2020 Low Tide Day information coming soon.
Low Tide Day – June 6th 2020
Author: IT Services
Migratory Bird Day – May 11
Join us on Migratory Bird Day to celebrate and learn about key migratory birds in our Important Bird Area. Ask bird experts your identification questions and learn more from bird photographers how to capture a great shot.
May 11 – 12:00-4:00pm
Biggs Killer Whales – Public Lecture March 14th
Join us on Thursday March 14th at 7pm for a public lecture by marine Naturalist Tasli Shaw and Gary Sutton
The Great Blue Heron Hair-off Fundraiser
You may remember local teacher and environmentalist Jim Wisnia’s 2012 “Pony Up for the Point” campaign when he raised $7500 to help Sansum Point become a protected Regional Park. He had his ponytail cut off on Earth Day at the grand opening of the Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre. Well, Jim has been growing his hair since them and he is ready to have a radical hair-cut on behalf of the Estuary Nature Centre and wildlife habitat, with a special focus on our Pacific Great Blue Herons, the fannini subspecies that nest in the ravine near the Centre. Hear the story straight from Jim:
“I’m now conducting a two-month fundraising campaign for the Nature Centre in support of things I value highly: nature education, wildlife monitoring, habitat restoration, community-building, and programs for the advancement of youth.
The Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre is located on the shore of Cowichan Bay, a designated Important Bird Area where the Cowichan and Koksilah Rivers flow into the ocean. It is a place where nature lovers meet and share stories. Nature Centre staff and volunteers offer children marine and watershed science programs on class visits and day camps. Drop-in visitors can learn from the saltwater touch tank, the juvenile salmon aquarium, the interactive watershed model, the videos of elders’ stories, the bird viewing tower, and the trail-side signs. Immediately uphill from the Nature Centre is the largest Great Blue Heron nesting colony on Vancouver Island, nourished by the abundant life in the estuary.
For a few years I’ve been letting my hair grow long. I’m offering it up on Earth Day (April 22, the Nature Centre’s seventh anniversary) in the “Great Blue Heron Hair-off,” and I’m asking for your tax-deductible contribution to my campaign. My goal is to raise $9000. Depending on how much my campaign raises, it will help:
1- Purchase a live-feed video camera for monitoring the heron nesting colony ($1500)
2- Support a Restoration Biologist and a Youth Educator in mentoring and teaching a youth group in waterside habitat restoration in ($900)
3- Bring 15 high-school-age youth to the 2019 Youth Leadership Training: Engagement for Healthy Watersheds ($1500)
4- Support a day-long Whole Watershed Thinking workshop for youth ($1500)
5- Bring five children from low-income families to a nature immersion summer science camp ($1100)
6- Bring five classes from low-income neighbourhoods to the Centre’s nature immersion programming ($1000)
7- Hire an educator to develop French language nature immersion programming ($1500)
Besides helping us learn more about our Great Blue Heron colony, donated funds will also provide youth scholarships, giving the next generation of leaders the big-picture context and the confidence to undertake hands-on restoration activities and to use their stories to connect with others around shared values, thus strengthening this conservation-minded community.
Donations can be made online at Canada Helps <https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/cowichan-community-land-trust-society/campaign/great-blue-hair-off/> or send a cheque (noting Great Blue Hair-off) to: Cowichan Community Land Trust, #6 – 55 Station Street, Duncan, BC V9L 1M3.
Beer & Burger Fundraiser: Return of the Great Blue Heron – Feb 24, 5-8pm Cow Bay Pub… stay tuned
Return of the Great Blue Heron – Welcome back the Herons and
support The Work of The Cowichan Nature Centre, with an evening of songs, stories,
and memories about Herons – plus beer and burgers! And a special Heron Guest!!
We’re gearing up for a busy spring season of nature education and restoration and
need YOUR help.Join us for a Beer & Burger fundraiser at the Cow Bay Pub featuring
great food, a silent auction, fantastic live music AND storytelling from local naturalists and nature lovers about our Return of The Great BlueHeron
Do you have a local heron story to share? It can be personal, epic or amusing, poem,
song or story – email alicia@cowichanestuary.ca before February 10th and be included
in the storytelling circle.
Don’t miss our silent auction featuring local art, gift certificates from local businesses,
and more.
Tickets includes a burger (chicken, beef, or veggie), side of fries or salad, and a drink
(domestic beer, wine, or cider).
$25 per ticket, available here online, or at Volume One Books, the Cowichan Estuary
Nature Centre (1845 Cowichan Bay Road)
An evening of stories, music, a silent auction, and delicious food – all for a good cause!
Hope to see you there!
All proceeds will support local nature education and restoration at the Cowichan
Estuary Nature Centre.
Annual Family Movie – January 3rd
Come join us for our FREE annual new years family movie on January 3rd at 2pm. A fun event for the whole family, including arts and crafts. You are welcome to bring your own popcorn or movie snacks.
Stay for a bit and visit the critters in the touch tank! Donations to support the Nature Centre are always welcome.
Ken & Donna: 2018 Volunteers of the Year
We’d like to introduce Donna Zipse and Ken Bendle, our 2018 “Volunteers of the Year”. Donna and Ken moved to Cowichan Bay from the Prairies just over a year ago and immediately fell in love with the estuary and the Cowichan Bay community.
Long-time volunteer Kerrie Talbot recalls their first day volunteering last year: “It was winter and it was snowing – I mean really snowing. I was ready to put up a ‘Closed’ sign at the Nature Centre when Ken and Donna showed up with smiles on. Like the good prairie folk they are, they jumped right in and shoveled the deck and stairs so that we could stay open safely.”
Donna and Ken are now regular volunteer interpreters at the Centre. They have also become godparents and protectors to all the critters and in our aquarium and touch tanks, researching their needs, making sure they are well fed and keeping an eye on the predator-prey balance in our little indoor ecosystem. During the three and a half day power outage in December they were a core part of the team keeping the critters fed and devising ways to keep their waters oxygenated without power! On top of all that, they more than their share of keeping the place clean and tidy. Thank-you Ken and Donna!
Humpback Comeback – Nov 21, 7-9 pm – with Eric Marshall
Humpback Comeback – Humpback whales in the North Pacific
Come hear a FREE Public talk by retired marine biologist Eric Marshall Wednesday, Nov 21st from 7 to 9 pm at the Nature Centre. (Doors open at 6:30.)
Whaling in BC waters had reduced the humpback whale population by almost 90%.
Now their numbers in the North Pacific are close to the level they were before whaling started! Humpbacks are even being seen regularly in the Salish Sea for the first time for many years.
Come learn about this important species, as well as the science behind the story of how Humpbacks in the North Pacific have recovered.
Donations always gratefully accepted.
Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre, 1845 Cowichan Bay Road (at Hecate Park) , Cowichan Bay
We’re Hiring – Nature Centre Administrative Coordinator
The Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre is a charitable non-profit. Our purposes are: To advance education by providing programs and classes to children, youth, and the public on the subjects of the Cowichan Estuary, its marine and bird life, its natural and cultural history, the Cowichan and Koksilah Watersheds, and other natural ecosystems, and to protect, restore and enhance the quality of the natural environment in the Cowichan Estuary and its adjacent watersheds.
The Nature Centre, located on the traditional and unceded territory of the Quw’utsun’ People, engages people of all ages in hands-on learning and watershed restoration opportunities in the Cowichan estuary, and the Cowichan and Koksilah watersheds, creating opportunities for children and adults alike to fall in love with this special ecosystem and feel interconnected with the natural world. We believe these experiences motivate people to share their love and knowledge of nature, and act to care for and protect natural ecosystems here and throughout the Cowichan Valley.
The Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre is looking for an Administrative Coordinator (Coordinator) with strong communication and administrative skills and a passion for supporting nature education, conservation and restoration.
The Coordinator is accountable to and works under the direction of the Centre’s Executive Director and with the support of the Board and our team of volunteers.
This position is 25 – 30 hours a week. Salary range is $25 to $30 per hour, based on skills and experience. This could be a full-time position at 37.5 hrs/week for a candidate who also has experience as an educator in developing and leading nature-based education programs.
Please submit applications by August 12th at midnight to admin@cowichanestuary.ca.
Anticipated start date: August 29, 2022.
CENC Administrative Coordinator Job Description July 2022
NEW Program! Sea Squirts: Stories & Activities 11:00-12:00pm Feb 7 – Mar 7,
The Nature Centre is so happy to announce our new nature program, funded in part by Our Cowichan Communities Health Network!
Sea Squirts is a FREE, drop-in nature program where parents and their pre-school aged children and infants can come together to connect with each other, learn about nature in fun and engaging ways, and support the development of early literacy skills.
Lead by our amazing, superstar Nature Centre volunteer Kerrie Talbot, a retired Early Childhood Educator and Library Assistant. It’s grounded in nature stories and learning with a strong social and emotional health component.
Hope to see you there!
