SIDNEY — When the punctual Bufflehead ducks return to Roberts Bay this month, they will be greeted by B.C.’s Lieutenant-Governor and representatives of the Friends of Shoal Harbour and Nature Canada.
The return of the Bufflehead is an annual event, representing one of the many migratory bird species that call Shoal Harbour their home.
This year, a ceremony was held Thursday, Oct. 15 at 11 a.m. at the beach access at the east end of Ardwell Avenue in Sidney (at Resthaven Drive). The event not only welcomed the ducks back for the winter, but kicked off a series of events.
Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon and representatives of Nature Canada will, on Friday, Oct. 16, announce the official start of a Naturehood initiative in Sidney.
In brief, NatureHood encourages people to recognize, to enjoy and to protect the natural spaces and their inhabitants, not just in remote, relatively pristine areas but close to home, where they live.
At approximately 9:45 a.m. on Oct. 16, Guichon will address students at an assembly at Parkland Secondary School. Her Honour is particularly keen on engaging young people and helping them develop a broader understanding of environmental issues. The public is invited, however seating may be limited.
That evening, at 7 p.m., there will be an illustrated public lecture at St. Paul’s United Church on Malaview Avenue in Sidney.
The topic will be the life and times of John Macoun (1831 -1920), a potato-famine Irishman who by means of hard work and a passion for botany, boot-strapped his way to become Dominion Botanist to the Canadian Geological Survey. Macoun retired to Sidney, where he continued to botanize. He was buried initially in the cemetery of Holy Trinity Church in North Saanich but because of his service to Canada, he was reinterred in Ottawa.
The lecture will be given by Macoun’s biographer, Professor of History Emeritus W.A. Waiser of the University of Saskatchewan.
For more details, visit shoalharbour.wordpress.com.
— with files from the Friends of Shoal Harbour