Free nature talks cover plenty of ground
The annual mid-winter Nature in the City illustrated talks kick-off on Tuesday. Nature London and the London Public Library are co-sponsors of this always popular free six-week series.
First up, Brian Salt will speak about wildlife rehabilitation and education. As the founder of Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre, he has a depth of knowledge and experience that he will share.
Many readers are aware of Salthaven’s work, but Salt’s presentation will be an opportunity to dive more deeply into the history, operations, and future of this institution.
Keith Hobson, a professor at Western University’s biology department, will describe his high-tech tracking of migrant birds and insects on Jan. 23.
His work with nanotechnologies and stable isotopes is fascinating and is relied on by other bird scientists. For example, it has underpinned recent research on the distribution of golden-winged and blue-winged warblers.
On Jan. 30, Western University earth sciences professor Cam Tsujita will do a bit of time travel, taking people back in history to describe the geologic events that sculpted London during the past hundreds of millions of years. Tsujita will focus in particular on the region’s minerals, rocks, and fossils.
London’s Andrew Judge, an Anishinaabe scholar who celebrates traditional ecological knowledge, will bring his experience of Indigenous teachings to the stage on Feb. 6. Judge will speak about how Indigenous perspectives can and do shape interactions with the natural world. These insights are ancient, but will be fresh for many.
On Feb. 13, Becky Ellis will speak about permaculture. This was first described in a 1978 book, Permaculture One by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren. Rather than muscling the land into a state of submission by reducing biodiversity and over-using pesticides and water, permaculuralists advocate agricultural systems that work with, not against, natural ecosystems.
The same principles can be used to transform backyards and neighborhoods. Ellis will share examples and practical permaculture techniques.
London birder and bird educator Gail McNeil will put an exclamation point on the end of the speaker series with a presentation on the evening of Feb. 20 that highlights some of her favourite local birding and hiking haunts.
McNeil bird watches across the province and around the world but she also celebrates the diversity of birds in London’s environmentally significant areas and even in her own backyard.
I checked in with Pat Tripp, the leader of the Nature in the City planning group, and asked her how this year’s line-up of speakers took shape.
“We’re intent on sharing information about the natural world right here in the London area. Londoners like this strong local link whether the theme is birds or fossils or plant life,” Tripp said.
“In response to feedback from audiences, the planning committee is also very deliberate about having an interesting balance of topics and presenters every year and even over the course of several years. Since our natural world is so diverse, there is never a shortage of presentation themes. Perhaps in 2019 our programming will include butterflies or other insects.”
Each of the six presentations starts at 7 p.m. at the Central Library’s Wolf Performance Hall at 251 Dundas St. in London. For other details go to naturelondon. com.
Nature notes
• Another free nature event is planned at the London Public Library’s Wolf Performance Hall on Feb. 27. Thames Talbot Land Trust will host Dianne Saxe, Ontario’s environmental commissioner, who will speak about climate change and the environmental challenges the province faces. To learn more visit thamestalbotlandtrust.ca and click on the events tab.
• Severe winter weather can cause some winter birds, including lingering cowbirds and American robins, to make relatively short flights further south. These birds, known as “facultative migrants,” can move into the U.S. with relative ease.
• Sustained cold weather also means more iced-over water. This concentrates waterfowl in fewer open water areas. Along the Thames River by London’s Greenway and Springbank Parks birders have been seeing interesting species such as Barrow’s goldeneye, pintail, wigeon, and horned grebe. g.paul.nicholson@gmail.com twitter.com/NicholsonNature