I attended a lichen walk that was organised by the Natural History Society. Unlike most other events this one required pre-registration to ensure that the group was manageable for teaching. It was held at Thetis Lake and after attended a moss walk a month previous I purchased a new piece of technology. Well new for me and it is my new favourite piece of technology. It’s a hand lens.

The hand lens opens up extremely clear images of very small organisms. A lot of the lichens, mushrooms, and mosses that can’t be seen clearly without a lens. It is very helpful for identifying different species but it can also lead to seeing some remarkably beautiful things. Mine cost me 60$ at the Rockhound Shop on Cloverdale. You can get much cheaper hand lenses online but the quality of the image will suffer. Mine may be a bit overboard for image quality but I adore it.

The lichen walk was very enlightening. Lichens are incredibly interesting as lichens can be composed of symbiotic relationships between up to five different kingdoms. A “typical” lichen is composed of a fungi, an algae and a yeast. Lichens is an area of study that is in desperate need of researchers. There’s still a lot we don’t know about them. Juliet Pendray led this walk and she teaches a class on lichens at Royal Roads University. If you are interested I recommend it highly. https://secure.royalroads.ca/cscourses/enlichenment-level-one-introduction-to-lichens

Juliet Pendray will be leading a lichen walk on February 24th for those interested in the local lichen species. You have to pre-register with Agnes Lynn if you’d like to participate. The number of spots are limited. It’s with the Natural History Society where you can pay a 25$ fee for a year membership but you are welcome to come to four events for free before becoming a member. Information to register: https://www.vicnhs.bc.ca/?page_id=1518

Juliet Pendray is a naturalist who is offering courses at Royal Roads University. https://secure.royalroads.ca/cscourses/juliet-pendray

I don’t have a Mac but I did find the iMovie software intuitive and I think this is a useful skill to have for my future teaching. This would be an easy to use software to allow kids to create video assignments.

Thursday, January 17, 2019
The Extraordinary Biodiversity Value in Metchosin With Andy Mackinnon

Meeting at 7:00pm Speaker 7:45-8:30pm

WHERE: UVic, MacLaurin Bldg, Rm D-288 (NEW ROOM) in D-Wing

Andy Mackinnon is one of Vancouver Island’s most famous botanists and mycologists. He has written what is commonly referred to as the “Bible” for learning the plants in the area. He is an exceptional and humorous speaker and you can drop in for free. I’ll be there and everyone is welcome.

Cost: Members: FREE  (Membership $25/yr)

Non-Members: drop-in by donation

Students: FREE
Notes: $3.00 for parking at UVic