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Virginia Fallas, Nahanni

URGENT NEWS

Threat to Nahanni National Park Reserve.

Proposed Trip to Wells Gray Park

Past Newsletters

Hiking

Skiing

Conservation

Birding

Botany

Wetlands in the Kelowna area

To find out more about this proposal see Goat Peak

Swallowtail

The Central Okanagan Naturalists Club

is celebrating its 50th anniversary

The Club is launching events throughout the year for the public to get to know the Okanagan and nature.

CONC is hosting events right through the year - come back to this site often to check up on what is being planned.

For full schedule click here.

Discover Nature

Members of the Central Okangan Naturalists' Club will lead a series of walks in parks and on trails in Kelowna and West Kelowna neighbourhoods. The walks will begin on Saturday 21 May, 2011 and continue on the third Saturday of every month until Saturday, 21 April, 2012 from 10:am until 2:30 pm. The meeting place is chosen according to the location of the walks. The destinations may change depending on time and conditions. There will be a fee of $1.00 to cover insurance. Bring a lunch and water; wear suitable outdoor clothing and footwear. Please leave your pets at home

Information: Brenda Thomson 250-764-4296.

The following schedule is subject to change

Click here for full schedule

Jan. 28. CONC GPS Primer

Saturday, January 28^th. 9:30 AM to Noon at EcoCentre in Mission Creek Regional Park

Discover how to use your GPS unit effectively, or if you’ve never used one, discover what they’re all about. This is meant both for rank beginners, and for those with some knowledge of GPS units but who want to increase their proficiency.

GPS units occur in a wide variety of styles including handheld outdoor units, automotive units, smartphones, iPods, and you can even turn your netbook or laptop into a GPS with the right connections. We’ll look at them, and see how to use them for finding where you are, how to find another place, route-finding, and how to use them with digital maps and compass.

We’ll start downstairs in the EcoCentre at Mission Creek Regional Park at 9:30 AM. After an indoor introduction, we’ll use GPS units to find our way through the trails of the park in an interesting game of geo-orienteering, finishing back at the EcoCentre by noon. Bring suitable footwear and clothes for the weather, but the trail walking will be at a very easy pace and not strenuous.

Registration not required.
$1.00 for non CONC members to cover insurance.
Contact Les Gyug 250-769-5907 for information.

Feb. 11. Snowshoeing

Snowshoeing with a naturalist 10 PM at Nordic Ski Club. Bring water and a lunch if planning to stay for an afternoon outing. Also bring $1 for insurance. Children 10 and older would enjoy this event. For information contact Rick Gee rdgee@shaw.ca

Feb. 14. Annual CONC Banquet - Pot Luck

Feb. 18. Discover Nature with Fiona and Donald Flook

March 3. Owling with Hugh Westheuser.

March 10. Introduction to Trees and Shrubs with Fiona Flook

March 12. CONC monthly meeting: Speaker TBA

March 24. Discover Nature with Bitten Tisdale

April 21. Discover Nature with Lesley Robertson

May 10-13 BC Nature AGM at Okanagan College, Kelowna

The Central Okanagan Naturalists' Club will be hosting the

BC Nature 2012 AGM

May 10-13, 2012

Schedule of Events

Field Trips - Descriptions

Our AGM sponsors

photo: Les Gyug

Arrowleaf Balsamroot

Balsamorhiza sagittata

Kelowna's official flower

Arrowleaf Balsamroot,

grows from a strong-smelling taproot, has clumps of arrowhead-shaped basal leaves up to 30 cm long and 15 cm wide. They are silver-grey in colour, with a dense cover of woolly, white hairs on both sides.

Bright yellow, sunflower-like blossoms. up to 10 cm across, are borne singly at the end of long stalks.

Although generally shunned by domestic livestock, deer, elk, and mountain sheep graze Arrowleaf Balsamroot. Native

Americans used to eat the stout starchy roots and tender young shoots.

This striking plant blooms in early spring.

source: Scotter, George W. and Hälle Flygare. Wildflowers of the Rocky Mountains.

Oct. 22 Mushroom walk with a mycologist - Dan Durrell.