About our meetings
Our meetings are really more like informal, social gatherings with entertaining guest speakers. At each meeting you’ll have the opportunity to hear about our members’ recent wildlife sightings, hear about environmental concerns and enjoy lectures on a variety of fascinating topics. Best of all there’s always an opportunity to chat & socialize with like minded people while sharing some delicious snacks contributed by our members
A listing of our guest speakers and the topics they cover in their multi-media presentations.
MARVELOUS MONARCHS
WITH TERRY WHITTAM
Thursday September 19, 2019
7:30 PM Wye Marsh
Terry Whittam has conducted a long-term tagging project of Monarch butterflies at Rosetta McClain Gardens in Scarborough. To date he has had almost 50 recoveries of his butterflies in Mexico. Each one tells a story! If Terry’s name sounds familiar to you, it should. Brother Bob Whittam (former Executive Director Wye Marsh), sister-in-law Judy and nephew Dan are all honorary life members of our club.
WOLVES OF ALGONQUIN PARK
WITH DAVID LEGROS
Thursday October 17, 2019
7:30 p.m. Wye Marsh
David LeGros has been a Park Naturalist in Algonquin for many years and also serves as the President of the Huntsville Nature Club. With David we will discover what type of wolf is found in Algonquin Park, some of the latest results from research and why thousands of people come out to Public Wolf Howls.
OUR AMAZING CANADA JAYS
WITH DAN STRICKLAND
Thursday November 21, 2019
7:30 p.m. Wye Marsh
From 1970 to 2000, Dan Strickland was the Chief Park Naturalist in Algonquin Provincial Park. Retirement has allowed him to spend more time on the Park Canada Jay study, now one of the world’s longest-running investigations of a population of colour-banded birds. In 2018 Mr. Strickland was instrumental in getting the American Ornithological Society (AOS) to restore the Canada Jay (Gray Jay) to its original name.
BEST PLACES TO BIRD IN ONTARIO
WITH MIKE BURRELL
Thursday January 16, 2020
7:30 p.m. Wye Marsh
Mike Burrell has worked for Long Point Bird Observatory, he was the Ontario Important Bird Areas Program Coordinator with Bird Studies Canada and is now with the Ontario Government’s Natural Heritage Information Centre. Over the years Mike and his brother Ken have spent as much of their free time as possible eating, sleeping, and breathing birds – chasing them from one corner of our province to the other. Join Mike as he shares some stories and favourite spots and how they decided which would make the cut for their wonderful and very helpful new book, Best Places to Bird in Ontario.
SNOWFLAKES & EXPLORING THE UNIVERSE AT OUR FEET
WITH DON KOMORECHKA
Thursday February 20, 2020
7:30 p.m. Wye Marsh
A nature, macro and landscape photographer based in Barrie, ON, Don Komorechka uses advanced camera techniques and the latest technology to explore the science and beauty of snowflakes and other everyday treasures in ways never before possible. His work has been featured on an episode of David Suzuki’s The Nature of Things at the Canadian Science and Technology Museum and the Simcoe County Museum. One of his snowflake images was made into a $20 limited edition silver coin by the Royal Canadian Mint.
SPRING THINGS
WITH DAVID HAWKE
Thursday March 19, 2020
7:30 p.m. Wye Marsh
David Hawke, Stewardship Program Manager at the Couchiching Conservancy Land Trust, is one of our favourite presenters. This year his talk will help us get a jump on the spring season. But if spring doesn’t arrive on time for his talk, don’t fret. David says, “Nature doesn’t go by the wall calendar for shifting its seasons and we can see all sorts of changes if we know what to look for.”
PARADISE FOUND, PARADISE LOST, PARADISE IN LIMBO: BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION ON THE ISLAND OF MAURITIUS
WITH PATRICK MOLDOWAN
Thursday April 16, 2020
7:30 p.m. Wye Marsh
Patrick Moldowan is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Toronto but calls the Algonquin Wildlife Research Station a home away from home. In 2015, he was recognized by Wildlife Preservation Canada as a young leader in Canadian wildlife conservation and was awarded the “Canada’s New Noah” scholarship, with which he traveled to Mauritius (Indian Ocean) to train and gather field experience in managing wildlife conservation projects. He’ll speak about island biogeography, biodiversity, and conservation on Mauritius.
OVERRUN: DISPATCHES FROM THE ASIAN CARP CRISIS
WITH ANDREW REEVES
Thursday May 21, 2020
7:30 p.m. Wye Marsh
Andrew Reeves is an award-winning, Toronto-based environmental journalist and the editor-in-chief of Alternatives Journal, Canada’s oldest environmental publication. 2019 saw the publication of Andrew’s book “Overrun: Dispatches from the Asian Carp Crisis”, a project he has been working on for 10 years. As Andrew says: “This isn’t a book about fish, though they play a leading role: it’s a book about us and our reaction to the latest invasive species; and about how a fish’s extraordinary jumping ability propelled it onto the nightly news and the nation’s Most Wanted list.”
POTLUCK AND MEMBERS NIGHT
Thursday June 18, 2020 Tiny Marsh
Walk 5:30 p.m. Dinner 6:15 p.m.
We will be holding our monthly meeting at Tiny Marsh. Bring food contributions and your own tableware. Members are invited to share their interest and expertise with the club. This meeting also serves as our AGM.