Copy
View this email in your browser
December 20, 2020

Hello Park Ambassadors, Members, and Friends. 

In this newsletter you'll find:
  • Season's Greetings & Happy Solstice
  • DRBIPA Blog: It's Imperative We Protect the Langley Bog
  • Volunteer Celebrations
  • It's On! iNaturalist Pilot Project: Park Association vs. Park Association
  • Save The Date: AGM
  • DRBIPA Members Recommend!
Season's Greetings & Winter Solstice
Season's greetings from all of us at DRBIPA and happy winter solstice!
 
The December solstice marks the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Derived from Latin, the word solstice means the "sun stands still". It happens on a specific day each year between December 20th and 23rd. It also occurs at a specific time of day, corresponding to the instant the North Pole is aimed farthest away from the sun on the 23.5-degree tilt of the Earth's axis. Winter solstice 2020 will be at 2:02 a.m. on Monday, December 21. Tonight!

Cultures throughout the ages have viewed the winter solstice as a time for hope and resilience, in part, because of having to brave the elements in harsh winter conditions. And for many of us now, the winter solstice is still a time of reflection and new beginnings. Plus, Jupiter and Saturn will line up in the night sky on Dec. 21 in an extremely rare conjunction of the planets that hasn’t happened in nearly 400 years. An interesting and positive distraction for us nature lovers as we end the year and head into winter.

This year has been filled with new and unique challenges for us all. We've had to adapt and creatively solve problems together as a community. We're so thankful for everyone who has worked so hard to keep our parks and outdoor areas open and thriving. Along with all the people who have supported others and found ways to keep connected during these times of uncertainty. We are wishing you all a safe and wonderful holiday season and all the best in 2021!
It's Imperative We Protect the Bog

In her final year at KPU, before completing her degree in Policy Studies, Emily Poulin was able to do her practicum with DRBIPA. During her practicum, she spent the majority of time researching and organizing information on the Langley Bog to construct a timeline that would capture the Bog's historical events, land changes, and environmental value. Through her research, she learned that the Bog is home to a variety of bird species and plays a critical role in mitigating climate change through carbon sequestration.

Find out more about Emily's project and some cool facts about the Langley Bog. Click HERE to read our latest DRBIPA blog post. 

Volunteer Celebrations

Volunteers are the heart and soul of our Park Association. Our goal is to promote appreciation, understanding and enjoyment of Derby Reach and Brae Island Regional Parks while preserving and enhancing their natural features. We love planning community events and environmental conservation events in the parks - and our volunteer Park Ambassadors and Board of Directors are the driving force behind everything we do. Please take a moment to "meet" one of our dedicated volunteers and celebrate their hard work with us.

Thank you for all that you do, Dorothea Geen!

Dorothea is a dedicated and hardworking member of our Park Ambassador team. She loves being in a park amongst nature rain or shine because it feels good. She volunteers with DRBIPA to ensure our parks and trees stay healthy as being in a park makes her feel healthy and happy.  

Since starting as a volunteer, Dorothea has helped with invasive species removal and native species planting events. Plus lots of hard work mowing and digging with the pond restoration project. And she has helped with some of our community events, too, and joined us at educational walks with our expert guides.

"Our parks need to be taken care of and preserved forever. We need to be kind to our parks to keep them healthy". ~ Dorothea
It's On! iNaturalist Pilot Project
DRBIPA Members & Volunteers are invited to participate in a fun project from Dec 19 - Jan 3. The Metro Vancouver park associations and Catching The Spirit Youth Society (CTS) are planning a big iNaturalist bioblitz in the spring. Before we launch the bioblitz, we are doing a small pilot with our respective members and volunteers to get some feedback. It’s a great opportunity to get out into our regional parks with the family during the holidays.
 
We’ve set it up as a friendly competition among park associations and CTS for making species observations in iNaturalist. There are some easy steps to take in order to participate. If you missed the members-only email with full details and want to get involved or practice using iNaturalist, please reply to this email and let us know. We'll send you the details so you can join our DRBIPA team and get out into any of the Regional Parks to make some species observations before January 3rd.
Save The Date: AGM
Our DRBIPA Annual General Meeting will be hosted virtually on the evening of Thursday, February 25th, 2021. Stay tuned for full details and 2021 Membership information to arrive in your inbox this January. We hope you can make it!
DRBIPA Members Recommend!
Article: 10 Plants That Help Bees Through the Winter. Find the full BC Farms & Food article HERE.

Webinar: Join Maplewood Flats online to learn about birds at risk in the Fraser River estuary from James Casey and Graham Sorenson, of Birds Canada. January 7th at 7pm, get tickets HERE

Resources: The Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation strongly believes education is a critical component to conservation and with that in mind HCTF offers and supports education programs, grants, and other education initiatives. Find resources HERE

Community: Langley Environmental Partners Society (LEPS) is hosting an online prize giveaway this December. Find Art in Nature, or Use Nature to Create Art! Take a photo of art in nature and submit it to LEPS via email or social media for a chance to win a locally sourced gift basket.
Instagram
Facebook
Website
Copyright © 2020 DRBIPA, all rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
DRBIPA c/o Metro Vancouver Regional Parks East Area Office
1558 - 200th Street  Langley, BC  V2Z 1W5

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
 






This email was sent to <<Email Address>>
why did I get this?    unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences
Derby Reach Brae Island Parks Association · Attn: DRBIPA · c/o 1558 200th Street · Langley, BC V2Z 1W5 · Canada

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp