Education & Information Activities

By David Manning Trailhead: South Pender, Spalding Road, west entrance/leg of the Enchanted Forest Trail, beginning just left of a private driveway at a sign saying “Waterfall and Viewpoint.” A few steps into your walk, Take One moment to center yourself. Remember, you’re going to pay attention only to this walk, not allowing your mind to wander elsewhere. Early in the walk, can you see what I call Quintet Tree, where 5 tree trunks appear to emerge from one place in the groun

The Pender Islands Conservancy (lead by Lisa Baile), with permission from Transition Salt Spring, has revised their brochure entitled “How do Healthy Forests Reduce the Risk of Wildfires?”, to make it specifically applicable for Pender Island. This visually striking and informative brochure provides information about the pathways through which healthy forest cover helps to protect soils, groundwater, and surface water, stores and absorbs carbon, buffers against drought and fl

David Manning Image by David Manning Trailheads: South Pender—Ainsley Pt. Road and Canal Road Both these trails end at the summit of Mt. Norman . With spectacular views, this hike is worth the effort and best done on a clear day. For our walk here we will begin at the Ainsley Point Road Trailhead. This 2.4 km round-trip trail in Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, mostly an invigorating uphill trek, climaxes at a lovely bluff viewpoint, the highest point on Pender at 244 met

Together, the Pender Islands Conservancy, Raincoast Conservation Foundation, and our conservation community have permanently protected KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest. Image by Les Peterson In just over 12 months, the Pender Conservancy and Raincoast Conservation Foundation have raised $2.18 million to purchase and permanently protect the 45 acre KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest on S,DÁYES (Pender Island). The closing of this campaign comes just over a year after our collective effort t

By Shauna Doll, Gulf Islands Forest Project Coordinator, Raincoast Conservation Trees to Seas EcoFair provided opportunities for education and building community connections and in the process raised $15,000 toward the protection of KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest. Hannah Stoakes at the Meadow Making Workshop Photo by Kelly Irving After a record-breaking 100-day drought in the Salish Sea region, the morning of October 22nd dawned to the welcome sound of a light rain, the perfect b

Shauna Doll Photo by Alex Harris Explore the incredible world of fungi at KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest at EcoFair on S,DÁYES, Pender Island this fall! From October 22-23, 2022, Dr. Hugues Massicotte will be on S,DÁYES for EcoFair, an initiative organized by Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Pender Islands Conservancy, and PenderPOD. He will be leading two guided fungi forays through KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest near Razor Point, North Pender Island to introduce visitors and resi

Join us for a natural history walk at KELÁ_EKE Kingfisher Forest at 9:30 am. We'll discuss the Pender Conservancy's latest land acquisition campaign in partnership with Raincoast to raise funds to purchase this land, and explore the diverse forest and wetland ecosystems it supports. We'll be paying special attention to mosses this month: their unique ecology, classification and identification methods, and the valuable microclimates they inhabit and help to maintain. Park at t

Brooks Point has been described as an "ecological gem," with woodlands, meadows, rocky coastal bluffs, and a marine shoreline, rich with life. Whether you are interested in birdwatching, seeking out unique plants and fungi, or just admiring the spectacular views, and if this is your first visit or one of many, you will find plenty to discover at Brooks Point. Meet us at the trailhead at 9:30 rain or shine. We look forward to seeing you!

Mushroom Madness Saturday, November 6: Twenty two intrepid budding mycologists of all ages joined in the Conservancy Nature Walk along...

Winter Bird Walk at Hope Bay: Saturday December 11, 2021 9:30: Meet at the Conservancy Centre at Hope Bay for a refresher on Winter Bird...

After a long hiatus due to COVID-19, the Pender Islands Conservancy is happy to resume hosting educational presentations once again. We...

Fall is a great time to get outdoors and enjoy what nature has to offer on the trails of Pender Island. Please join us on Saturday, November 6 starting at 9:30 am at the trailhead of the Found Road Trail on Clam Bay Road as we seek out the multitudes of mushrooms that proliferate there at this time of year. Mushrooms are mostly dormant during the dry summers but as the fall rains start, they produce fleshy reproductive fruiting bodies that pop up through the duff on the for

The Pender Islands Conservancy Nature Centre is now open! After months of delay due to COVID-19 restrictions, our Conservancy Nature...

Living Stumps “Living Stumps” is presented as part of a series of educational articles for Penderites on the natural world that surrounds us. Pender Island has been logged in the past, and when out in our many park areas one can see stumps of the trees that have been felled. Many of them, cut down when the island was logged 100 years ago, are well rotted, while others felled more recently are just starting to decay. Periodically, in and amongst the Douglas Fir stumps, you c

For the past several years, students from the local school have come down to the Hope Bay Stream for the annual Eggstravaganza. There, they learn about the importance of a healthy riparian habitat for baby salmon, help plant native flora, and welcome the DFO staff as they arrive with the Chum salmon eggs to place into the stream. In 2020 we had a fine day indeed, with cooperation from the weather and enthusiastic engagement from the students. Volunteers were prepared with wil