Making a Difference

Compared to many of the members of the Shuswap Naturalists or the Salmon Arm Bay Nature Enhancement Society, my birding skills are at a "less than novice" level. So it was rather a strange thing that I found myself signing Ken and me up for the Manning Park Bird Blitz in mid-June.

Birders took over both Lone Duck Group campsites, located on Lightning Lake in Manning Park

The Bird Blitz is one of BC's longest running bird counts. It was first started in 1983, and has yielded 35 years of continuous records of bird species. At the one we attended, seventeen geographic areas within this huge park had been identified, representing a diverse range of ecosystems. Teams of birders signed up for the different areas and reported back at the end of the day. Not all areas were done on the Saturday, so some were checked out on Sunday.

By the end of Saturday, 87 species of bird had been documented.

John Neville was the guest speaker on the Friday night. A former president of BC Nature, Neville is best known for his series of high quality recordings of bird song. Here he is (seated), being introduced by Kelly Pearce of Hope Mountain Outdoor Centre (Photo credit: Scott Denkers, Hope Mountain Centre).

The fact that we were novices was not a problem; as one of the people behind the Bird Blitz said, there is a need for new blood to keep things going, and they are happy to help train new birders.

All levels of activity were accepted. A number of families were along with young people. It was great to see youngsters keen on nature viewing.

And, I learned a new term. Someone came back to camp and said, "I saw a 'lifer'". When we asked what that was, she said, "a new bird for my life list, one I have never seen before".

The highest level that can be attained in birding is to identify birds by song, rather than visually. In forests, where some birds live high up in the tree canopy, song is the only way to determine what a bird is. John Neville's recordings are very helpful in learning bird song: http://www.nevillerecording.com/

Manning Park is at a much higher elevation than Salmon Arm, so some flowers that bloomed in the Shuswap valleys some time ago are only just now coming out, even at the lower elevations.

Heart leafed Arnica blooming in the campground

I learned from naturalist Al Grass, who was chief interpreter at the park for many years, that Manning Park is NOT named after the former Alberta Premier E.C. Manning, as I had assumed. In fact, it's named for a different E.C. Manning. Al was very quick to inform me that the Manning whose name graces the park was a chief forester for the province, one who was quite visionary.

This particular Manning died tragically in a plane crash at 50 years old, in 1941. He fought passionately for long-term protection of forests for their value to British Columbia - not just for their economic value, but for their recreation and conservation value. According to the history writer T.W. Paterson (http://twpaterson.com/ernest-c-manning-british-columbias-chief-forester/) Manning is considered BC's "father of conservation".

I was very moved by the fact that a forester -- an occupation which we typically assume is focussed on trees for their value as "timber" - had left such a legacy. Manning Park is huge, diverse in both its ecology and the range of spaces which are protected, and worthy of much more exploring. It is because of its size and diversity that the Bird Blitz identifies so many species.

Having protected spaces which are repositories of biodiversity will prove to be truly essential as our planet adapts to the impacts of climate change in the future.

Plaque honoring Ernest C. Manning at Manning Park Lodge.

Learning the story of the establishment of Manning Park stimulated my thinking about the role of individuals in creating parks. It seems that they are often unsung heroes. While the plaque above acknowledges Manning and his contribution, I suspect there are many other parks and natural areas which we would not be enjoying, were it not for the efforts of individuals.

Here in the Shuswap, I think of Anstey - Hunakwa Provincial Park, which was created only after years of intense efforts through the Shuswap Environmental Action Society, in particular, Jim Cooperman. Jim writes a little of the story in his blog post at http://shuswappassion.ca/environment/return-to-hunakwa-lake/

Approaching Hunakwa Lake

The creek which exits Hunakwa Lake, and the thick cedar forest

And, closer to home, in Salmon Arm, Pileated Woods Community Park - now a treasured natural area near the downtown - was also created directly as the result of the efforts of local residents. Two individuals who were a key part of this were Annette and Art Borkent, who still organize annual trail maintenance work days to help keep the park groomed.

The community flavour of Pileated Woods Park is reflected in the signage

One of the trails through Pileated Woods

I appreciate the efforts of these individuals whose foresight, passion and energy have left conservation legacies for us to enjoy, and which will benefit future generations.

Sign near Okanagan College, and the natural area along Turner Creek

To the Planters of Trees

With the "Save Shuswap Songbirds" project profiling the plight of songbirds, I have been thinking about habitat lately.

In May we purchased two birdhouses for cavity nesting birds like swallows and bluebirds, and have been enjoying watching tree swallows who chose to nest in one of them. The bird houses were built through the Songbird Project, in the Shuswap Makerspace, with a design based on best practices for bird houses.

The houses have hatches on the sides, so the nest can be cleaned out at the end of nesting season. Houses which aren't cleaned out allow parasites and viruses to overwinter. The houses also have grooves on the inside for the fledgling birds to climb up to the hole. Di Wittner, a biologist and local naturalist, says that many of the birdhouses sold in department stores are "death traps".

One of the Makerspace Birdhouses installed at Peter Jannink Park , showing the latch on the side which lifts up for ease of cleaning. The logo SCE stands for South Canoe Elementary, the Outdoor School. Students helped build the birdhouses at the Makerspace.

Birdhouses are only part of the solution. Birds need sources of food. For insect-eating birds like swallows, insects are in decline because of the proliferation of pesticide use. Birds also need safe perching and roosting sites  -- and that means trees. Birdhouses would be less necessary if we kept more trees, and did not fell them as soon as they die.

We are fortunate that our community still has many pockets of native vegetation, and areas of original fir and cedar forests that preceded European settlement. These provide habitat for songbirds and other wildlife.

When we pave our subdivisions, and replace native forest lands with turf grass and non-native landscape plants, we lose habitat. However, there are things we can do restore it, and to create safe corridors for wildlife.

Years ago, the Canadian Wildlife Federation developed a "backyard habitat" booklet for homeowners to help wildlife. 

So many of their backyard habitat projects are relevant.  http://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/DIY/habitat-projects/map-your-backyard/backyard-habitat/ 

We have opportunities to create habitat in small spaces in our yards -- everything from allowing a thicket of bush to grow wild in a corner, to creating spaces for toads with a few overturned clay pots, to planting gardens for butterflies.

And, we can plant trees! As part of our quest to bring songbirds back, let's plant trees and create habitat!

New developments could follow the example of the regional district building which has landscaped over half of the parcel with native shrubs and trees. These poplars are only a few years old but already they are providing wildlife benefit.

The CSRD building with native poplars and other shrubs. 

When I lived at Gardom Lake, I planted dozens of trees over the years - cedars, birches, and particularly Douglas firs. I often found fir seedlings on my walks along roads in the area, growing in the gravel on the shoulders and in the ditches. Knowing that any that survived would be mowed down, I used a trowel to transplant them to various sites around the property that needed filling in.

Young firs transplant easily when they are small

These firs were transplanted in 1995;
the photo was taken in late 2007.
They are probably double the height now.

I had good success with young firs transplanted in early spring or late fall, as long as I watered them for the first couple of summers.

The two trees on the left were a little bigger than seedlings when they were transplanted.

Planting and nurturing trees is one of the most satisfying of the projects I have worked on over the years; I miss having trees to look after now that I live in a strata complex.

I used to remind myself of a Chinese proverb; here is a version of it that I found on the internet:

"The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago; the second best time is now."

And, here is a Greek version with a similar message:

"A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in."

So, go forth and plant!

And when you have planted a tree, reward yourself with a listen to this beautiful song, "To the Planters of Trees", by the Baha'i singer Nancy Ward. This song was recorded at least thirty years ago; I have listened to it many times but it still resonates for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uv6wfNLQNU

As a final note: I want to mention Wangari Maathai, who is one of my true heroes. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her work in founding the Green Belt movement in Kenya, empowering women and promoting peaceful resistance to violence. The Green Belt Movement (http://www.greenbeltmovement.org/) has planted over 51 million trees in Kenya. What a legacy!

Wangari Maathai. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wangari_Maathai_in_2001.jpg. Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel  Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Hope and Joy

Writing this blog has taken a back seat in my life the last four weeks. A month ago I heard about the Canadian Pact for a Green New Deal, and signed an online pledge to support it. After doing so, I received an automatic email asking if I would consider organizing a town hall in my community to generate input for the Green New Deal.

I thought, “Good idea, someone should do it.”

But the request nagged at me. If not me, who? And if not now, when?

I have been inspired by Greta Thunberg, the 16 year old Swedish student who has been pressuring politicians to act on climate change.

Greta Thunberg outside the Swedish parliament, with her "School Strike for Climate" sign. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greta_Thunberg_4.jpg. Photographer: Anders Hellberg

Greta Thunberg speaking to politicians in the UK. Source: https://deframedia.blog.gov.uk/2019/04/24/greta-thunberg-meets-uk-politicians/

If Greta, a quiet and determined young person can respond to the call, what was stopping me? So I said “yes” and committed to hold a town hall in Salmon Arm on May 27.  The next two weeks saw a lot of work. Two other people, Julia Beatty and Neil Caves, offered to help with the planning and organizing, and the local United Church stepped up to offer support through its GreenSpace Initiative.

By the day of the event, almost 60 people had RSVP'd through the website that they were coming. I began to worry that the event could turn into a shambles. I wanted a participatory model where people could talk and provide their input, but with so many people, would it become chaotic? Or perhaps it would be inundated with protesters who questioned the Green New Deal model, or doubted climate science?

The day of the event I spent some time letting go of my fear that I would be unable to manage the evening. I focussed on love, and physically imagined love coming into my cells and replacing the fears that I had. After all, it was love and hope that had challenged me to do this.

We had line-ups of people to get in the door that night, and in the end, over 120 people signed in.

I gave a short presentation about the Pact for a Green New Deal, and the rest of the evening was spent in discussion and participatory activities.

I was so impressed with how seriously people took up the questions that we gave them: "What do you want to see in a Green New Deal?" and, "What don't you want to see in a Green New Deal?"

Thirteen groups discussed the Green New Deal in Salmon Arm, May 27 2019

Summarizing discussion using post-it notes and sticky dots

Since May 27 Julia, Neil and I have been analyzing the results. On June 5 we uploaded the data to the national website, and sent a report out to participants who provided email addresses. 

I also was approached by Lorne Reimer, a local editor and publisher of the publication Friday AM, to write a monthly column for his paper, and write about the Green New Deal town hall in the first column. 

I hesitated to accept the invitation, because I write this blog when I am inspired, when nature, or art, or beauty, finds me and gives me wonder. I do not want to lose that wonder. Then I realized, that hesitancy is coming from a place of fear. And I have chosen love over fear. So my first column appears in print today (www.friam.ca); it has the same name as this blog, Shuswap Reflections. 

Feedback after the town hall has been very positive. People have told me that having an event where a community of people shared their concerns and visions has given them a vehicle for hope. And that gives me hope.

I will continue to write this blog, and speak of joy where I find it.

A moment of wonder earlier this week - a western painted turtle laying eggs on the foreshore trail. Turtles have been on the planet for over 200 million years.

I close with two quotes: these words from Alice Walker:

"Activism is my rent for living on the planet", and Wendell Berry,

"Be joyful though you have considered all the facts."