| Updated date | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mount Arrowsmith by Helicopter | March 4, 2019 - 4:24pm |
On Friday morning Mike and I joined Greg (Ministry of Environments), Bill (Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations), Morgan (Island Timberlands), and Wendy (Regional District of Nanaimo) on a reconnaissance trip up Mount Arrowsmith to determine a location for a weather station. The weather station will likely be installed just shy of 1500 meters elevation on Mount Arrowsmith, above Arrowsmith Lake in August of 2015. |
| Notch Hill | August 26, 2024 - 3:03pm |
Friday afternoon, Monica, Graham, and I headed off to Nanoose to check out Notch Hill. This area contains the rare Garry Oak meadow and arbutus forest ecosystem. We climbed the hill to the lookout and had a picnic lunch in a small patch of shade under one of the oak trees. From our spot on the bluffs, we could see the whole biosphere from the top of Mt Arrowsmith to where the river meets ocean in the estuary. |
| Haapsalu, Estonia | March 4, 2019 - 4:21pm |
Estonia?! What were Pam Shaw and I doing there? Well, it turns out that every two years, UNESCO's European and North American biosphere reserves get together as part of what's called the EuroMAB network. |
| Spider Lake | August 26, 2024 - 3:03pm |
On Friday morning, Graham, Mike, Ryan and I set out for Spider Lake, on the Northwest side of the biosphere region. There we did our first exploration by paddle. The weather was perfect, with only a couple high clouds in the bright blue sky. It heated up around lunch time enough for a quick dip. The water was surprisingly warm for May! |
| Rhododendron Lake | June 11, 2025 - 10:48am |
On Saturday, Ryan, Mike, Graham, & I headed to “Rhodo” Lake to check out the flowering shrubs for which the lake is named after. Unfortunately, as we realized when we arrived, the higher elevation of the lake meant that the Rhododendrons here were not quite in bloom like the ones we have seen around town. One or two more days though, and it looks like they’d all burst. |
| Mt. Cokely, Loon Lake, & Cameron Lake | August 26, 2024 - 3:03pm |
On Friday morning the MABRRI team (Mike, Sarah, Graham, and myself) gathered our cameras, notebooks, Back Road Atlas and lunches then headed for our designated rendezvous point: a sizeable gravel lot up in Qualicum Beach on the side of Memorial Avenue. Once we met up and piled our gear into one vehicle, we proceeded to head west on the Alberni Highway which winds along the Cameron Valley, past Cameron Lake and through Cathedral Grove which is one of the last standing mighty old growth forests left in the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region. |
| Rathtrevor Beach, Hamilton Marsh, & Little Qualicum Falls | August 26, 2024 - 3:03pm |
On Friday morning Graham, Sarah, Robbie and I journeyed to the Parksville-Qualicum area to experience some of the popular natural attractions of the region. Our first stop was Rathtrevor Beach where we spotted a variety of wildlife including brant geese, bald eagles, and shore crab. The spectacular weather offered a breathtaking view of Mount Arrowsmith located west of the park. |
| Salish Sea Marine Survival Project | August 26, 2024 - 3:03pm |
On Wednesday morning, my wife and I left our home, which is located in the MABR next to the Little Qualicum Falls Provincial Park. We made our way to Deep Bay marina approximately 15 minutes north of Qualicum Beach, where we launched our boat and met a team of biologists, researchers, and a small TV crew filming on behalf of the popular television show Daily Planet, which airs on the Discovery Channel. |
