RAINY RIVER VALLEY FIELD NATURALISTS
Alberton Municipal Building
Meeting # 125
Monday, November 9, 2020
Present: Mike Hammond, Henry Miller, Gaby Emond, Ilka Milne, Henry Van Ael, Bob Saunders, Amanda Jacobs (new member, welcome)
Call to Order: Meeting called to order by club president Ilka Milne at 1835 hrs.
Agenda: Gaby made a motion to accept the Agenda as distributed. Henry van Ael seconded.
Carried…
Minutes: Ilka made a motion to accept the minutes of Meeting # 124 (September 7, 2020), as previously distributed via email. Seconded by Bob Saunders.
Carried…
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer’s Financial Report (Henry Van Ael)
Henry reported that as of October 31, 2020, we had $3162.35 remaining in our account at RBC. The bank statements were not circulated as a COVID 19 precaution. Currently there are no outstanding bills, and we have one outstanding deposit for $170.00 (membership fee/donation).Amanda immediately settled up with Henry bringing our monies still to be deposited to $210.00 (These funds will show up in the next Treasurer’s Report at our next meeting).Bob made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report as discussed, Henry Miller seconded.
Carried…
Club Correspondence:
There has been one piece of correspondence received by the secretary since our last meeting announcing that Ontario Nature’s AGM (Annual General Meeting) will be held virtually via Zoom Saturday, November 14 @ 1000 EST. All members are invited to join. They will be discussing:
i) Collective achievements over the last year;
ii) Ontario Nature’s vision for upcoming year;
iii) election of the new Board executive
Interested club members may inform Gaby who will forward you the link to sign up.
Old Business:
a) NCC letter (Ilka) The NCC would like us to go ahead and clear the trails on the Oak Grove property. Gas & mileage will be reimbursed. In preparation Ilka has received a detailed manual to fill out, waivers to sign, and Apps to fill out online for the direct reporting option. She also was given the most likely to be used option of just reporting back in an email how things are going out there and what work has been done.
b) Ontario Nature Group Membership (Gaby) A motion was made at our last meeting to go ahead and join/rejoin Ontario Nature, so Gaby handed Henry van Ael the invoice for our renewal ($83.00), due November 30, 2020. As a member group we will now receive:
i. The monthly Nature Network News e-newsletter;
ii. access to posting of our events on the online calendar (must notify them by the 15th of the month prior);
iii. 2 copies of Ontario Natures quarterly magazine (March, June, September, December);
iv. free copies of Ontario Nature publications;
v. networking opportunities with other partner organizations and clubs;
vi. assistance with project promotion, media research, science, and conservation advice;
vii. invites to the spring and fall regional meeting and an invite to Ontario Nature’s AGM in the fall; and
viii. access to the Ontario Nature’s Club’s Insurance program (extra fees do apply to obtain).
c) Group Insurance through Ontario Nature (Gaby) Cade insurance has been providing insurance for groups under Ontario Nature for over 10 years now. Our club did have a previous policy and currently has an outstanding balance of $410.40 owed for the 2014-2015 policy term to Ontario Nature. Prior to any new insurance policies issued, this must be reconciled. All policies within the Ontario Nature insurance program have a renewal date of February 28, 2020. They recommend we carry 2 different policies- General Liability coverage ($250.00)for which the insurance company will then investigate and defend against claims of bodily injury or damage to the property of others caused by negligence or alleged negligence on our club’s part. In the event that we are found legally liable for the loss, our insurance will then pay the compensatory damage up to our agreed upon limits. Board of Director’s Liability coverage ($200.00) If through the actions or inactions of the Executive, a financial loss was sustained to a 3 rd party, our insurance would then again investigate, defend, and pay any such losses if we were deemed at fault. Much discussion ensued with respect to insurance coverage, paying the bill from 2015 etc. Apparently a registered letter was sent to our club at that time, however our longtime members cannot recall its arrival. This all occurred at a time where the club was barely alive, and communication was poor. Bob questioned that since we had so few members, and therefore not much money, should we have insurance at all.Bob made a motion to not take out any insurance whatsoever for the club. To move motion along, it was eventually seconded by Ilka.
…Motion defeated 6 against 1 in favour
The majority of the members present wished to pursue the possible purchase of a group insurance policy for General Liability only as they felt we didn’t really need the Board of Director’s coverage at this time. Bob volunteered to check with Gillon’s Insurance for a quote for General Liability insurance coverage with the same
coverage parameters as offered in the quote by Cade Insurance, and will bring it to the membership at our next meeting at which time we will make a decision on insurance coverage.
d) Clarification of Insurance Coverage at Boardwalk: Since the Cranberry Peatlands Interpretive Trail is located within the boundaries of Alberton Twp., it is automatically included in the Townships Insurance policy. Volunteers are also covered by their liability insurance if the following conditions are met:
i. they are paid and current members of the Rainy River Valley Field Naturalists
ii. they have successfully completed the Customer Service module of the AODA (Accessability for Ontarians with Disabilities Act training) with their signed Certificates of Completion submitted to Alberton Twp by December 4, 2020 (members please submit these to Henry van Ael prior to December 4 th , and he will then turn them in to the office altogether; certification is valid for 3 years).
Committee Reports:
a) Blog/ Website: (rrvfn.org) (Bob) Ilka and Bob have been doing their best to keep it updated with a “Night Sky” section recently added.
b) Special Events: (Ilka and Bob) Our ‘Night sky outing’ was cancelled due to weather. After some discussion, it was decided to not reschedule it at this time. The annual Christmas Bird count has been given the go ahead, however they strongly encourage no gatherings before or after the event due to COVID 19. Saturday, December 19th was chosen as the date for this year (the first Saturday in Ontario Nature’s allocated time block). Ilka will post the information online to encourage volunteers. Routes and plans will be handed out closer to the date via phone.
c) Publicity: Bob will post the Christmas Bird count on our website. It is doubtful that we will get many people driving around, however we do need ‘feeder watchers ’too. Henry Miller visited the new editor at the Fort Frances Times, (Megan Walchuk) who was very happy about the possibility of our group providing the paper with monthly nature articles. Henry’s latest article reporting on the club’s recent activities was printed in last week’s Times. Bob will look into getting articles posted in Atikokan and Rainy River in the future, although no paper is currently in circulation in Rainy River.
d) Bog/Boardwalk: (Mike) Mike has removed all the signage in preparation for winter. One sign of our 13 has again been vandalized and the ‘Welcome’ sign is missing. Members present agreed they should be replaced, but a motion was deferred to our meeting in February once more information regarding replacement has been researched. Mike gave itemized list of signs and who sponsored them to Gaby for the club’s records.
e) Stewardship Council: (Gaby) The Stewardship Council has been quiet. Trees (10,780 seedlings-a mixture of Red Pine and White Spruce) have been ordered for next spring and will again be dispersed by Lowey’s in Fort Frances.
New Business:
a) Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas-3: (Bob) Bob is the regional rep. for this 5 yearlong project beginning January 2021. It involves about 20 hours of general birding, and doing ‘point counts’ (listening & identifying birds by song). Maps and protocols are still being worked out and will be made available once completed. Our area has been subdivided into 10 blocks (each block covering 10 km by 10 km), and Bob is looking for volunteers to help out. If interested, please sign up online through ‘Nature Counts’ and/or email Bob @bobsaunders01@gmail.com. for more information.
b) Ontario Nature Regional Meeting: (Gaby) 3 part meeting held Nov.7th via Zoom.
i. Group Insurance (Mr. Ross Fraser from Cade Insurance) Aviva Canada is currently the insurer for those holding policies under Ontario Nature. Some of the highlights discussed were: details are very important to each club’s individual policy; the use of liability waivers is recommended, it’s best to have a separate
waiver for each event where the risks for that particular event are identified, (samples can be found online, find 1 that fits your needs and make it your own); some clubs are restricting their fieldtrips and events to members only which is also a good idea in terms of risk management when considering liability. It was also suggested that we should mark our trails with signage identifying them as ‘Natural Trails’ with which comes the expectation of the presence of naturally occurring hazards.
ii. Melina Damian spoke on her research project on Cormorants and how they are impacted by manmade debris, primarily plastics. Her research was conducted on Midway Island in the north Pacific and revealed that both entanglement and ingestion are the 2 harms to nature. When plastics enter the ocean, they act as sponges absorbing more harmful pollutants and thereby leading to bioaccumulation. There are no immediate plans to conduct a similar study in our area at present.
iii. Update on our region: (Barbara MacKenzie-Wynia, Regional Coordinator Ontario Nature) An update on various projects and conservation efforts occurring within the province was provided. Currently 1500 members with Ontario Nature. Clubs may have their events put on the Ontario Nature website as long
as they are received by the 15 th of the month prior. All club members may join the mailing list @ ontarionature.org/act
iv. Information forms: Each club has received information forms to be filled out regarding their club. Please fill out and return to Ontario Nature to be entered in their data base.(Ilka will fill out and submit)
c) Thunder Bay Naturalists (Gaby) Bruce Thacker from the Thunder Bay Naturalists has been corresponding with Gaby following the Zoom meeting re possible collaboration of our 2 clubs, perhaps conducting a Zoom meeting together to get acquainted. So far their correspondence has just involved the sharing of information: their club has 230 members; field trips/events are limited to members only; membership dues pay for the day to day costs of the club including the purchase of both General Liability insurance and Board of Director’s Insurance; they own quite a few parcels of land for nature reserves in their area with primarily fundraising facilitating their acquisition. After some discussion within those in attendance, it was decided to pursue a relationship with Thunder Bay Naturalists and perhaps have a future meeting together and invite them to our field trips. Having some of them join us later on in the summer of 2021 when we are searching for the rare dragonfly Ilka mentioned would not only be a lot of fun, but it would be beneficial to have a greater number of seekers too.
Tales From the Wild Side:
Our club recently participated in the ’Fall Roundup’, as did Atikokan and Rainy River. We had a pretty good turnout with members counting and identifying birds during the week of November 1 st 7 th inclusively. Overall we had 56 species seen during the week with 37 species identified on the actual ‘count’ day November 7th . Bob did notice a great change of both species and numbers of birds seen over the week so is thinking that in the future we will do actual counts throughout the week also. Bob currently has a Great Horned owl calling at his house while Ilka has the pleasure of listening to a Barred owl at hers. Henry Miller reports seeing a crow with white on its’ wings (other members have seen it also). Amanda says they currently have lots of wolves hanging around the New Gold mine site. The foxes out there are also really enjoying food scraps inadvertently left by humans.(it’s a fireable offence to feed the foxes at the mine site). Apparently a fox with a mouthful of moles was recently observed immediately dropping them and hurrying to a truck in eager anticipation of some delicious human food scraps (much like dogs begging). Amanda also shared a picture of a Golden Eagle she recently took at the mine site as well.
Next Meeting: February 8, 2021 @ 6:30 pm, Alberton Municipal Office
Adjournment: Gaby made a motion to adjourn @ 2028 hrs.