PGNC News & Notes, 2026-05-05

• PGNC Memberships: New and Renewals
• PGNC Native Plants of Northern BC, Saturday May 9, 3 to 4:30 p.m. at Prince George Public Library, Bob Harkins Branch Downtown
• Report: PGNC Spring Cleanup at Hudson’s Bay Wetland
• Report: PGNC Spring Nature Walk at Cottonwood Island Park
• Moore’s Meadow Park Preservation
• Birdwatching Backpacks at Prince George Public Library
• Volunteer at PGNC Events!
• Gardening with Nature in northern BC
• Breeding Bird Survey
• About this newsletter

Club News and Events

PGNC Memberships: New and Renewals

Thank you to everyone who is joining the PGNC or renewing memberships for 2026.

Your membership supports the Prince George Naturalists Club and BC Nature, our parent organization, in all their good work.

E-Transfer is available by sending an email that goes directly into the Club’s bank account. No secret word is needed. Payments by cheque can be mailed to Prince George Naturalists Club, PO Box 1092, Prince George BC V2L 4V2. 

Memberships run from January 1 to December 31. Cost is $25 per calendar year for individuals, $40 for a family, and $15 for students. Benefits of membership: Subscription to the online version of BC Nature magazine, liability insurance coverage for Club work parties and field trips, and access to popular events limited to Club members only. Add $5 if you wish to receive a printed version of the quarterly BC Nature magazine in the mail.

“To be a naturalist is to be joyful, inquisitive, and at home in the world. To be home is to treat every life form as a family member.” – Marina Richie

PGNC Next Executive Meeting

From September to June executive meetings are scheduled for the second Wednesday of the month. All members are welcome to attend the meetings. If you wish to attend, send an email to the Club to obtain meeting details.

PGNC Native Plants of Northern BC, Saturday May 9, 3 to 4:30 p.m. at Prince George Public Library, Bob Harkins Branch Downtown 

Join the PG Naturalist Club for an introduction to the native plants that shape our northern landscapes – and the invasive species putting them at risk. Led by Dani, Naturalists Club Board member, Environmental Consultant, and plant enthusiast, this talk highlights the beauty and ecological importance of our region’s flora. Free drop in, ages 19+.

Report: Spring Cleanup at Hudson’s Bay Wetland, Sunday April 26.

HUGE shout out and thanks to those who came out and helped us at Hudson’s Bay Wetland on the Spring Cleanup today! We picked up many bags of trash, and recyclables, but there were some other very interesting things too. They included a few bikes and parts, a golf bag trolley, a big parasol, a shopping cart, a lot of clothes, a boot, a shoe, a piece of a car, and some other weird stuff. So many cigarette butts… Glad the weather was decent this year!

Report: PGNC Spring Nature Walk, Saturday May 2, Cottonwood Island Park, 8:30 a.m. 

12 people joined us for our nature walk at Cottonwood Park on May 2. The weather was so amazing for a morning walk. It got really hot by the time we ended around 11am. We observed 40 bird species. Some plant species. Moose droppings… and a few squirrels. It was a nice walk. Thank you to everyone who joined.

Moore’s Meadow Park Preservation

We invite you to tour our newly expanded Moore’s Meadow website. Explore our park history and park photos, both historic and present day. Learn more about early settlers in the area and their stories; nature and wildlife values; and enjoy fun-loving moments in the “meadow.” The tour is not complete without visiting the “Recommended Zoning” page to see where the future may lead us. Please share our site and encourage others to sign our petition. Happy reading! Cheryl Wehr

Birdwatching Backpacks at Prince George Public Library

Prince George Public Library, Bob Harkins Branch, has five birdwatching backpacks available for checkout. Here’s the link.

Volunteer at PGNC Events!

The Club is successful due to the extent of the volunteers in our community and from among our members. We value feedback and suggestions from those who want to contribute. If you or someone you know has ideas, wants to volunteer for events or contribute to our AGMs or Board meeting conversations – please let us know!

We will also be taking part in WalkPG, leading our popular bird walk through the trails of Cottonwood Island, as well as hosting yet another informative presentation at the Library in May – this time about plants. We will then be splashing into the Annual Salmon Send-off at the Hatchery in early June.

Later in the summer, we will be partnering with NWIPC for the Annual Community Weed-pull to preserve biodiversity in the Hudson’s Bay Wetland and Shane Creek drainage.

Want to share a nature story or photos in our newsletter? We’d love to showcase your work!

Gardening with Nature in northern BC

Here are two graphics about Gardening with Nature:

Breeding Bird Survey

The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) is a cooperative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey and Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service to monitor the status and trends of North American bird populations. The surveys follow rigorous protocols and are collected by dedicated participants annually.
Criteria for adopting a BBS route are:

1. Access to suitable transportation to complete a survey
2. Good hearing and eyesight
3. The ability to identify all breeding birds in the area by sight and sound. Knowledge of bird songs is important, because most birds counted on these surveys are singing males
4. New BBS participants must successfully complete the BBS Methodology Training Program before their data will be used in any BBS analyses. The training program is available from the national BBS offices and the state, provincial, and territorial coordinators
   Ideally, we ask that BBS volunteers adopt a route for at least a two-year commitment if possible. However, we have more sophisticated models now, so we can also use single runs of routes to generate trend information. You can see a map of all vacant routes across the province. If you think you match the criteria and would like to adopt a route in BC, please email Chloe Boynton.

About This Newsletter

The newsletter is sent from the PGNC mailing address. We welcome contributions from members and supporters about matters of interest to naturalists. Feel free to send us your stories and links.

PO Box 1092, Prince George, BC V2L 4V2