International Day of Action for Rivers 2026 - River Complexity
When looking at healthy river systems, complexity is very important. Having different sections to a river will provide different habitat and functions. Here are some complexities that we look for in rivers: Riffles: The shallowest part where water is usually running over rocks. This is where water is the fastest and there is the most oxygen. Sometimes fish will wait downstream from riffles to wait for food to flow their way. Runs: This is when water flows at a more uniform pa
Legendary Legumes: Silky Lupins
Did you know that Silky lupines are part of the legume family? Legumes are a special family of plants that are well know for their nitrogen fixing abilities. On Earth, around 80% of our atmosphere is made up of nitrogen gas. However, nitrogen in this form is unusable to people and many other living things. That's where the legumes come it. These plants have a symbiotic relationship with nitrogen fixing bacteria that will live on the plants roots in little nodules. The bacteri
Happy World Plant a Flower Day 2026
Everyone grab some gloves and a shovel, it's time to plant a flower! But before you pick a flower, know that some plants and flowers are harder to plant than other. One example is Arrow-leaved balsamroot which is notoriously hard to plant. Trying to plant this flower from seed or pot is near impossible. They prefer to be planted on slopes and to be ignored, but even if you plant this flower it might take years before you see any signs of growth. This is because the plant is g
It's a bird, it's a boat, it's a Predaceous Diving Beetle!
It can fly, walk and swim, and they live all over Canada. While that may sound like a aquatic bird, what we're describing is actually Predaceous Diving beetles. These beetles are commonly seen in many ponds and slow moving streams. While they are proficient swimmers, they can still use their wings to fly between ponds. Like their name suggest, they are dangerous predators to other insects and small fish. They are quite adept in the water, swimming akin to a frog with both bac
World Wildlife Day 2026
This year the theme for World Wildlife Day is “Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Conserving Health, Heritage and Livelihoods", so we want to recognize all our amazing native plants in the area that do much more than look good and provide excellent habitat. The Syilx People in the region have and still use many of our native plants for medicine, food, technology and much more. Here are examples of some uses for these plants along with their Nsyilxcen names: Pearly Everlasting / t
