EALT's 10th Anniversary - Halfway Through!

It’s now July and EALT’s 10th Anniversary year is well underway! We are celebrating 10 Conservation Lands in 10 years with all kinds of events to appreciate and conserve these important areas for wildlife and people. Our volunteers have already removed invasive plants and black knot fungus, and have surveyed our diverse bird life as well as other creatures that value this important habitat. There is still time to join us! Sign up to receive our volunteer newsletter to hear about opportunities, or sign up for an event here.

Completed 10th Anniversary Events:

• Pipestone Creek Black Knot Removal. We removed 4 bags of tree killing black knot fungus, and found an old Warbling Vireo nest; a hanging grass basket.
• Bird and Plant Walk at Bunchberry Meadows. We spent several hours seeing all the cool wildlife and plants. The hit was a Great Horned Owl only a few meters off the trail!
• Weeding for Wildlife at Larch Sanctuary. 15 volunteers removed ~15 bags of Noxious weed Leafy Spurge which can poison plants and animals. We made a difference for wildlife!!
• Birding and Plant Tours of Lu Carbyn Nature Sanctuary. We surveyed birds and plants in this diverse conservation land not yet open to the public. Highlights included Gray Catbirds, American Redstarts, Solitary and Spotted Sandpipers, and some bear tracks.
• Bat and Owl Survey at Glory Hills. We found the Little Brown Bat, a species at risk, and even saw fireflies!
• Hicks Weeding for Wildlife and trail Maintenance. We were able to remove all the thistle visibly growing at the time, which is so rewarding, because so often in conservation there is still work to be done at the end of the day.

Volunteers removed 4 bags of black knot fungus from Pipestone Creek

An old Warbling Vireo nest was found by volunteers at Pipestone Creek

Birdwatching at Bunchberry Meadows

Birdwatching at Bunchberry Meadows

Great Horned Owl at Bunchberry Meadows by Doug Knight

Our Moose on the Loose at the Larch Weeding for Wildlife Event!

Volunteers removing invasive Leafy Spurge from Larch Sanctuary by Norm Legault

Volunteers removing invasive Leafy Spurge from Larch Sanctuary by Norm Legault

Volunteers removing invasive Leafy Spurge at the entrance to Larch Sanctuary

Volunteers remove 15 bags of invasive Leafy Spurge from Larch Sanctuary

On a tour of Larch Sanctuary

Volunteers who removed invasive Leafy Sprurge from Larch Sanctuary

Surveying bird and plant life at Lu Carbyn Nature Sanctuary

Gray Catbirds were heard and seen at the Lu Carbyn nature walks. Photo by Betty Fisher.

American Redstarts were heard and/or seen at the Lu Carbyn nature walks. Photo by Gerald Romanchuk

Volunteers at Glory Hills Bat and Owl Survey

A bat box being surveyed at Glory Hills

The moon at the Glory Hills Bat and Owl Survey

The night sky at the Glory Hills Bat and Owl survey

Volunteers removed all visible thistle plants at Hicks

We are not finished yet! There are still several special volunteer events and celebrations that you can participate in to help us celebrate our 10th Anniversary!

Upcoming 10th Anniversary Events (all will be posted on our events page):

• Guided nature walks at Ladyflower Gardens with EALT. Featuring forest interpretive walk, forest meditative walk, Ladyflower gardens walk, and agriculture tour (July). Registration open now!
• Bat Box Installation at Bunchberry Meadows (July, event full).
• Coates Sign Installation (August).
• Bat Box Installation at Upcoming Securement (August).
• Boisvert Trail Maintenance and Nest Box Cleaning (August).
• Golden Ranches Nest Box Cleaning (August).
• Final Celebration Event (October).

Thank you Volunteers!!!