Gabriola Photography Club’s next field trip is on Wednesday afternoon, October 11. We’ll be focusing our lenses on “Rusty Relics” – some of Gabriola’s old and abandoned vehicles.
Gather – rain or shine – at 1 pm in the Agi Hall parking lot on South Road, Gabriola Island. Please park in the north lot (the end closest to the ferry terminal). From there, we’ll drive and/or carpool to a number of sites, ending back in the Village.
If you plan to participate please email us ahead of time to let us know, so that we can contact you in the event of any last-minute changes.
At our meeting on Wed. June 7, Lou Skinner, a volunteer with the Gabriola Land and Trails Trust (GaLTT), will be introducing our club to the iNaturalist app – a preview of a more in-depth, in-person workshop that GALTT will be offering later that month.
In addition to creating and maintaining trails on Gabriola, GaLTT also carries out conservation education and works to conserve areas of ecological interest on the island. One of GALTTS’ key initiatives is a campaign encouraging people to conserve native habitat and plant native species on their properties. For many people, that raises the question: what are native plants and animals?
In June GALTT will be offering an in-person workshop for the community on using the free app, iNaturalist, to help people identify the plants and animals around us. Through using the app, people can not only identify native species, but also have the opportunity to share their observations – thereby helping to build a research-grade database of biodiversity on Gabriola.
Most members of Gabriola Photography Club already have a deep connection with nature through our photography, and Lou says she expects we are good observers – so could be a huge help in creating this biodiversity knowledge.
Earth Day celebrations will begin a day early on Gabriola this year – on Friday, April 21 – so that our local school children can participate. The Friday Earth Day events take place at the Commons.
Gabriola Photography Club will have a view-only booth (no sales) – a chance for members to display some of our recent photographic efforts. We’ll also be handing out flyers inviting others to join our club as new members. Please stop by to say hello if you’re in the Village.
If you’re a club member – or thinking about joining our club – and you’d like to help out at our booth, please let Sharron know.
The day’s schedule is as follows:
10am – 11am – Set Up
11am – 1:45pm – Workshops and Outreach
12:45 – 1:20pm – Earth Day Parade (led by Gabriola Elementary School) – everyone is invited to join the parade
1:20pm – 2:00pm – The Kerplunks! Earth-loving music for all ages!
Why there? Buttertubs is a lovely, accessible bird and wildlife sanctuary, encircled by an easy 2-km trail. The field trip will provide an opportunity to connect face-to-face with other club photographers, and the destination is perfect for honing your skills in nature photography: nesting birds, waterfowl, and the marsh habitat.
Timing & travel: We plan to catch the 1:30pm ferry off Gabriola. For seniors, it’s a ride-free day on the ferry, and if desired we can arrange car pooling to reduce the number of vehicles going over. After two hours at the Park (approximately 2 to 4 pm), we’ll return to the Nanaimo ferry terminal to catch the 4:35pm or 5:05pm ferry back to Gabriola.
What to bring: You might want to bring along a folding stool or light-weight lawn chair, water bottle, thermos of tea/coffee, and perhaps a snack. In addition, we recommend that you wear layered clothing, walking shoes or boots, and a light all-weather jacket in case of rain.
Gabriola Photography Club 