Fish and Wildlife TWS Student Chapter 2009-2010 Events
Special Lecture by Dr. Valerius Geist Honouring Dr. Ian McTaggart Cowan
In recognition of Dr. Ian McTaggart Cowan’s approaching 100th birthday, the UNBC Fish and Wildlife Student Chapter of TWS will hosted a special NRESi Colloquium. On Tuesday March 30th, Dr. Valerius Geist, Professor Emeritus at the University of Calgary, and a former student of Dr. Cowan, presentd a Colloqium entitled “Canadian Wildlife: Where To?“.
UNBC’s 2nd Annual Quiz Bowl
The 2nd annual Quiz Bowl was hosted by the UNBC Student Chapter of TWS on Friday March 26th at 7 pm in 8-164 (immediately following the Annual General Meeting). Teams ested their biological knowledge and vie for some great prizes. Click here for more details on how the Quiz Bowl works. Congratulations to the 2010 Champions: Rebecca Bowler (on the winning team again!), Thibault Grava, Denise Kleywegt, Alan McKenzie, and Katrina Wohlfarth. At the start of the Quiz Bowl, outgoing (and charter) president (Robbin Steenweg) and vice-president (Jennifer Sheppard) were presenting with paintings painted by Becky Cadsand.
TWS Ice-fishing Derby
On Saturday March 6th, the UNBC Fish & Wildlife Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society hosted its first Annual Ice-fishing Derby at West Lake Provincial Park. The weather and event was a great success and the weather was as ideal as the derby posted had suggested it would be. Thanks to our sponsors (Northern Hardware, Northern Troutfitters and Canadian Tire for their generous support). The derby winners were:
Spring Break Trip to the John Prince Research Forest
On February 16-19, 2010, 9 club members went to JPRF to partake in numerous fish and wildlife-related activities such as: ice fishing, snowshoeing, placing cameras at otter latrine sites, tracking otter, learning how to use a GPS and compass and snowmobiling. Everyone had a wonderful time. Special thanks to Dexter Hodder for allowing us to stay at the research site and for teaching us valuable wildlife-related skills.
Wild Foods Potluck Dinner
On Saturday January 23rd, the UNBC Fish & Wildlife Student Chapter of TWS held its first annual Wild Food Potluck. The turnout was great and the food was even better. Watch for this event again next year!
The 2010 Student Chapter Calendars!
November 2009 Kennedy Siding Caribou Viewing Trip
On Saturday November 14th, Dr. Dale Seip (Wildlife Ecologist with the Ministry of Forests and Range) led a highly successful field trip to Kennedy Siding to view wintering caribou. The group saw approximately 60 caribou (more than half the entire Kennedy Siding herd), learned about caribou and lichen ecology, visited long-term monitoring sites, and learned about the GPS telemetry techniques that are being used with this herd of caribou.
2009 Annual Photo Contest
The UNBC TWS Fish and Wildlife Student Chapter held its 2nd annual photo contest on October 26th and 27th. The event was a huge success with 68 photographs submitted — and all of outstanding quality. Thanks to everyone who participated. The judges had a very hard time picking the top entries, but click here to see the results. The Student Chapter is now working with the contest results to come up with the 2010 version of their calendar, which we hope to have available by late November!
TWS Trip to Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter (Thanksgiving Weekend, October 2009!
The trip to Smithers and the Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter (http://www.wildlifeshelter.com/) was a huge success over the Thanksgiving weekend! Seven club members decided to take part, and everyone worked very hard cleaning out the rabbit and guinea pig kennels, as well as hauling and leveling gravel over the two black bear enclosures. Angelika Langen, who runs the shelter, said it was the best crew she’s ever had from the university, and was extraordinarily grateful for all of the work that was completed before the snow sets in. The group also got to help out with bottle feedings of the moose, deer and elk, and got to meet several of the other resident species, including Raco the raccoon and Igor the Siberian lynx. While in Smithers the group also did the hike up to Malkow Lookout and went out to the fossil beds at Driftwood Canyon. All in all, it was a phenomenal trip! Thanks to Louisa Bates for the great photos!
Amphibian Walk (September 2009) sponsored jointly with the UNBC Biology Club
The turn out for the Amphibian Walk was great, with over 30 students from both the Biology Club and TWS Fish and Wildlife in total. Despite some frost events during the week, we discovered an Ambystoma macrodactylum,or otherwise commonly known as a Long-toed Salamander. Most of the other local amphibian species were preparing or already went into hibernation. Regardless, it was an excellent hunt, where all who attended learned a little bit more about local amphibian species and some of the current conservation threats they face today from UNBC’s own amphibian expert Mark Thompson.
September 2009 trip to Mugaha bird banding station near Mackenzie to band migratory songbirds
On September 12, 2009, 12 chapter members travelled to Mugaha Marsh Banding Station. Members were given the opportunity to set mist nets, check nets, extract passerines from nets, assist in banding and releasing of passerines. Special thanks to Vi and David Lambie, and bander-in-charge Ken Burton for teaching the club valuable identification skills and mist netting techniques.
