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May eNewsletter

Dear friends of Colony Farm,

Here’s the news from Colony Farm Regional Park, and a look at what’s coming up shortly!

Content:

  • April updates - wetland egg mass surveys & meadow seeding!
  • Bat Basics webinar & Bat counts!
  • Regional Parks Snap & Share iNaturalist event
  • Upcoming volunteer opportunities
As the weather warms up and May is upon us, most of the egg masses in the wetlands have hatched. During our spring surveys, we found 4 native amphibian species!

A numbers breakdown (images - : 1 Red-legged frog, 11 Northwestern Salamander, 9 Long-toed Salamander, and 99 Pacific Tree Frog!

Some of these were attached to the branches we installed in March, where vegetation had not yet filled in along the edge of the new wetland - so those were a success!

It’s pretty thrilling to see all the cool critters already using the site, and to think of how many little tadpoles and salamander larvae are swimming around and growing up in the wetland.
While surveying, we had amazing views of this adult Pacific Tree frog! Did you know that they have 3 morphs - green, brown, and colour-changers that can shift between the two over days to weeks to match seasonal habitat changes? This looker was more yellow than most others I’ve seen!
We also overseeded the wildflower meadow across from the new wetland on the Sheep Paddocks trail with a seed mix including native wildflowers and grasses to enhance its habitat value for native wildlife. Our stewardship activities this summer will target reinvading reed canary grass to prevent it from forming a monoculture.
This year, Colony Farm Park Association will be running the Annual Bat Count program at the park.

We are looking for volunteers to help with the counts! This will involve an optional training session on May 12 or 14, followed by two bat counts in June and two in July, conducted for 1 hour after sunset.

As a kick off to upcoming bat counts we are excited to offer a virtual presentation on BC bats, Tuesday May 4th at 6pm. This is a great way to learn about BC bats, their biology, life cycle, threats, and the BC Annual Bat Count. Register now for this FREE event.

Presented by BC Community Bat Count Coordinators & hosted by Colony Farm Park Association, Minnekhada Park Association, and the Pacific Parklands Foundation.

We strongly encourage anyone who is interested in participating in counts to attend the webinar!
Colony Farm Park Association will be participating in the Regional Parks Snap & Share from May 15 to June 13!  

This spring, explore Metro Vancouver’s regional parks and greenways. Pay attention to plants and wildlife you haven’t noticed before. Then simply snap photos of what you discover and share your photos on iNaturalist.

iNaturalist is a great way to build your nature knowledge and get feedback on your observations. What’s more, you’ll be joining a global community of citizen scientists and contributing to biodiversity science.

It’s a fun outdoor activity for everyone, on your own or with your family bubble.

Check out the details and register for prizes here!

New to iNaturalist? Attend an introduction to iNaturalist webinar to get started!
Tuesday May 11th, 6:30-7:30pm. Presented by John Reynolds, SFU professor and iNaturalist expert. Register here.

Upcoming volunteer opportunities

We have a variety of volunteer opportunities for stewardship and wildlife monitoring in the park. This month these include -

  • Turtle basking surveys - Saturday May 22, 1:00pm
  • Wetland water quality monitoring - Saturday May 29, 10:00am

We will also be starting monthly bird surveys (If you're an experienced birder who could lead counts, we'd love to have more leaders!) and mapping invasive species in the wetland restoration areas.

We’re looking for volunteers. Your support makes these programs possible. We look forward to getting out in the park and seeing some cool wildlife. Send us an email at colonyfarmparkassociation@gmail.com if you are interested in participating!

For the latest on our activities you can also follow us on social media @colonyfarmparkassociation (on Facebook and Instagram). If you want to pass along the link, anyone can subscribe to the eNewsletter here.

You can also email us if you have stories or photos to share. You could be featured in a future newsletter!

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Visit our website at https://colonyfarmpa.com/

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Colony Farm Park Association · 1008 Corona Cres · Coquitlam, BC V3J 6Y9 · Canada

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