Author Archives: Gary Hunt

Nature Walks and Gold Panning With TRU International Students

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For the third year, KNC members volunteered their time to raise money for the club by acting as tour guides for visiting students in TRU World’s programs. This year we hosted eight groups, seven from Jakarta, Indonesia and one from Kyoto, Japan. With group sizes ranging from 20 to 25, this comprised a total of 162 students. The club will receive $2,430.  We spend about two hours with each group learning about the ecology of the Tranquille creek area and finishing with gold panning in the creek. On two of … Continue reading →

Caretakers Needed For Our Local Important Bird Areas

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Canada’s Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas Program is a science-based initiative to identify, conserve, and monitor a network of sites that provide essential habitat for Canada’s bird populations. Canada is part of a global network consisting of over 12,000 sites in 200 countries. There are about 600 sites in Canada and 83 in BC. There are two IBAs in our area. These are the South Thompson River IBA and the Douglas Lake Plateau IBA. Rick Howie has been the caretaker for the South Thompson River IBA for many years. The … Continue reading →

Common Mushrooms In Lawns and Pastures

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With the continuing rain, the fall mushroom season is progressing rapidly. A good place to start looking for wild mushrooms is in your yard and pastures. There are numerous interesting species that grow in grass. Here are a few of the many. Coprinus comatus (Shaggy Mane) Shaggy mane is one of the easiest wild mushrooms to identify and a great beginning species if you are tempted to try eating your first wild mushroom. Most people say they are delicious. Cut them lengthwise to be sure they are young and pure … Continue reading →

Fighting A Bat Killer: B.C. Scientists Testing New Way To Protect Against Deadly Fungus

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White nose syndrome is caused by a fungus that’s decimating bat populations. It slowly weakens the animals until they die of starvation. It kills about 85 per cent to 99.9 per cent of bats in affected hibernacula. It was first detected in the eastern United States in 2006 and has wiped out entire populations there.

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Sarcodon Has Been Spotted

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Submitted by Gary Hunt This article is from last summer but we are seeing it again in our region. In spite of the extreme heat we have been experiencing, mushrooms continue to appear in our surrounding forested areas. North-facing slopes and moist gullies can yield fun surprises even during extreme heat waves. One striking example I encountered yesterday at McConnell Lake is Sarcodon imbricatus, aka the Shingled Hedgehog. The mushroom has a large, brown cap, up to 30 cm in diameter, covered with large brown scales. The cap is depressed … Continue reading →

TRU International Students at Tranquille

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For the third summer, the Kamloops Naturalist Club has organized trips for TRU World with international students. Students this year are from Indonesia and they all attend school in Jakarta. We spend about two hours with each group and take them up Tranquille Creek. We show them plants and animals and discuss various features of the landscape  and climate. The highlight of the trip for the students is learning how to pan for gold. These pictures illustrate some of what we saw and did on the four trips we have … Continue reading →