This Sunday,Aug 14th, Start time will be 9:30 AM  we will be cleaning up at Crosby where it crosses the German Mills creek.

Gloves and garbage bags will be supplied.  Please dress according to the weather.  Wear long pants and bring rubber boots if you have them.  Drinking water, a hat, sunscreen, bug repellant and a light snack are also recommended.

If you are interested in volunteering for this event or need further information please contact Joe Agg to register.  He can be reached by email: [email protected] or by phone: (905) 884-5012

Another lovely greenspace is under threat. The Province of Ontario has plans to build an intermodal transit hub in a natural heritage wildlife sanctuary that lies to the east of Keele Street, at the end of Rockview Gardens, south of Highway #7, and north of the 407.  This area has traditionally provided access to the Bartley Smith Greenway system and is the only greenspace readily accessible to the residents of Concord West.  The residents of the area have worked extremely hard to develop a detailed alternate plan for the transit hub, a plan that would preserve this much-needed greenspace.

If you support the preservation of the Concord West greenspace, please send a message to Premier Dalton McGuinty.

For more information on this issue and the resident’s plan, please see http://saveconcordwest.wordpress.com/

Title: RHN Meeting: Lev Frid talk on The other end of Migration: the lives of Neotropical migrants in the Neotropics
Location:
Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church, Wallace Hall. 10066 Yonge St
Start Time: 7:30pm
Date: 2011-03-17

Neotropical Birds: The Other End of Migration

Everyone is invited to join the Richmond Hill Naturalists for an informative and entertaining talk on neotropical birds with Lev Frid.  Lev is a well-known Ontario birder and naturalist, who has followed his passion from the far north to the Andes and beyond. He will show photographs from his travels in Central America to illustrate the lives of Canadian songbirds on their wintering grounds.

Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church,
Wallace Hall, 10066 Yonge St., Richmond Hill
(west side, just north of Major Mackenzie Dr.)

Free admission, all are welcome, donations accepted, parking is free and refreshments will be served.  For more information, contact Marianne Yake, 905-883-3047 or [email protected].

Feel free to distribute this poster to anyone who may be interested in attending

Title: RHN Meeting: Biologist John Pisapio on Biodiversity
Location: Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church, Wallace Hall. 10066 Yonge St
Description: Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 7:30pm
General Meeting with speaker, John Pisapio, Management Biologist, Ministry of Natural Resources will speak on BioDiversity. The meeting will take place at the Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church, Wallace Hall. 10066 Yonge St., North of Major Mackenzie Dr., West side. For info contact Marianne Yake at 905-883-3047.
Start Time: 19:30
Date: 2011-02-17

With the 111th Annual Christmas Bird Count taking place this year on December 18, the Richmond Hill Naturalists are looking for people with bird feeders to open up their back yards for the Bird Counters. Bird Counters would visit volunteering households ONCE between 8am and 4:30pm on December 18. They will check the yard to count all the birds and bird species that may be seen there for just a few minutes – maybe longer if your yard is particularly exciting at that particular moment! You may also choose to count the birds and bird species in your yard yourself on December 18th and report your results.

The Richmond Hill Naturalists are just one group among thousands participating in the Christmas Bird Count throughout the western hemisphere. The count began in 1900 as an alternative to the then-traditional practice of the Christmas Side Hunt, in which sportsmen and women signed on to teams which then went out and vied to see which team could kill the most birds and other animals in the allotted time. An officer of the fledgling Audubon Society, ornithologist Frank Chapman started the new and less lethal tradition of the Bird Census. 27 birdwatchers in 25 cities (including Toronto) participated in that first count; last year more than 50,000 counters in 19 countries from Antarctica to Alaska took part.

In Richmond Hill, each year groups of birdwatchers of all levels of expertise disperse to their assigned sections; each group taking note of every bird and every species that they see in their area. The groups meet at the end of the day for the annual Chili Dinner, where their findings are totalled up. The club’s results in turn are submitted to Bird Studies Canada, which works with the Audubon Society in the US and elsewhere to analyze the data. If you wish to be a counter or to volunteer your back yard please leave a message with Gene Denzel at 905-889-7888 or email [email protected]

Richmond Hill Christmas Bird Count Map Circle

Title: 2010 Christmas Bird Count
Location: Southern York Region
Description: Don’t miss this year’s CBC event — an all-day birding extravaganza in Southern York Region.
Date: 2010-12-18

Title: West Humber field trip: Niagara Gulls
Description: Join Join Kevin Shackleton for the West Humber Naturalist club’s annual excursion to the Niagara area. The Niagara River hosts a wide variety of gull species in winter while the surrounding area can be good for Carolinian songbirds, various waterfowl, and even some birds of prey. Pack a field guide, lunch, binos, and a scope if you have one. Be prepared for cold, damp weather and bring enough lunch to get you through the day; there is likely only one stop at Tim’s in the morning and then nothing until late afternoon.

To car pool, meet at Vellore Hall at 6:50 a.m. on Sunday, Nov 28th. Those who want to go directly to the Falls area should head for the parking lot at the greenhouse south of the falls for 8:30. Stops will include the area around the barge, the interior pond, and Chippewa for Carolinian species. After that, we can stop for coffee at Tim’s and work our way downstream to Niagara-on-the-Lake. If time allows, a visit to Van Wagner’s Beach on the way home is possible. Call Kevin at 905-853-6959 if you require further information prior to the trip.
Start Time: 6:50 a.m.
Date: 2010-11-28

“Red-headed Woodpeckers are oft identified by their striking coloring and pugnacious nature. As of late they are recognized for a more infamous reason, their inexplicable and sudden disappearance from the parks and woodlands of Ontario. Barbara Frei, a doctoral candidate from McGill University, will speak about her search for the disappearing Red-headed Woodpecker, factors that may be leading to their declines and the interesting lives of these beautiful birds. Whether you are a conservationist, a local landowner or just a bird lover (or all three!), this talk should amuse and educate you about a local wildlife gem.”

Barbara is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Natural Resource Science at McGill University. Her co-supervisors are Dr. Jim Fyles a forest ecosystem ecologist and professor at McGill University and Dr. Joe Nocera, a species-at-risk research scientist for the MNR and adjunct professor at Trent University. Barbara has extensive field experiences working with birds in several different habitats including species-specific surveys, nest searching and monitoring. She is also a licensed bird-bander since 2006 and has handled and banded >5000 birds of >80 species. Her M.Sc. thesis work focused on Bobolinks and their conservation and management in human modified landscapes. She has also created and given several talks on varying ecology and conservation topics and was a guest on CBC radio on grassland bird conservation in farmlands. She was involved in the inception of the McGill Bird Observatory, the only student created and run bird observatory in North America and served as bander-in-charge since 2006 and as the station coordinator from 2006-2010. She also currently sits on the board of Bird Protection Quebec.

Title: Joint meeting with West Humber Naturalists
Location: Vellore Community Centre
Start Time: 19:30
Date: 2010-11-25

Title: Halloween Hike at Lake St. George: Sunday Oct. 24 @ 2:30 pm
Location: Lake St. George
Description: Join the Richmond Hill Naturalists and Oak Ridges Friends of the Environment for a family Hallowe’en hike. This is our annual visit to this historic site, now a TRCA Field Centre not normally open to the public. In the spirit of the season, costumes appropriate to hiking in the outdoors are encouraged and treats will be on hand. The hike will go for an hour and a half or so and the terrain is not too challenging and there will be a scavenger hunt for the youngsters to keep them entertained. The Field Centre is located on the north side of Bethesda just east of Bayview. For more information, contact Jim &/or Sharon Bradley 905-773-7415, [email protected]]

Start Time: 14:30

Date: 2010-10-24

In partnership with the Town of Richmond Hill, Evergreen invites you to join in as native trees and shrubs are planted at this beautiful park.  Everyone is welcome! The goal of the event is to improve environmental health and biodiversity of Phyllis Rawlinson Park. This includes creating healthy habitat for native wildlife and vegetation.

Phyllis Rawlinson Park is located on the west side of Leslie Street, just north of 19th Avenue. Meet at the first parking lot on your right in Phyllis Rawlinson Park. An Evergreen staff member will be there to meet you.

Click here to view the meeting location.  Please RSVP to: Mildred Ho, Stewardship Coordinator, 416-596-1495 ext. 303, [email protected] For more information please visit the web sites www.evergreen.ca or  www.richmondhill.ca/naturalheritage

Please join us for Peter Money’s talk on The Appalachians and their Margins. Peter Money, a Toronto Field Naturalist, retired geologist and expert photographer will share with us some of the Appalachians mountain region, accessible within a few hours drive from Richmond Hill. This ancient system extends from coastal Newfoundland to the northern reach of Florida. Fossils with the oldest known multicellular life are found there. This area has an impressive array of living fauna from puffins and moose to salamanders, pelicans and armadillos and many flowering plants.

When: October 21, 2010 at 7:30pm

Where: Wallace Hall, Richmond Hill Presbyterian Church, 10066 Yonge St. (west side, first block north of Major Mackenzie Drive)

For further information on Richmond Hill Naturalists, contact Marianne Yake, 905-883-3047, or visit the web site http://www.RHNaturalists.ca. Public are welcome. Admission free. Donations accepted.

Join Evergreen and the Town of Richmond Hill for this annual local food festival!

Celebrate fall with a feast of fresh, local food, garden activities and community music making. Connect with other gardeners to share tips and tricks, and celebrate the fall harvest. Everyone is welcome! Be sure to bring your own dishes, cutlery, a picnic blanket or lawn chairs and a musical instrument if you can.

When: Saturday Oct 16, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm,

Where: Phyllis Rawlinson Park

Phyllis Rawlinson Park is located on Leslie Street, just north of 19th Avenue. Please head over to the community garden located close to the main park entrance. Click here to view the meeting location. To sign up or for more information, please contact Mildred Ho, Stewardship Co-ordinator, [email protected] or 416-596-1495, x303. Arrive in style! Please consider walking, cycling, taking public transit or carpooling with friends to the event.