Nature on the Hill

Last week, Nature PEI’s vice-president Jennifer Wood attended the 5th annual Nature on the Hill event in Ottawa, Ontario.  Jenn was joined by 65 other individuals from across the country to showcase the strength of Canada’s nature community and spur the federal government to take action to halt and reverse the loss of nature.

In December of last year, at the United Nations’ 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) in Montreal, Canada demonstrated genuine leadership in working with 195 other countries to obtain international agreement for the Kunming-Montréal Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). The framework contains 23 targets on how countries will reverse and halt nature loss by 2030.

With merely eight years until the end of 2030, the “Nature Network” must advocate for the release this year of an ambitious national action plan to halt and reverse nature loss;  this plan must be developed in partnership with Indigenous Nations, to uphold their rights and authority to protect nature. New federal legislation must accompany the action plan to ensure accountability for the delivery of the goals and targets in the GBF and the national action plan itself.

Jenn had the honour of meeting with several members of parliament, including the Liberal Member of Parliament for the Charlottetown riding, Sean Casey @seancaseymp. 

We thank Nature Canada @NatureCanada for organizing the event, and all those who showed up to raise their voice for nature. 

#natureonthehill #naturelovers #actfornature #naturenow

A delegate to the Nature on the Hall (left), with MP Sean Casey (second from left), Jenn Wood from Nature PEI, and Bianca McGregor from Island Nature Trust.

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*Postponed* — Online Flora of PEI workshops

Due to forecasted stormy weather, the workshops scheduled for Tuesday to Thursday, March 14, 15 and 16 in Charlottetown and Summerside, are postponed until the third week of April. New dates will be announced soon and currently registered participants will be notified by email.

Considering the twenty years of work that has gone into updating and placing the Flora of Prince Edward Island online, a postponement of a few weeks for workshops to explore the online database shouldn’t be too much more of a wait. We apologize for the inconvenience.

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Global Bird Count in February

Join the world in connecting to birds – Friday, February 17 to Monday February 20, 2023. Watch the video to learn more about the count.

Great Backyard Bird Count

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Members’ Night 2023

Nature PEI Members’ Night is nigh! All are welcome to share in this fun and informative evening featuring nature photography and stories from members. Expect a spectacular array of photos – from bugs to birds and everything in between – with members on hand to tell the story behind their pictures. Gerald MacDougall will host the evening, warming us with his own unique brand of environmental humour. We encourage everyone to join us at Beaconsfield’s Carriage House, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, February 7, for a photographic journey of our Island’s natural wonders through the eyes of Nature PEI members. To submit pictures email the images to Gerald MacDougall at eagle.dynasty@gmail.com

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Rare Birds on a Flight Path to PEI — Jan 2023 Meeting

Nature PEI’s next monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday January 3, 2023 at 7:30 pm featuring well-known naturalist Dwaine Oakley who will present “Rare Birds on a Flight Path to PEI”. Dwaine will take us back through the past decade when rare birds strayed to PEI in increasing numbers and some like the Carolina Wren even began breeding here.


In addition to being an instructor in the Wildlife Conservation Technology program at Holland College, Dwaine co-presents a summer ornithology course at UPEI. He served as President of Nature PEI from 2004 -2007 and continues to be an active member of the organization, participating in Christmas Bird counts and leading occasional outings to introduce others to his favourite animals, the birds.

Location: Beaconsfield, the Carriage House, corner of West and Kent St, Charlottetown. Admission is free and all are welcome. A brief annual general meeting will begin the meeting along with election of new officers.

Happy New Year to All,

Carolina Wren

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Nature Highlights of Columbia  — Nature PEI December Meeting

Nature PEI’s next monthly meeting will be held on Tuesday December 6, 2022 at 7:30 pm featuring  Jeanne Maki who will present Nature Highlights of Columbia.  Location: Beaconsfield, the Carriage House, corner of West and Kent St, Charlottetown. Admission is free and all are welcome.

Jeanne Maki will take us to beautiful Colombia, a country with 1,954 species of birds and many national parks.  Jeanne became interested in Latin America at an early age and followed an eclectic path to satisfy her interest in different cultures, nature, and photography.  A move to PEI at the age of 21, completing her BA in Latin American Studies and MA in Teaching ESL, a weekend course in photography from John Sylvester, and taking part in the Christmas Bird Count years ago, all contributed to her lifelong learning.  Jeanne is a member of Nature PEI, a Conservation Guardian for Island Nature Trust, and continues to serve on the boards for a number of conservation organizations.

Glowing Puffleg — photo credit Jeanne Maki
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Nature COP


Make your voice heard at the NatureCOP!
Nature Canada is collecting letters from nature-loving individuals and will be delivering them to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Nature COP in Montreal in early December. Submit an online letter, mail one to our office, or attend a local event to ensure that yours is included in the delivery.     What is the COP? It’s the 15th UN Conference of the Parties where international leaders will discuss a Global Biodiversity Framework. As the host nation, Canada has an opportunity to show leadership within the negotiations. 

It’s an opportunity for the world to agree on a plan – to act together – to halt and reverse nature and species loss all over the planet. 

The letters collected should be directed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and should convey the message of why Canada’s nature and species are worth protecting and why we need a strong framework to halt and reverse its loss. How to get your message on the NatureBus:
  Attend a local event! Nature Canada is traveling across the country in the NatureBus and has partnered with local nature conservation organizations to host events at each of the stops. Attend one of the bus stop events to place your letter on the bus! Major cities we’ll be passing through include Vancouver, Toronto, and Halifax. Check here to see if the nature bus is coming to your town!   Mail us a letter! Get together with friends and family to have a letter writing party and then mail the letters to Nature Canada’s office at 300-240 Bank St, Ottawa, ON, K2P 1X4. It can be long or short, big or small! We’ll ensure it makes its way to Montreal.    Submit an online postcard!   Can’t make it to an event? Send your digital message TODAY and we’ll add it to the letter bag! Click here to send a virtual postcard.    To learn more about the NatureBus visit us at www.naturecanada.ca/naturebus!   Find Out More   Copyright © Nature Canada, 2022, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
300-240 Bank Street,
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 1X4


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Species at Risk of Extinction on Prince Edward Island

Our speaker at the November meeting will be Harriet Dreise who will discuss the whys and wherefores of the many species at risk of extinction on Prince Edward Island. “There are some things we can do to help”, Harriet notes. “Nature PEI is working to extend public knowledge beyond naming the endangered Piping Plover, to saying the names of another 29, including a few that have already disappeared.” And providing information about them.

Harriet graduated in 2022 from the University of Prince Edward Island with a BSc. Honours and quickly landed a job with Nature PEI to spread the word about Species at Risk. She is now employed with an aquaculture company as a researcher.

Join us Tuesday, November 1st at 7:30 pm at the Carriage House next to Beaconsfield (corner of West and Kent St.), Charlottetown.

Admission is free and all are welcome.

Contributions for the raffle will be welcomed and bring along your toonies.

Masks are recommended.

Sincerely,

Jeanne Maki on behalf of Nature PEI

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Silky Rosegill a first record for Prince Edward Island!!

Melina DesRoches(left) and Daphne Davey pose with the Silky Rosegill — photo credit Rosemary Curley

Melina DesRoches(left) and Daphne Davey pose with the Silky Rosegill, an amazing find for those taking part in the guided mushroom walk at the Trout River Natural Area in Carleton on August 27th, led by Rosemary Curley of Nature PEI, with assistance from Trout Unlimited. Also known as the Tree Volvariella, this is the first record for Prince Edward Island. It has not been included in a 2010 published list for the Maritimes, and reports to iNaturalist show only one other confirmed record for the Maritimes in Albert County, New Brunswick. The walk was aimed at stimulating participation in a “Mushrooms of PEI” project funded by the PEI Wildlife Conservation Fund, Forests, Fish and Wildlife Division and UPSE Have a Heart. The Silky Rosegill is said to be a good edible, but it was left in place.

Silky Rosegill – photo credit Rosemary Curley
Melina DesRoches(left) and Daphne Davey pose with the Silky Rosegill – photo credit Rosemary Curley
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Mushroom of PEI Project

Nature PEI: The Natural History Society of Prince Edward Island

PO Box 2346, Charlottetown, PE   C1A 8C1  NaturePEI.ca

Media Release, July 18, 2022

Mushrooms of PEI

Nature PEI is launching a mushroom project to improve the scanty knowledge of what species are present here; right now, published lists show only 75 species for PEI, but other Atlantic Provinces have over 1000 species. The goal is to document as many mushroom species as possible within a grid of 10 kmsquares. Volunteers enter their records in iNaturalist and project biologists and other citizen scientists will identify most of them. The records will be compiled at  https://inaturalist.ca/projects/mushrooms-of-pei and a project map site allows anyone to check the mushroom list for any area of the province. https://www.mushroomsofpei.ca

So far, 2022 is turning out to be a poor year for mushrooms despite good rainfall, but at last, a few mushrooms are popping up. Normally mushrooms of all descriptions occur from April to November and some fresh ones have even been found in mid-December in recent years.  However, August, September and October are the best months to search, and Nature PEI is hosting two mushroom walks in August with hopes to recruit participants. Events are also planned for October.

August 6, 2022, 1:30-4:30 pm. Nature PEI hosts a Mushroom Walk with Rosemary Curley Location: Dundas Fire Hall and Boughton River Trail. This walk is focused on increasing knowledge of mushroom species present on PEI, and their identification. To register, please contact Rosemary at rcurleypei@eastlink.ca

August 27, 2022, 1:30-4:30 pm. Nature PEI hosts a Mushroom Walk with Ken Sanderson Location: Trout River Natural Area, 36927 Rte2, Carleton, PEI. This walk is focused on increasing knowledge of mushroom species present on PEI, and their identification. To register, please contact Ken atken@mushroomsofpei.ca

For more information: Ken Sanderson ken@mushroomsofpei.ca  902-621-1958  

Rosemary Curley rcurleypei@eastlink.ca  902-569-1209

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