The Land Conservancy of B.C.’s Deertrails Naturalist Program is returning to the Upper Clearwater Valley this spring
The four-day workshop will run from May 14 to 19 and focus on “deep immersion” in the practice of place-based living. The program is designed for students, teachers, artists, naturalists and anyone interested in building a resilient lifestyle in times of climate change, while connecting with the living world.
The workshop instructors for this year are author and artist Briony Penn, ecologist and artist Lyn Baldwin, fungi and lichen naturalist Juliet Pendray, and lichenologist and place-based naturalist Trevor Goward. Volcanologist Cathie Hickson, ornithologist and ecologist Nancy Flood and amateur astronomer Chris Coppin will also make guest appearances.
The instructors will introduce participants in the workshop to the fundamentals of bird study, plant lore, fungus and lichen identification, forest ecology and volcanology, as well as offer insight in the creation of meaningful field journals, memory maps and directed reading.
British Columbia’s Land Conservancy executive director told Black Press, “The B.C. Land Conservancy’s Deertrails Naturalist Program is such a special opportunity for young, aspiring naturalists in B.C. participants get the rare chance to connect with seasoned experts in a range of specialties from the microscopic world of lichen to valley-developing geology. This will be our fifth offering of the program, and I’m pleased to share that our network of naturalists is expanding. We hope that this connection to one another and to place will inform and inspire their work in conservation or other sectors to make a difference in the face of our changing climate.”
As in past years, the program includes a series of naturalist-led hikes in the valley famous for its volcanic history and ecological base. The walks will teach hikers the skills of following historic forest trails and allow them to visit waterfalls and canyons.
Deertrails will be jointly hosted by The Land Conservancy of B.C. and Edgewood Wild, an outreach of Edgewood Blue which is located in Upper Clearwater. People interested in applying can visit The Land Conservancy of B.C. website before March 28.
