In 2012, the Ruby Lake Lagoon Society hosted the first Sunshine Coast Biodiversity Summit, which resulted in the publication of the Sunshine Coast Biodiversity Strategy that included clear goals and strategies as well as a plan of action for moving forward. A major conclusion was that in order to detect changes in biodiversity across a wide range of different ecosystems and habitats, we desperately need to monitor long term trends in key species both spatially and over time.
With the closure of the Fisheries offices on the lower coast, we have lost a substantial resource, and there are virtually no federal programs now in place to keep an eye on our local marine and freshwater resources. The Pender Harbour Coastal Waters Monitoring Program (PHCWMP) was developed as part of the future programming for the PODS project. Thanks to a generous contribution from the Sitka Foundation, we were able to start this program in 2017 and it has grown each year since.
On Tuesday, April 16 at 7 p.m., at the Pender Harbour Secondary School, the Pender Harbour Wildlife Society will host Jenn Blancard, the research coordinator for PODS and the brains behind the initial development of 12 extensive long-term monitoring studies, to be fully up-and-running throughout the Pender Harbour region by 2021. This is an ambitious program that involves hours and hours of work in the field in some of the most remote and stunningly beautiful locations on the Coast. If you would like to join in the fun with the PODS Citizen Science Team, you can’t afford to miss this wonderful opportunity to do something really constructive to help preserve this wonderful place in which we are all so lucky to be living.
This presentation is free. All are welcome. Tea, coffee and home-baked goods will be served after the presentation.
See more at penderharbourwildlife.com
– Submitted by Carole Logtenberg
