OTHER EVENTS
For Our Grandchildren
Fall into Nature
A guided walk from 4RG naturalists to experience our local forests as the season changes
Know It. Love It. Protect It. Get to know one of our local natural spaces, its creatures, plants and waters and how the climate crisis will impact them. Enjoy the opportunity to slow down and experience the powerful effect of nature connection practices (aka Forest Bathing/Forest Therapy). It’s good for your health!
When: Saturday, September 30 at 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Where: Thompson Bay, Peterborough. Access off Scollard Dr.
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/fall-into-nature-tickets-709775546767?aff=oddtdtcreator
Tallgrass Prairie Seed Harvesting
You can help gather tallgrass and wildflower seeds from an
endangered ecosystem for future replanting in the native tallgrass
prairie! Join Kawartha Land Trust (KLT) at their Ballyduff Trails
property in Kawartha Lakes for a fun fall day of collecting seeds in a truly scenic
location (be sure to bring your camera!).
Open and accessible to any age, you can explore the tallgrass prairie, the trails,
and take an active role in restoring this critical habitat with KLT. The tallgrass
prairie is an approximate 750 meter walk from the parking area on a trail that
goes down a hill. This is a slow-paced activity. To register, go to:
Saturday, Oct. 14
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
KLT’s Ballyduff
Trails, Pontypool
Monarch Butterfly Festival and Race
The Monarch Ultra is back for 2023! After our initial 4,300 km
relay from Canada to Mexico in 2019, our 1,800 km relay within
Ontario in 2021, we now embark on a series of runs in Canada,
the US and Mexico. This year, we have created the Monarch Butterfly Festival and Race which combines conservation, education and activity into one amazing event. More information can be found at https://www.themonarchultra.com/peterborough.html
Sunday, Oct. 15 Millenium Park
Immersive Nature Outing: Transformation
Enjoy wandering on a Kawartha Land Trust (KLT) protected
property while learning mindfulness-based techniques for
deepening your connection with nature. You will learn how to
sharpen your observational skills, strengthen your sense of connection to other
beings and their habitats, and experience the ordinary magic of sense perceptions.
Feel the shift into winter’s quietude and look for signs of recovery in a forest that
was heavily impacted by the May 2022 derecho (intense windstorm). The session
is three hours in length, with the option for you to stay on the property longer to
explore and enjoy the land.
To register, go to: https://kawarthalandtrust.org/event/immersive-nature-
outing-transformation/
Sunday, Oct. 29
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
KLT’s Jeffery-Cowan
Forest Preserve,
Woodview
Ontario Nature Lake Ontario North Autumn Regional
Meeting
The fall Lake Ontario Regional Nature Network Meeting
will be hosted by The Friends of Second Marsh. The exact
location and agenda have yet to be released. The meeting is open to club
members. It’s a great opportunity to meet people from other clubs, share stories,
exchange knowledge and participate in group activities. If you are interested in
attending, contact the Nature Network Coordinator, Barbara MacKenzie-Wynia
([email protected]) to reserve your spot. Reservations are required.
There will be four presentations:
* De-Phrag the Marsh project – Wioletta Walancik, FSM staff
* Friends of Second Marsh, Plant Stewardship - Susan Ellis, FSM Board Member
* Dr. Anne Bell, Ontario Nature's Protected Places Campaign
*Nature Network Highlights by Barbara MacKenzie-Wynia
The meeting will be followed by a field trip to Second Marsh.
Saturday, Oct. 28
9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Lake Vista
Community Centre,
Oshawa
Nature Appreciation Walks
With winter coming, it is more difficult to find “topics” to offer for outings. That doesn’t mean we can’t get together. For many of us who have been PFN members for a long time, we have found friends to go for walks with regularly. If you are interested in joining others for nature walks, send me an e-mail. If there are topics you are very interested in, mention that in your response. I will keep a list and when the weather is kind, will send out an invitation. The time and day of the week will change as will the location and degree of difficulty. Sometimes there will be a theme depending on the leader I am able to recruit. Sometimes it will just be a nature appreciation walk. When you can attend, just respond to the email I send out. To register, e-mail [email protected] or call 705-559-2061
Dates and times to be announced
Wildlife Tracking Outings
PFN member, Don McLeod, will once again lead members on one or
more outings during the months of December to March focusing on
tracks and other wildlife sign. These outings will be scheduled when
weather conditions permit. The place and time will be announced by e-mail shortly before each outing. Anyone interested in attending should send an e-mail to Don McLeod at [email protected] so he can add you to an e-mail distribution list. If you signed up for previous outings, you would automatically receive an e-mail to confirm.
Accessibility: Moderate to somewhat challenging. These outings will all involve walking in snowy conditions.
Dates and times to be announced
Hello naturalist friends,
Hello Peterborough Field Naturalists,
My name is Zach Kahn, I am an Ecologist at Blazing Star Environmental, an environmental consulting firm based in Oshawa.
Blazing Star Environmental has an exciting year ahead of us. For the past four years we have partnered with Environment and Climate Change Canada and Trent University to carry out a long-term, range-wide monitoring program for the western chorus frog. We are happy to announce that spring 2022 will be the third monitoring season for the program! This year will also be the last monitoring season before a 5-year hiatus.The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence-Canadian shield population of Western Chorus Frog is listed as Threatened in Canada, and declines have been anecdotally noted in recent years. Our project hopes to determine the distribution and extent of the Western Chorus Frog in its range through periodic monitoring of the species. However, the success of this program is largely dependent on a strong base of organizations and individual volunteers willing to complete short surveys during the chorus frog calling season. Currently, we are in the process of recruiting volunteers to conduct these surveys.
We are hoping to appeal to the network of volunteers that might be interested in conducting frog call surveys. We are wondering if it would be possible to include a short article about this monitoring program in monthly newsletters, posting on a website news bulletin, or social media? We will also be hosting a free virtual information webinar on Saturday (February 12th) at 11am. The webinar will be talking about what volunteers can expect from the program and some results from last year's monitoring efforts.
Please let me know if you would be interested in promoting our program and I will happily send you some promotional materials to share. If you have any additional questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
I look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
Zach
Zachary Kahn
Wildlife Monitoring Technician
Blazing Star Environmental
104 McLaughlin Blvd.,
Oshawa, ON L1G 2P3
(613) 985 8463
The Arboretum, University of Guelph, Workshops
The Arboretum offers workshops all year round covering a wide variety of topics from birds to mushrooms to gardening to art. Virtual programs are offered live on Zoom, and recordings are made available for registrants to access for a limited time. Details on registration policies can be found on our Registration Information page.
View a complete list of The Arboretum's programs on our Workshop Descriptions page.
We are excited to be offering some of our programs in-person, once again. Please note that COVID procedures as applicable at the time of the workshop will be followed. The university's guidelines can be found at: https://www.uoguelph.ca/covid19/
Masks are required to be worn at all programs while inside and outside of our buildings. Proof of vaccination is required to attend and University of Guelph screening must be completed the day you are attending the program.
The University of Guelph screening form to attend our workshops can be found at: https://uoguelph.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4Ntfm8k1oXAPssm. We will need to see the email you receive or a screenshot of the green checkmark.
Upcoming & Current Workshops
![Interested in learning more about using species reporting platforms, such as eBird and iNaturalist? Jenn Baici, a PhD Candidate at Trent University, is offering a three-hour introductory workshop all about eBird, iNaturalist, and other commonly (and not-so commonly) used species reporting platforms. She will cover 1. How to create profiles, 2. How to add observations, and 3. Who uses these reporting platforms and why. Jenn Baici is studying wild turkey social structure and behaviour in the Peterborough area. Part of Jenn’s research also involves estimating the size and distribution of Ontario’s wild turkey population with the help of citizen scientists. For the past several winters, Jenn has requested and curated wild turkey observations submitted through eBird and iNaturalist and is using this data to model where turkeys are today and where they may go in the future. She has extensive experience navigating these platforms as a user and as a researcher and is extremely excited to share her knowledge of them with the Peterborough community to further wildlife research while fostering community engagement with nature. Contact Jenn Baici directly for more information: jenniferbaici@trentu.ca jenniferbaici[at]trentu[dot]ca](https://peterboroughnature.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/ebirdiNaturalist.png "ebirdiNaturalist")
