over 200 participants who came from different parts of the province – Williams Lake, Fernie, the Okanagan, Quesnel, the Gulf Islands, Courtney-Comox, Kitimat, the Nicola Valley, Cranbrook, Abbotsford, Duncan, Burnaby, the Shuswap – just to name a few!

There were a number of exciting field trips, many of which quickly filled up so more were added. Some of the field trips included Botanical Beach and Avatar Grove, Fantasea boat trips which allowed people to get out on the water, birding trips to various places such as Viaduct Flats, Swan Lake, and Francis King Park, Thetis Lake mosses, Mill Hill wild flowers, Beacon Hill Park, intertidal explorations on Fleming Beach. Victoria has so much to offer naturalists of all inclinations!

There were many excellent talks which ranged from bats to whales, spiders, the Giant Pacific Octopus, camas meadows, land mammals of coastal BC, and more. These were given by prominent scientists and experts in their respective fields.

About half the people who attended the conference opted for the talks, a third concentrated on field trips and the rest did a mixture of talks and trips. There was certainly more than enough on offer for everyone and the one “complaint” was that there were too many excellent choices! Hopefully we will have the opportunity to host another nature conference in the next year or two so that people can return to hear and do more!

There was a Silent Auction held in a room on the second floor, seemingly far away from the main “action” of the conference. However after one day many of the auction items had been snapped up and there was little left to bid on. So it seems that the location was not a deterrent!

The conference was opened with an excellent talk by Dr. Briony Penn on Ian McTacTaggart Cowan, a famous BC Naturalist who did much to promote and inspire the naturalist community in BC, Canada and around the world. She is in the process of finishing a book on this inspiring and fascinating character and we look forward to its publication in the near future.

There was also a wonderful reception on Friday evening with Robert Bateman at the Bateman Centre and the opportunity to see his paintings firsthand and meet our famous wildlife Canadian artist.

The Annual General Meeting was opened by the Honourable Judith Guichon, the Lieutenant Governor of BC. She is also a supporter of RPBO and came out to see us at work at the Pedder Bay banding station last fall. She has a deep interest in and love of the natural world which she shared with us. Everyone was appreciative that she took the time to come and show her support for BC Nature.

Towards the end of the meeting M.L.A. Spencer Chandra Hebert, who is the Official Opposition Environment Critic, gave an inspiring talk on the importance of protecting BC’s natural environment. We must do what we can to preserve the natural treasures that we have in our beautiful province, and that is what all our various nature organizations are striving to achieve.

All in all, the “Coastal Connections” conference was a great success due to the help and hard work of many, many volunteers. RPBO would like to warmly thank everyone who offered their time and expertise to make this happen. We would also like to thank everyone who attended and participated in the conference. We hope to see you back again in Victoria for future nature festivals!