March 2020

e-Newsletter

Free Webinars

Volunteer Opportunities

Upcoming Events

Resources and Planning Opportunities

Last Chance for the Photo Contest

Job Opportunities

Just For Fun Dandelion Recipes

CBEEN Environmental Education Award Nominations 

Volunteer Opportunities

Testing the Waters

Many East Kootenay residents are proud to host some of the most beautiful beautiful lakes in our province. These lake help support an increasing economy as they bring hundreds of tourists from far and wide to the area we get to call home. As EKISC prepares for the upcoming field season, our operations team are well into their planning to test our lakes for invasive mussels. We hope to make it a bigger and better season, including adding more lakes to our surveys and more public education along the way. In preparation, our team is learning and researching tactics and techniques from other areas in North America that may assist the RDEK to keep our lakes clean and beautiful. Some resources we wanted to share with you include:


- Safe Guarding the West
- Developing a treatment for Alberta’s irrigation infrastructure to control invasive mussels using potash 
- Lake Georgia Aquatic Invasive Species Prevention Program 2018

 

On that note, EKISC is looking for volunteers to help with our sampling on St. Mary’s Lake throughout June, July, and August.

 

Are you someone in the area that loves their local lake and wants to learn more of the sampling methods used to test for invasive mussels? Do you have a small motorized boat with an hour or so to spare once a month? Would you like some EKISC swag to help share awareness with others?

 

Please email danny@ekisc.com if you are interested in helping us out in
the 2020 field season!

2020 Lake Sampling Volunteer Opportunities
Email Danny

ISCBC Looking For Clean Drain Dry Partners

 

The Invasive Species Council of BC (ISCBC) is partnering with aquatic stewardship groups throughout the Province to pilot newly designed CDD signs at waterfront locations in 2019 and 2020. Through these partnerships, we will promote and foster increased support and education for the prevention of aquatic invasive species, including invasive mussels, to BC. We welcome interested organizations to submit an application to be a partner in the pilot of CDD signage. 

 

Learn More About Becoming A CDD Partner

Events

Webinars 

CBEEN

There are a number of free webinars from CBEEN now open for registration, including 'Navigating Online Climate Data Sources', 'The Art and Science of Teaching Climate Change', 'The Joy of Garden-based Education' and 'Indigenous Arts and Sciences: Connecting STEM to Indigenous Science'. Register here: https://cbeen.ca/webinars/

 

NAISMA

Any member of the public can register for NAISMA's webinars:

  • March 18th at 1:00 p.m. CST

Individual plant treatment techniques for woody invasive species in the US by Stephen Enloe, University of Florida

  • February 19 at 1:00 p.m. CST

Invasive Bark and Ambrosia Beetles: Their Impacts and Detection by Robert (Bob) Rabaglia, USDA – Forest Service
 

More info and register here: https://www.naisma.org/programs/professional-development/webinars/

 

ISCBC

ISCBC offers a series of webinars on special topics for our partners, ambassadors, interested stakeholders and the general public. Webinars provide a venue for sharing current invasive species information, research, new ideas, and opportunities to take action. 

 

Find out more: https://bcinvasives.ca/resources/webinars

Photo Contest

Submissions will close March 4th and a winner will be chosen at our board meeting on March 5th. 

 

Thank you to everyone for submitting - it's going to be a hard decision to make with all the beautiful photos we have to choose from! 

Enter the Cover Shot Contest

Resources and Planning Opportunities

INTERPRETIVE BOOT BRUSH STATIONS

 

Boot brush interpretive signs are available to order now. If you're a recreational group or a land manager who's got a trail network, this can be part of your solution to managing invasive plants.

 

We've also got some smaller signs and hand held boot brushes that could work for your existing trailhead kiosk. 

 

Contact jessie@ekisc.com and she can help you sort out which stations will work best for you. 

WEED PULL SEASON IS HERE! 

 

Recreational groups, clubs, and organizations can get involved in helping remove invasive plants from areas that you live and play in. 

Contact us now to host a community weed pull. EKISC give you the tools you need (gloves, shovels, bags, and drinks) to get the job done!  

 
Get Pulling!

HAPPY PLANTING! 

 

A friendly reminder from EKISC to make sure that you know what you're growing this spring. "Wildflower" seed packages can often be a nightmare in disguise. Take a look at the species in the package and avoid Oxeye Daisy, Toadflaxes, Bachelor Buttons, and Mountain Bluet. 

 
Start Seeding!

OF COURSE WE'VE GOT COURSES!

 

EKISC delivers educational programs and workshops such as plant ID courses, art-based learning, recording and reporting courses, and management courses. We can also customize courses to suit your needs; if you have a group that would like to arrange a workshop, contact jessie@ekisc.com

SCHOOL GROUPS

 

EKISC supports educators to integrate invasive species education into their current teaching practices to enhance and diversify their student’s learning both in, and outside of, their classrooms.

 

EKISC can help organize and host a weed pull for your class, teach your students about the impacts of invasive species using fun and interactive games and activities, or help you integrate the impacts of invasive species into your curriculum. We also offer customized pro-d day courses to suite your needs. 

 

Contact jessie@ekisc.com for more info

Our Friends Are Awarding & Hiring

Columbia Basin Environmental Educators Network

CBEEN’s Awards of Excellence recognizes educators who demonstrate excellence in environmental education in the Canadian Columbia Basin. 2020 AWARD NOMINATIONS CLOSE ON AT MIDNIGHT ON APRIL 15

Nominate someone here: https://cbeen.ca/awards/

 

Central Kootenay Invasive Species Society

https://ckiss.ca/2020/02/ckiss-is-hiring-invasive-species-technicians-application-deadline-is-march-27-2020/

 

Columbia Shuswap Invasive Species Society

https://columbiashuswapinvasives.org/csiss-is-hiring-2020-job-posting/

 

Sea to Sky Invasive Species Council

https://ssisc.ca/jobs2020

 

Invasive Species Council of Metro Vancouver

http://iscmv.ca/index.php/news-events/news/jobs-jobs-jobs

 

Lake Windermere Ambassadors

http://www.lakeambassadors.ca/coordinator_2019/

 

Columbia Basin Environmental Educators Network Job Board

https://cbeen.ca/job-volunteer-board/

 

Fun Stuff

After a long winter, it can be a relief to see the first few signs of spring. Like a groundhog not seeing his shadow, the sight of dandelions, to me, is indication that warmer weather is on its way. You may not think of using dandelions in your kitchen, but they are both edible and medicinal! These dandelion recipes will get you started with using these common spring flowers.

50+ Dandelion Recipes

Wildcrafting Weeds: 20 Easy to Forage Edible and Medicinal Plants (that might be growing in your backyard!) gives you foraging and identification tips along with full colour photos and recipes for using your foraged weeds. 

1902 Theatre Road, Cranbrook, BC, Canada
1-888-55-EKISC

Share on social

Share on FacebookShare on X (Twitter)Share on Pinterest

Check out our website  
This email was created with Wix.‌ Discover More