RAINY RIVER VALLEY FIELD NATURALISTS
Alberton Municipal Building
Meeting #127
Monday, November 8, 2021
Present: Ilka Milne, Henry Van Ael, Bob Saunders, Henry Miller, Mike Hammond, Randy Spritt. Attending virtually via Google Meet were Pat Donahue, Wolfgang Blitzer, Phyllis Callaghan and Dale Callaghan.
Presentation: Prior to the call to order Ilka Milne gave a slide presentation, An Introduction to Mosses. She briefly discussed what mosses were and how they related evolutionarily to the plant kingdom, how they reproduced, their main growth forms, and their ecological role. She noted their vital importance vis-à-vis climate change by their ability to store huge amounts of carbon, their importance in water control and soil growth by their capacity to store water, and their growing importance as a tool to monitor pollution. Mosses absorb carbon dioxide and are very slow to decompose, forming deep layers of peat. Peatlands store 30 percent of the world’s soil carbon, and 25 percent of that is stored in Canada’s peatlands. Ilka emphasized the importance of maintaining peatlands. Canada has the largest area of peatlands in the word, mostly located in our boreal forest. That region is warming 2-3 times the world’s rate, so the consequences of losing peatlands could be catastrophic, amplifying the effect of climate change. Ilka noted that she will see if the presentation can be posted to the website.
Call to Order: Meeting called to order by club president Ilka Milne at 1940 hrs.
Agenda: Henry Van Ael made a motion to accept the Agenda as distributed. Henry Miller seconded
Carried…
Minutes: Wolfgang Blitzer made a motion to accept the minutes of Meeting #126 (August 9, 2021), as previously distributed via email. Seconded by Pat Donahue. Bob agreed to take over the role of Secretary for this meeting, as Gaby was unable to attend.
Carried…
Treasurer’s Report: Henry Van Ael reported approximately $350 had been withdrawn since the last meeting for the purchase of cedar boards for the Cranberry Peatland boardwalk and 7 hats. We have $2943.61 currently in our account at RBC. Bob made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report as discussed. Henry Miller seconded.
Carried…
Old Business:
a) Insurance policy through Ontario Nature update
Henry Van Ael notified Ontario Nature that the club intends to continue to purchase a group insurance policy through them and to pay the outstanding balance of $410.40 owed to them (note: the cub was not aware that we were still being covered from 2015 onward). The annual fee will be approximately $250. The funds have yet to be withdrawn.
b) RRVFN Hats
Ilka noted that the 7 hats ordered from Baker Graphics had arrived and all have been sold. It was decided to buy 6 more to have on hand. She also noted that T-shirts are also available if we desire to purchase them.
c) Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas-3 progress update
Bob noted the first year of the Atlas went well and that regional coordinators are now doing data review for this year’s atlassing and this needs to be done by the end of November. He said that various species are considered rare or sensitive and records of these birds need to be documented before being accepted. Codes for breeding evidence also need to be checked for mistakes. After being reviewed by the RC’s, the records will then be checked by the significant birds committee. Ilka suggested that we have a field trip in May to acquaint members with the atlas methods and to encourage them to do bird surveys for the atlas.
Note: At this point the virtual meeting abruptly ended. We did not realize that the free Google Meet program lasts only one hour. A longer meeting requires a paid subscription.
Committee Reports:
a) Blog/Website (org):
New material continues to be added to the website. Bob once again asked members to contribute articles.
b) Special Events:
Field trips were advertised but only Ilka and Bob attended these. The pandemic continues to impact these events. Hopefully, if the pandemic eases next year, more people will feel comfortable attending them. Bob, Henry, and Ilka visited the Oak Grove Nature Conservancy in late-October and flagged the trails. The intent is to brush cut them next year.
c) Publicity:
Nothing has been done since the last meeting. Randy will check with the Fort Frances Library about posting information about the club.
d) Bog/Boardwalk:
Ahlan was not present to give his report, but sent a written report. On September 18th Ahlan conferred with Ilka and Henry Van Ael regarding the purchase of cedar boards to replace a significant number of rotting boards on the Cranberry Peatlands boardwalk. A decision was made to purchase 26 four-foot cedar boards from Donald Shute who owns a saw mill. Also 2 eight-foot pressure treated boards were purchased from McMunn and Yates. On September 22 Donald Shute delivered 28 cedar boards (2 extras in addition) to Henry and Ilka’s property. On October 1st Ahlan replaced 2 rotten boards near the start of the boardwalk with pressure treated boards, and the next day a work party comprised of Ahlan Johannsen, Henry Van Ael, Ilka Milne, Randy Spritt, and Marty Emond replaced 4 pressure treated bards and 6 cedar boards. 24 boards have been replaced in April and October. The observation deck has settled and is no longer level. There is a distinct downward slant when looking northward from the south side of the deck. The boardwalk will also be need to lifted in places. The interpretive signs have been removed and the boardwalk is ready for winter.
e) Report on Ontario Nature’s Northern Regional Fall Meeting:
Ilka attended the Zoom meeting and presented a written report:
”After introductions we heard from Jackie Ho, Protected Places Coordinator for Ontario Nature. She showed us a map her team has made which illustrates the protected areas in Ontario and tabulates the percentage area of Ontario which has bee protected. It is called the protected places story map. The goal is 25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030. I noticed Provincially Significant wetlands and ANSI’s (Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest) shown in our district in the ‘unceded crown land’ category on her map. The Dryden FN president notes that only 4-5% is protected in the Dryden district and wondered if there are statistics breaking down this finer sort of detail, rather than looking at provincial totals. Jackie was going to look into that. The Dryden FN president also noted that the Dryden forest unit is not FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified. Currently almost 65% of managed forests in Ontario are FSC certified. Jackie also mentioned that her team would soon be distributing resources for member groups to use in speaking with politicians seeking office in the upcoming Ontario election. Gerry Racey TBFN) notes that provincial parks aren’t included in the stats and that wilderness parks like Quetico and Wabakimi should be incorporated.
Next up was a guest speaker from Climate Legacy. Rieky Stuart explained that this group is 1.5 years old and now includes 33 member groups. They engage and mobilize older Canadians in climate action in three areas – contributing their time, voice, and money. She noted some actions which have been made a difference – getting local governments to declare a climate emergency and make an action plan in one area prompted the local government to review their municipal fleet and switch to electric, including the school buses. Labour unions are part of this initiative and are working to develop green transition plans that are fair to workers in dying sectors.
Next up were the group activities updates. Most of the other club reps spoke before me, and all that I heard from had grown in number through the pandemic, it seems, by getting new members willing to join online meetings. Because my internet was not working with Zoom I did not easily participate in this discussion so was unable to ask them how. TBFN saw growth and have started and interesting youth wing through online and digital resources housed under three programs: Wolf Packs (for children 6-11), Efts (for youth 12-15), and NEWT (Nature Explorers With Technology, for youth 15-19 years old)). One of the tools used is iNaturalist. One group (Nipissing FN, I think) mentioned that a member had been banned from birdwatching at their local sewage lagoon and they were looking for input from other groups regarding our relationship with municipalities and their sewage lagoons. I wanted to jump in and ask about best practices regarding vegetation management in lagoons, as we had observed this year that Emo had removed all of the cattails when there were still young Killdeer, Sora, and other species present. But I couldn’t, as no one could hear me!
This is something our club should think about learning form other clubs:
– lagoon management
– how to engage members online
– how to engage youths”
New Business:
a) New membership form:
Ilka created a new membership form and posted it on the website. A waiver and release form for field trips was also posted on the website.
b) Booking the Shaw Room at the Fort Frances Library:
Ilka reported that currently the library charges $30/hour for the use of the Shaw Room but only allows 12 people, masked and double vaccinated owing to the ongoing pandemic. It was decided that there is no point in having a meeting there until the pandemic restrictions are lifted. The main purpose for using the Shaw Room would be to attract new members and since more than half of the audience would be current member who regularly attend the club meetings, it would serve no purpose in recruiting new members.
c) Christmas Bird Count:
The Fort Frances CBC will be held Saturday, December 18th.
Tales from the Wild Side:
Bob mentioned that once the leaves had dropped, he was finally able to find three feeders a bear had escaped with earlier in the summer while he, Henry and Ilka were doing bird surveys for the OBB Atlas in Quetico Park. All were found in three different locations each more than 300 metres form the cabin. He also mentioned that he found 15-20 Compton Tortoiseshells attached, with wings folded, to the back of framed pictures in his outhouse. These butterflies overwinter as adults and are among the first butterflies to emerge in the spring when temperatures range above 10C. How that many managed to squeeze into the outhouse is a bit of a mystery. While they are not uncommon it is unusual to see more than one or two at a time. Bob also reported that he participated in the annual NWOBirds fall roundup on November 6. He counted 30 species of birds in the Emo to Fort Frances area, including seeing a group of 31 Trumpeter Swans near the corner of Emo and Carpenter Roads in a harvested corn field that is used on a consistent basis by Trumpeters both in spring and fall. The full list of birds seen will be presented on the website once the results have been tabulated. Henry Van Ael reported that he has been seeing many raptors recently, especially Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks.
Ilka suggested that a photo show-and-tell might attract more members and non-members to the club meetings, and initiated what is hoped to become a regular feature of the meetings. She showed several photos of mushrooms, especially edible ones, and explained how to identify those particular mushrooms. Ilka also had photos of a Geometridae moth, Nepytia canosaria (False Hemlock Looper), which had dropped in for a visit to her home.
Afterward, Ilka showed the group mosses she had collected from her property. We saw examples of Sphagnum, Acrocarpous, and Pleurocarpous mosses, the three growth forms of mosses discussed in her slide presentation, An Introduction to Mosses.
Next Meeting: Monday, February 7, 2022, 7:00 pm, Alberton Municipal Office
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 2115 hrs. Moved by Bob, seconded by Randy.
Carried…
RAINY RIVER VALLEY FIELD NATURALISTS
Alberton Municipal Building
Meeting #127
Monday, November 8, 2021
Present: Ilka Milne, Henry Van Ael, Bob Saunders, Henry Miller, Mike Hammond, Randy Spritt. Attending virtually via Google Meet were Pat Donahue, Wolfgang Blitzer, Phyllis Callaghan and Dale Callaghan.
Presentation: Prior to the call to order Ilka Milne gave a slide presentation, An Introduction to Mosses. She briefly discussed what mosses were and how they related evolutionarily to the plant kingdom, how they reproduced, their main growth forms, and their ecological role. She noted their vital importance vis-à-vis climate change by their ability to store huge amounts of carbon, their importance in water control and soil growth by their capacity to store water, and their growing importance as a tool to monitor pollution. Mosses absorb carbon dioxide and are very slow to decompose, forming deep layers of peat. Peatlands store 30 percent of the world’s soil carbon, and 25 percent of that is stored in Canada’s peatlands. Ilka emphasized the importance of maintaining peatlands. Canada has the largest area of peatlands in the word, mostly located in our boreal forest. That region is warming 2-3 times the world’s rate, so the consequences of losing peatlands could be catastrophic, amplifying the effect of climate change. Ilka noted that she will see if the presentation can be posted to the website.
Call to Order: Meeting called to order by club president Ilka Milne at 1940 hrs.
Agenda: Henry Van Ael made a motion to accept the Agenda as distributed. Henry Miller seconded. Carried…
Minutes: Wolfgang Blitzer made a motion to accept the minutes of Meeting #126 (August 9, 2021), as previously distributed via email. Seconded by Pat Donahue. Bob agreed to take over the role of Secretary for this meeting, as Gaby was unable to attend.
Carried…
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer’s Financial Report (Henry Van Ael)
Henry reported approximately $350 had been withdrawn since the last meeting for the purchase of cedar boards for the Cranberry Peatland boardwalk and 7 hats. We have $2943.61 currently in our account at RBC. Bob made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report as discussed. Henry Miller seconded.
Carried…
Old Business:
a) Insurance policy through Ontario Nature update
Henry Van Ael notified Ontario Nature that the club intends to continue to purchase a group insurance policy through them and to pay the outstanding balance of $410.40 owed to them (note: the cub was not aware that we were still being covered from 2015 onward). The annual fee will be approximately $250. The funds have yet to be withdrawn.
b) RRVFN Hats
Ilka noted that the 7 hats ordered from Baker Graphics had arrived and all have been sold. It was decided to buy 6 more to have on hand. She also noted that T-shirts are also available if we desire to purchase them.
c) Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas-3 progress update
Bob noted the first year of the Atlas went well and that regional coordinators are now doing data review for this year’s atlassing and this needs to be done by the end of November. He said that various species are considered rare or sensitive and records of these birds need to be documented before being accepted. Codes for breeding evidence also need to be checked for mistakes. After being reviewed by the RC’s, the records will then be checked by the significant birds committee. Ilka suggested that we have a field trip in May to acquaint members with the atlas methods and to encourage them to do bird surveys for the atlas.
Note: At this point the virtual meeting abruptly ended. We did not realize that the free Google Meet program lasts only one hour. A longer meeting requires a paid subscription.
Committee Reports:
a) Blog/Website (org): New material continues to be added to the website. Bob once again asked members to contribute articles.
b) Special Events: Field trips were advertised but only Ilka and Bob attended these. The pandemic continues to impact these events. Hopefully, if the pandemic eases next year, more people will feel comfortable attending them. Bob, Henry, and Ilka visited the Oak Grove Nature Conservancy in late-October and flagged the trails. The intent is to brush cut them next year.
c) Publicity: Nothing has been done since the last meeting. Randy will check with the Fort Frances Library about posting information about the club.
d) Bog/Boardwalk: Ahlan was not present to give his report, but sent a written report. On September 18th Ahlan conferred with Ilka and Henry Van Ael regarding the purchase of cedar boards to replace a significant number of rotting boards on the Cranberry Peatlands boardwalk. A decision was made to purchase 26 four-foot cedar boards from Donald Shute who owns a saw mill. Also 2 eight-foot pressure treated boards were purchased from McMunn and Yates. On September 22 Donald Shute delivered 28 cedar boards (2 extras in addition) to Henry and Ilka’s property. On October 1st Ahlan replaced 2 rotten boards near the start of the boardwalk with pressure treated boards, and the next day a work party comprised of Ahlan Johannsen, Henry Van Ael, Ilka Milne, Randy Spritt, and Marty Emond replaced 4 pressure treated bards and 6 cedar boards. 24 boards have been replaced in April and October. The observation deck has settled and is no longer level. There is a distinct downward slant when looking northward from the south side of the deck. The boardwalk will also be need to lifted in places. The interpretive signs have been removed and the boardwalk is ready for winter.
e) Report on Ontario Nature’s Northern Regional Fall Meeting: Ilka attended the Zoom meeting and presented a written report:
”After introductions we heard from Jackie Ho, Protected Places Coordinator for Ontario Nature. She showed us a map her team has made which illustrates the protected areas in Ontario and tabulates the percentage area of Ontario which has bee protected. It is called the protected places story map. The goal is 25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030. I noticed Provincially Significant wetlands and ANSI’s (Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest) shown in our district in the ‘unceded crown land’ category on her map. The Dryden FN president notes that only 4-5% is protected in the Dryden district and wondered if there are statistics breaking down this finer sort of detail, rather than looking at provincial totals. Jackie was going to look into that. The Dryden FN president also noted that the Dryden forest unit is not FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified. Currently almost 65% of managed forests in Ontario are FSC certified. Jackie also mentioned that her team would soon be distributing resources for member groups to use in speaking with politicians seeking office in the upcoming Ontario election. Gerry Racey TBFN) notes that provincial parks aren’t included in the stats and that wilderness parks like Quetico and Wabakimi should be incorporated.
Next up was a guest speaker from Climate Legacy. Rieky Stuart explained that this group is 1.5 years old and now includes 33 member groups. They engage and mobilize older Canadians in climate action in three areas – contributing their time, voice, and money. She noted some actions which have been made a difference – getting local governments to declare a climate emergency and make an action plan in one area prompted the local government to review their municipal fleet and switch to electric, including the school buses. Labour unions are part of this initiative and are working to develop green transition plans that are fair to workers in dying sectors.
Next up were the group activities updates. Most of the other club reps spoke before me, and all that I heard from had grown in number through the pandemic, it seems, by getting new members willing to join online meetings. Because my internet was not working with Zoom I did not easily participate in this discussion so was unable to ask them how. TBFN saw growth and have started and interesting youth wing through online and digital resources housed under three programs: Wolf Packs (for children 6-11), Efts (for youth 12-15), and NEWT (Nature Explorers With Technology, for youth 15-19 years old)). One of the tools used is iNaturalist. One group (Nipissing FN, I think) mentioned that a member had been banned from birdwatching at their local sewage lagoon and they were looking for input from other groups regarding our relationship with municipalities and their sewage lagoons. I wanted to jump in and ask about best practices regarding vegetation management in lagoons, as we had observed this year that Emo had removed all of the cattails when there were still young Killdeer, Sora, and other species present. But I couldn’t, as no one could hear me!
This is something our club should think about learning form other clubs:
– lagoon management
– how to engage members online
– how to engage youths”
New Business:
a) New membership form: Ilka created a new membership form and posted it on the website. A waiver and release form for field trips was also posted on the website.
b) Booking the Shaw Room at the Fort Frances Library: Ilka reported that currently the library charges $30/hour for the use of the Shaw Room but only allows 12 people, masked and double vaccinated owing to the ongoing pandemic. It was decided that there is no point in having a meeting there until the pandemic restrictions are lifted. The main purpose for using the Shaw Room would be to attract new members and since more than half of the audience would be current member who regularly attend the club meetings, it would serve no purpose in recruiting new members.
c) Christmas Bird Count: The Fort Frances CBC will be held Saturday, December 18th.
Tales from the Wild Side:
Bob mentioned that once the leaves had dropped, he was finally able to find three feeders a bear had escaped with earlier in the summer while he, Henry and Ilka were doing bird surveys for the OBB Atlas in Quetico Park. All were found in three different locations each more than 300 metres form the cabin. He also mentioned that he found 15-20 Compton Tortoiseshells attached, with wings folded, to the back of framed pictures in his outhouse. These butterflies overwinter as adults and are among the first butterflies to emerge in the spring when temperatures range above 10C. How that many managed to squeeze into the outhouse is a bit of a mystery. While they are not uncommon it is unusual to see more than one or two at a time. Bob also reported that he participated in the annual NWOBirds fall roundup on November 6. He counted 30 species of birds in the Emo to Fort Frances area, including seeing a group of 31 Trumpeter Swans near the corner of Emo and Carpenter Roads in a harvested corn field that is used on a consistent basis by Trumpeters both in spring and fall. The full list of birds seen will be presented on the website once the results have been tabulated. Henry Van Ael reported that he has been seeing many raptors recently, especially Rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks.
Ilka suggested that a photo show-and-tell might attract more members and non-members to the club meetings, and initiated what is hoped to become a regular feature of the meetings. She showed several photos of mushrooms, especially edible ones, and explained how to identify those particular mushrooms. Ilka also had photos of a Geometridae moth, Nepytia canosaria (False Hemlock Looper), which had dropped in for a visit to her home.
Afterward, Ilka showed the group mosses she had collected from her property. We saw examples of Sphagnum, Acrocarpous, and Pleurocarpous mosses, the three growth forms of mosses discussed in her slide presentation, An Introduction to Mosses.
Next Meeting: Monday, February 7, 2022, 7:00 pm, Alberton Municipal Office
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 2115 hrs. Moved by Bob, seconded by Randy.
Carried…
Polytrichum juniperinum (Juniper Haircap Moss). an example of an Acrocarpous moss.
Polytrichum juniperinum (Juniper Haircap Moss). an example of an Acrocarpous moss.
Nepytia canosaria (False Hemlock Looper)
Nepytia canosaria (False Hemlock Looper)
