Come out for your chance to win a weekend away at TLC’s South Winchelsea Island, one of three weekends at the Sooke Potholes Campground or a Clipper Canoe, generously donated by Ocean River Sports.

Proceeds from the 50/50 ticket sales and the Chuck-A-Puck contest will go towards saving special places like Madrona Farm. TLC will also be debuting “Green Bands for Green Lands”, a reflective, multi-purpose arm/leg band for purchase to protect yourself while protecting B.C.’s lands.

Get your tickets today! Advanced tickets are only $18 and $3 from every ticket sold before March 11 goes to TLC. Tickets can be purchased online at Select Your Tickets or by calling the box office at 250-220-7777.

The Eagles Estate Heritage Garden in Autumn

TLC will be hosting a series of educational workshops this winter and spring at the Eagles Estate Heritage Garden in Burnaby – just a short drive away from Vancouver.  The workshops focus on sustainable gardening and some of the topics covered will be basic pruning and tree care, vegetable gardening, invasive species control, mason bees, and backyard bumblebee conservation.  Registration is now open for the following workshops.  Register early to avoid disappointment.

Mason Bee Workshop

Learn how to have happy healthy mason bees in your garden with Brian Campbell. Brian has a certificate in Permaculture Design, is a Certified Bee Master, and is very active in food security and conservation issues. In this introduction to the Blue Orchard Mason Bee you will learn about their life cycle and how to attract and get them to stay in your garden. There will be a hands-on opportunity to wash cocoons and identify some common diseases and pests of these gentle beneficial insects.

Summer Vegetable Gardening

Get growing this spring with a lively ‘tips and tricks’ workshop led by Sharon Hanna – instructor for Gaia College’s “Growing Food in the City” program, creator of school gardens and writer for GardenWise and Gardening Life.  Learn about the best varieties to grow in our region, the best seeds to buy, and when, where, and how to plant them.  Explore the use of organic matter vs. fertilizers and do some hands-on planting.  Please come with lots of questions!

Fall and Winter Vegetable Gardening

Do you know that you can grow food all year in coastal BC?  Join Sharon Hanna – instructor for Gaia College’s “Growing Food in the City” program, creator of school gardens, and writer for GardenWise and Gardening Life to learn more about extending the growing season.  Winter veggies need to be started as early as June through to early July.  Find out what you can grow throughout fall and winter and explore the use of cloches and coldframes.

Backyard Bumblebee Conservation

Urban spaces tend to be highly fractured ecologically, join Brian Campbell to learn how to make your neighbourhood more bee-friendly. Brian has a certificate in Permaculture Design, is a Certified Bee Master, and is very active in food security and conservation issues.  Bumblebee biology and life cycles will be covered and you will learn some simple techniques to encourage and support these beautiful and important creatures.  Help make bee corridors through our city environment so bees can continue helping us grow lots of food!

Go to one of your special places in B.C. and tell us via photo or video why you think it’s important for TLC to save natural areas, heritage sites, and agricultural lands throughout the province.

There will also be a special prize category, Million Reasons Challenge, for individuals who document themselves and their different reasons at as many different TLC properties and events as possible. Event opportunities for the Million Reasons Challenge can be found in the TLC Summer Event Guide and on our website under our properties landing page.

For more information and how to submit, check out the Million Reasons Contest page.  Select photos and videos will appear on TLC’s website. Participants will also have the chance to be included as one of the vibrant faces within TLC’s Million Reasons Membership Marketing Campaign.

So tell us, what’s your reason?

Photo of Harrison Trail by M.E.Sanseverino

The Capital Regional District (CRD), The Land Conservancy (TLC) and Western Forest Products (WFP) have reached an agreement in principle for the CRD to acquire 2350 hectares of lands in the Jordan River, Sooke Potholes and Weeks Lake areas for recreation, conservation and watershed protection. The agreement, which includes over 3.5 km of shoreline from Jordan River to Sandcut Beach, will require the assistance of partners to help fund the acquisition.

Photo by Sylvan Mably

The lands in question are being sold by Western Forest Products and lie within CRD boundaries. “The WFP lands are a subject of great interest to the Board and the agreement in principle generated significant discussion and support at the March 3 Special Board meeting.” said Geoff Young, CRD Board Chair. “I would like to acknowledge the hard work that JDF Electoral Area Director Mike Hicks has played in moving this process forward. Acquisition of these lands will help to further the CRD’s strategic priorities, protect our water supply in the Leech Watershed, conserve sensitive ecosystems and support recreation.”

“We recognize the public interest in these particular parcels, and we’re pleased to be making headway with the CRD towards keeping them available for public enjoyment” said Steve Frasher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Western Forest Products. “Our goal has been to make this a win-win for ourselves and for the CRD. We’re happy to see this taking shape.”

One of the CRD’s major land acquisition partners on this project is The Land Conservancy, which has stepped up with a strong commitment to raise the necessary funds to make this acquisition happen. “With this purchase we are going to add one of the last remaining pieces to the Sea to Sea Greenbelt,” said TLC Executive Director, Bill Turner. “To match the CRD Parks levy, TLC will reach out to its members and others in the community who understand how important it is to help make this purchase a reality.” 

“The lands in both the Jordan River and Sooke Potholes areas have high recreation and conservation values,” said Regional Parks Chair Christopher Causton. “We are very interested in keeping them in public hands so that everyone both today and in the future can enjoy them.”

To make a donation to this acquisition, please visit TLC website. View the maps of the Jordan River parcel group and CRD Agreement in Principle Lands.

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For further information, please contact:

Gary Ley, Western Forest Products                      Bill Turner, Executive Director
Tel: 604.685.5485                                                       The Land Conservancy of BC
Cell: 604.787.5467                                                     Tel: 250.589.8024
Email: glpa@telus.net                                                 Email: bturner@conservancy.bc.ca 

Sheila Taylor, Manager, Community Relations
Corporate Communications
Tel: 250.360.3308
Cell: 250.216.4427
Email: staylor@crd.bc.ca

Photo by A. Skinner

Join TLC, the Town of Oliver, the Forbes Family Farm, and the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance on Tuesday, March 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to restore, clean-up, and celebrate the Forbes Wetland Trail.

The trail connecting 87^th and 85^th streets to the Okanagan River channel is used daily by community members who bike, walk, or bird-watch along the river channel.  In addition, the trail skirts along an important wetland which is home to many birds, turtles, frogs, and animals.

“From 10 a.m. to noon, we hope Oliver residents will join us for a Spring garbage clean up along the trail and dyke, as well as help us mulch the native plants that were planted in fall,” says Paula Rodriguez de la Vega, stewardship ecologist with TLC’s South Okanagan – Similkameen Stewardship Program. “Last year, 25 residents along with several Town of Oliver staff and Councilors came out to support this project.  It’s great to see remnant wetlands being cared for as they will benefit everybody.”

“It is exciting to be part of a project which enables us to walk through the Forbes Wetland Trail, taking a moment to reflect on the natural beauty which abounds in this area, maybe to sit and listen to birds calling or get lost in the tranquility of the moment,” says Mayor Patrick Hampson.

“Frogs and turtles need your help! Loss of habitat has severely impacted these populations of the South Okanagan-Similkameen. Volunteer monitors are needed to assist in the recovery of these amazing creatures,” says Jacquie Likins from the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance.  “Join us from 1 to 3 p.m. to learn about turtle and frog lifecycles, how to tell frogs apart by their calls, how to monitor their populations, and how to help conserve their habitats.”

Wetlands offer essential habitat for as many as 600 species of wildlife in Canada.  Wetlands provide environmental and societal value by moderating the effects of droughts, floods, climate change, and erosion. Wetlands filter our water and help provide clean, secure water sources. Wetlands provide beautiful recreational and educational areas for all ages!

For all participants, please wear sturdy foot wear, dress for the weather, and bring work gloves.

For more information on the Forbes Wetland Trial Enhancement Project and TLC please view the Backgrounder.

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This snag got pulled out of the river to improve fish habitat and looks like the perfect place for me to nap.

What a hike! It’s been a while since my last post because I was making the long trek from the Kootenays up to the Horsefly River Valley. Not that it was all that challenging for me – male grizzly bears can have territories covering thousands of  square kilometres and patrol them routinely. As a matter of fact, I may make this trip an annual occurrence. I’ve never felt more bear-like, not to mention fit. Plus this totally beats hibernating for the winter.

You can't tell because of the snow but I'm right on the edge where field meets river.

When I crested the last hill overlooking the Valley, the shadow of Wells Grey Provincial Park stretched over one half of the area and the contrast between the shadowed and sunny portions took my breath away. That didn’t last long though because with my super keen bear sense of smell I picked up the faint trace of salmon that lingers in spawning sites year round. I’ve made a mental note and will be returning next fall for the feast.

Farmland meets forest

Hopefully TLC staff will set aside a few of the leftover salmon carcasses for me. Usually the dead fish get packed out of the river and left in the forest to naturally fertilize the area, though in recent years the salmon run has been in harsh decline. Not really sure what I’m going to do when the salmon supply gets tight; in a cage match between myself and one of the local grizzlies I’m pretty sure I’d lose. It’s not that I’m weaker than other bears; I’d just rather enjoy my meal in peace.

Horsefly River is the most unusual valley I’ve ever been to. Because much of this area used to be ranchland, the hayfields run right up to the edge of the river and the river banks have been substantially eroded so the effect is that the river just appears running through huge flat fields of white or gold, depending on the time of year. All this is hemmed in by forest.  As a result of the unusual ecosystem, over 100 bird species breed here every spring – a truly spectacular audial experience. Overall, I feel really refreshed and reinvigorated being up here. If I don’t get adopted soon, I may end up relocating and making friends with the locals. I’ll see if the TLC staff up here would be interested in sharing the salmon fertilizer. Plus you never know – based on the habitat restoration that TLC has been doing in the Horsefly River Riparian Conservation Area, salmon runs may just start improving!

Barry was nice enough to let me tag along while he did some work at Horsefly

Photo by Jim Linton

We purchased Quail’s Run Farm, on Island Way Road, Oliver, in August 2005. We knew we had a special gem, however, we never anticipated the magnitude of the “SPECIAL”.

The land backs up against the Okanagan River and encompasses two landlocked oxbows. Over the past years we have watched hatches of Mallards and Wood Ducks mature. It has become a rest stop for several visitors on their annual migrations. Tiger Salamanders, Spadefoots, Spotted Frogs and Painted Turtles make their home here. Owls, herons, hawks and eagles frequent the trees and oxbows and of course the bird feeders provide many hours of interesting viewing. The visit from the Sandhill Cranes topped the list. These majestic birds are normally viewed from 2000 feet after finally matching their unique shrill call with a small wedge of specks in the sky.

The land is a functioning farm. There are six acres of hay and three acres of sweet corn. It takes a lot of energy and sweat to keep the weeds down and bring the plants along to maturity. In the fall the land is worked and seeded with field peas or fall rye providing green manure for the next seasons crops. Our first corn crop was harvested in 2006.

It was the fall of 2008 that a flock of Sandhills (26 birds), landed during their southern migration, to glean the corn kernels worked into the soil. It was wonderful to watch these huge birds at close range appreciating the spoils of our labours. We thoroughly enjoyed them.

Photo by Jim Linton

The corn was seeded the following spring. By early June it was doing well, we looked forward to a good harvest. One morning a large shadow floated by and came to rest in the newly germinated corn field. At first I didn’t realize what was taking place. By the time I walked out into the field the visitor, the “Majestic Sandhill”, was walking down the row of corn, picking the new corn plants out and eating the kernels. I persuaded it to finally move on, but not before a row and a half of corn had been eaten. Oh well, that’s not so bad as it was nice to see the big guy again. However, the “majesty” was wearing thin.

This fall we again had our visitors. Several flocks stayed an average of three days before moving on. Interesting to watch, but not as thrilling as the prior fall.

One of the birds (probably the singleton from the previous spring) decided the digs were pretty sweet so it stayed behind when the rest of the flock left. After the first week we became concerned and emailed Lisa Scott and Dick Cannings to see if this was normal behaviour. Mr. Cannings replied that periodically a weak bird will stay behind to rest up and regain it’s strength before continuing on the flight. It would leave when it was ready. He suggested that we feed it to help it along. The suggested food was CORN.

“I DON’T THINK SO!”

The bird remained for another week, we had a very cold spell and I weakened, purchased field corn and put the feeder out. A week later it continued south.

I can hardly wait for this spring to see if that bird returns to raid the cornfield again.

Sandhill Crane Facts:

• Amongst the largest of North American birds (stand over 1m (4ft) tall, wingspan about 2m (7 ft))
• A crane fossil approximately ten million years old was found in Nebraska and is structurally identical to the modern Sandhill Crane, making it the oldest known bird species still surviving.
• Thousands migrate thru B.C. each spring and fall travelling between their wintering ground in Southern USA and their Arctic nesting sites. Few of them stay and breed in the Okanagan.
• Stopover sites during migration include swampy fields, edges of wetlands, dry rangelands, grain fields and estuarine meadows.
• In B.C., there is a need to protect key habitats used by nesting Sandhill Cranes. It is also important to care for staging or stopover habitats used by migrating cranes. A special thanks to Jim and Pat and the many other landowners whose fields fall victims to these hungry giants of flight.

For more information on TLC’s SOS Stewardship Program visit our website or contact us:
201-262 Main Street
Penticton, BC V2A 5B2
Phone: 250-492-0173

Once you have calculated your personal or family’s carbon emissions in tonnes per year, you have the opportunity to offset your carbon footprint by donating to TLC. A carbon offset is a means to compensate for the greenhouse gas pollution we all emit through our daily lives by preventing or reducing the same amount of pollution from occurring elsewhere.

By contributing to TLC through our carbon offset program your donation will go directly towards new land acquisitions throughout the province. Much of the forested or undeveloped land that TLC protects acts as a carbon store, sequestering tones of carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere. As they grow, trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and through photosynthesis store carbon in wood fibers while releasing oxygen back into the environment. To learn more about carbon emissions and offsets, check out our carbon FAQ page.

TLC is committed to providing the most ethical and transparent carbon credits and conservation offsets programs possible. We are in the process of getting accreditation from the Living Carbon Institute which is independently audited and looked upon as a model for offset certification throughout Canada. As our carbon offset program continues to grow please consult our website for further information and updates.

Visit TLC’s Carbon Footprint Calculator now, and make a high impact donation!

Sandcut Beach. Photo by Josh Lewis.

TLC Executive Director Bill Turner said today that there are several properties with significant environmental and recreational values that need to be protected for public access and use.  In particular, he referred to the lands adjacent to the Sooke Potholes Regional Park, lands that provide access to and protection for Sandcut Beach near Jordan River, and the waterfront areas of Jordan River. 

“All of these sites are critical from a conservation perspective,” Turner said.  “They must be protected for the public, and TLC will step in to make sure that happens.  As we have done before with properties like the Sooke Potholes and Abkhazi Garden, we are prepared to do whatever is necessary to ensure that the public can retain access to these wonderful sites.”

Harrison Trail by M.E.Sanseverino

Turner indicated that TLC has been interested in these properties since they first came on the market two years ago, and now the opportunity is realistic.  TLC is actively working to help bring together a significant partnership with others interested in protecting these lands, and that he expects such a partnership will include various levels of government.  “There is a great deal of interest from the public and from many organizations wanting to protect these sites, and I expect we will all be in a position to move forward soon,” he said.

TLC has begun to raise funds to protect these sites, and already has pledges of more than $250,000.  Donations can be made on the TLC website or by calling 1-877-485-2422.

In addition to these conservation properties, TLC is open to considering a further offer to include other lands that may be more suited to other uses such as community woodlots that could help sustain local employment and economic development.  “That would depend on whether we could find suitable partners interested in pursuing those activities,” Turner said.

Jordan River. Photo by Josh Lewis.

Offers will be made to Western Forest Products after the March 8 target date set by WFP.

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Contact: Bill Turner, Executive Director, The Land Conservancy, bturner@conservancy.bc.ca, cell: 250-589-8024, work: 250-479-8053