WHAT WE DO
Monthly Meetings
Nature Nanaimo hosts public meetings eight times per year. A typical meeting starts with announcements, followed by a “Nature Nugget”, a 10-15 minute presentation or activity on any topic of regional interest. This is followed by a coffee break, during which members can mingle, sign-up for outings and special events, buy raffle or 50/50 tickets, etc. After the break, the invited speaker will be introduced. Topics of presentations may cover just about anything that relates to nature, e.g., a focus on a taxonomic group, conservation, etc.
Annual General Meeting
The AGM is held once a year in November, and is required by the Societies Act. The agenda at the AGM consists of a report by the President on the activities of the past year, approval of the Financial Reports and budget for the new year, and Elections to the Board to fill open positions.
Club Outings
These outings are restricted to members, and are planned trips to areas of interest. Examples to date are a trip to Botanical Beach, a mushroom walk with Andy MacKinnon at Morrell Nature Sanctuary, and a Fossil trip to Northwest bay. Guests, e.g., visitors to Nanaimo, may pay a $2 day-membership to participate, but may only do this twice, after which they must become members to participate.
Nature Rambles
Nature Rambles are short (~90 minutes), informal walks at local venues of interest, followed by a joint lunch at a pre-determined establishment.
Other Club Activities
These are ad hoc opportunities that fit with our mandate. Examples are helping Broom Busters remove Scotch Broom, participating in Shore Clean-ups, participating in various Citizen Science activities etc. We welcome suggestions for such activities.
Club Socials
To date we have hosted 2 social events. The first was a Christmas party in early December 2017, and the second a June 2019 Picnic, which was held at Wildwood Ecoforest. We intend to make these annual events to facilitate personal connections among our members.
Club Projects
Projects are specific activities with a long- or short-term objective. Examples are the building of Purple Martin nest boxes in support of conservation work by the Georgia Basin Ecological Assessment and Restoration Society, and taking over responsibilities of the Friends of Buttertubs, a group that has assisted in the management of the Buttertubs Marsh for many years. We hope to increase these types of activities as we grow and gain experience.