BC Naturalists Foundation Annual Report to the Members of BC Nature The BC Naturalists Foundation supports BC Nature and member club projects to help communities connect with nature, to better understand nature and to restore natural areas. In 2016 the Foundation contributed $13,000 to BC Nature. These funds were augmented from the Club Support reserve fund and a total of $14,425 was awarded to nine clubs projects in early 2017. In several cases, the Foundation funds assisted the club to obtain additional grants and support. All these projects involve considerable volunteer time, and the BC Naturalists Foundation and BC Nature applaud the tremendous contributions of club volunteers to further the voice of nature in their local communities. Here s a brief update on each project: Bulkley Valley Naturalists: Bulkley Valley Perpetual Nature Diary. The intent of the project is to combine the talents of Bulkley Valley artists with long-term natural history data collected by BV Naturalists club members over many years to produce an illustrated perpetual nature diary for the Bulkley Valley. Moose rut by Klara Filipovska As of the middle of June the artwork was more than 75% complete and scanned and most of the captions completed. The essays are well underway and the target completion date looks achievable. Comox Valley Nature: Wetlands Restoration. This project is to protect the values of wetlands and natural spaces in the valley, using an integrated program of removal and replacement of invasive species, and public education. To the end of June removal of invasives had been undertaken at six locations and over 500 native plants had been rescued from an area set to undergo tree clearing. Most of the rescued plants have now been replanted at several different areas. Volunteers relocating Erythronium
Work on the project will continue through September. Cowichan Valley Naturalists: Bring Back the Bluebird. This is a multiyear project started in 2012 but funded by BC Nature and the Foundation for the first time this year. It involves translocating bluebirds from other areas and monitoring their success. To date we have seen a return of 20 known adults (expected to rise) with 7 breeding pairs. The birds have thus far produced 18 juveniles of which most have fledged, as well as one keen pair having already started laying their third clutch! We have had a few birds die, as is to be expected in these projects. We anticipate discovering more birds throughout the season as we have had several sightings reported in various locations as well as a handful of partial band sightings. New for this year is our volunteer nest box monitoring program. For the first time, our network of ~250 nest boxes are being monitored by a team of 15 CVNS volunteers who have adopted a trail of 3-30 boxes each and who monitor them every two weeks. With the oversight of project staff each box is being monitored regularly and we are happy to report that the swallows and chickadees, which mostly frequent our boxes, seem to be doing very well. Though the numbers are a bit lower than we expected for June we are still very optimistic moving ahead and look forward to seeing further additions the birds make to the population in the coming months! Delta Naturalists Club: Chalmers Park Re-beautification. This project is an on-going project to remove non-native invasive plants (eg blackberry) and replace them with native vegetation. Starting in March of this year large amounts of blackberry and other invasive plants were removed by Club volunteers and the Burnsview Secondary School environmental studies students. The new plants were native trees (dogwoods, red cedars, elderberry, etc) and ferns. The new plants were mulched and on-going maintenance will be provided through the summer. Interpretative signage is planned but not yet underway. Moving mulch at Chalmers Park Kitimat Valley Naturalists: Bat Condo. Two condos were completed; one main condo and a second smaller one. Time will tell how successful the project is when bat numbers are tabulated over the following years. Interpretative signage is yet to be installed.
Bat condo Langley Field Naturalists: Budding Bird Enthusiasts Brochure. A brochure illustrating the most common birds of the Langley area was thought to be a useful tool for educating the public about the local environment and for helping to recruit new members for the Club. Based on a design first used by the Delta Naturalists, a brochure was designed and 5000 copies printed. The brochure has been distributed through the local elementary schools and the Fraser Valley Library system as well as other means. More than 3,000 brochures have been distributed in the short time since publication. Lillooet Naturalists Society: Monitoring of the mid-fraser River White Sturgeon. This project, which has the Lillooet Nats partnering with the local BC Conservation officer and the local fishing guides, is designed to increase our knowledge of the sturgeon population in this section of the Fraser River. Tags and a scanner have been purchased and fish are being tagged before being released (all sturgeon fishing is catch and release). Community education and outreach is also being undertaken with two well attended community meetings being held in May and June. Additional community outreach will take place during the annual Lillooet Sturgeon Derby held in July. Two of our young Sturgeon fisher guides Nick McCabe and Dylan Harder holding a Sturgeon correctly. This is one of the fish that have been tagged through our project. The Guides are volunteering their time to participate.
Pender Island Field Naturalists: Brochure Redesign More than just for the birds. This is the first phase of an ongoing project to produce a consistent, up-date communications package for the Club (membership brochure, website, bird list, etc). The rationale is that new consistent and modern communications material will help recruit new members, help keep existing members more involved and promote the Club and its activities within the community. As of late June the brochure content has been rewritten from scratch, meetings have been held with a local designer and firmer cost estimates obtained. The brochure is on track to be produced prior to year-end. Rocky Point Bird Observatory: Nocturnal Owl Migration Monitoring Project. This project doesn t officially get underway until September 15 th so there is little to report. Two qualified banders have been hired and a crew of approximately 60 volunteers are eager and waiting to start. South Okanagan Naturalists Club: New bird blind at Vaseux Lake IBA. This project was actually given a club support grant in 2015 but the project was delayed for a number of reasons. The proponents of the project are happy to announce that the blind was completed this spring and is now open for viewing. BC Naturalists Foundation Purpose To promote the preservation of the natural environment for future generations through conservation, education and research projects. History The BC Naturalists Foundation was formed in 1990 by members of the Federation of BC Naturalists (BC Nature) to receive donations and bequests to further the work of naturalists in BC. Since inception the Foundation capital has grown to more than $700,000 through donations, bequests and positive investment results. The Foundation has provided more than $155,000 for a wide variety of projects of BC Nature and its member clubs. The project grants are funded annually from the investment earnings on donations. A complete list of grants awarded by the BC Naturalists Foundation is available on the Foundation s webpage or by contacting the BC Nature office. The Foundation s Directors 2017: President Bob Handfield; Vice-President Tom Bearss; Treasurer David Tsang; Secretary Heather Neville; Directors Gerald McKeating, Bev Ramey, Kees Visser, Pat Westheuser. Alan Burger and Rad
Governance The governance of the Foundation is closely linked to BC Nature. BC Nature s meeting of the Club Directors appoints the members of the Foundation and nominates the Directors of the Foundation. Like BC Nature, the Foundation strives to have a Board whose Directors represent all regions of the province. If you are interested in assisting the Foundation, please contact the President.
Financial Statements and Highlights - Fiscal 2016 Statement of Operations and Changes in Net Assets - For the year ending December 31 2016 2015 Revenue excluding donations from BC Nature members Investment Income Vancouver Foundation $ 7,949 $ 7,545 Interest and divident income 8,984 7,600 Gain on disposal of investments 13,029 11,777 Unrealized gains on marketable securities - net 1,969 3,606 31,931 30,528 Donations - director expenses 956 32,887 30,528 Operating Expenses Advertising and promotion 839 611 Review engagement fees 1,128 1,895 Investment management fees 3,240 3,142 Meetings and directors' expenses 956 122 Other 484 492 6,647 6,262 Excess of revenue over expenses, before BC Nature Donations 26,240 24,266 Donation to BC Nature (13,000) (12,000) Donations and bequests earned (other than director expenses) 102,175 3,705 Excess of revenue over expenses 115,415 15,971 Net assets, beginning of year 319,326 303,355 Net assets, end of year $ 434,741 $ 319,326 Statement of Financial Position - at December 31 2016 2015 Assets Investments $ 401,595 $ 315,320 Cash and accounts receivable 34,683 5,851 436,278 321,171 Liabilities Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 1,537 1,845 Net assets 434,741 319,326 $ 436,278 $ 321,171 All of the donations and bequests received from BC Nature members are invested to increase the donations for BC Nature and club support projects in future years. The BC Naturalists' Foundation financial statements do not include capital totaling $229,077 (2015 - $219,348) which was invested with the Vancouver Foundation in prior years. The aggregate of the capital held directly by the Foundation and Vancouver Foundation is $630,672 (2015 - $534,668). The annual donation to BC Nature is dependent on the distribution from the Vancouver Foundation, income earned on investments held by the Foundation and the Foundation's operating expenses. In 2016, the donation to BC Nature was $13,000 (2015 - $12,000). In 2013, the Foundation signed a discretionary investment management agreement with Odlum Brown. While Odlum Brown has the expertise to choose fixed income and equities to maximize the Fouundatin's investment income, the Board continues to dictate the asset allocation (level of fixed income versus equity investments) and monitors the portfolio to ensure that there are no investments in companies whose operations run counter to BC Nature's mission. A complete copy of BC Naturalists' Foundation's financial statements (include review engagement report) is available on the Foundation's webpage or through the BC Nature office.