Limited Edition of Micou’s Island Adventure Guide! Nature Encounter for Young Stewards Now Available!

Sample page of the Guide
 

The St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association invites you to discover the coastal treasure of Micou's Island, St. Margaret’s Bay, with the newly published, limited edition of Micou’s Island Adventure Guide! Nature Encounter for Young Stewards.

In this beautifully designed 48-page waterproof Guide, you will find a variety of fun environmental activities that can be used by groups, parents, and teachers. The interactive activities in the Guide are supported by many colourful illustrations, photographs, graphic designs, and learning elements to fully engage children in each of the 21 activities.

Copies are available for $25 each.  All proceeds go to the St. Margaret's Bay Stewardship Association’s Micou’s Island Program.  Please email Scott at ospreys@eastlink.ca or call (902) 823-3049 for more information on the Guide and arrangements to purchase.

Local Critters at the Cottage

Oh deer, what do we have here?

Sea Creature Video

  

 The Edge of the Sea

 

Check out Scott's sea creature underwater movie, shot around the Big Dock in September!

Peace, Love, and Jellies!
-The IPYNC Staff

Hungry Hungry Tilly Video!

Check out this video of Tilly the Barrelfish munching down on live Opossum Shrimp!

Tilly is... A Barrelfish!

Hi Everyone:

Lots of you will remember the unusual dark-coloured little fish who was swimming around the Big Dock this past summer.  Camper Michael Ellis and his Dad, Bill, used the Minnow trap and an earthworm as bait and caught this fish in July.  We have been keeping the little fish, who campers named Tilly, in a warm water aquarium at The Cottage ever since.

 

Tilly has grown about 30% larger since July. We fed her with a mixture of frozen and live shrimp, which she loves.

Last week, I carefully moved Tilly to the Museum of Natural History to show her to John Gilhen, an expert on Nova Scotian fish.  John confirmed that Tilly is a Barrelfish (Palinurichthys perciformis), a member of the Rudderfish family. The last time a fish like Tilly was reported in Nova Scotian waters was more than 30 years ago, and that fish was caught in a fishing net outside Hubbard’s Cove only 10 kilometers from The Big Dock where Tilly was caught.  John suspects that Tilly came in with the warm Gulf Stream waters this summer, and she is considered an uncommon visitor to our shores in the summer. At about 10 cm long, Tilly is still juvenile.  She will be as much as 60 cm (2 feet) in length when she’s an adult, at which point I'll be a little worried that she’ll be eating my furniture!

 
To learn more about this special fish, visit The Gulf of Maine Research Institute at http://www.gma.org/fogm/Palinurichthys_perciformis.htm

 

Peace, Love, and Tilly!

-The IPYNC Staff

Camp 1, 2012 ( July 9th ot 13th) DVDs

Hello Everyone!

Just wanted to let everyone from the 1st Summer Camp of 2012 know that the Camp DVD's are now ready for pickup or mailout. Please let us know which method you would like to recieve your DVD's.

Peace Love, and Jellies,
-The IPYNC Staff

Urgent Appeal to Save One-of-a-Kind Island

Campaign to Protect Troop Island Launched

The St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association and the Nova Scotia Nature Trust have launched an urgent campaign to purchase and protect Troop Island. With over 85% of Nova Scotia’s coastline in private hands, and increasing pressures on these treasured islands, headlands and beaches, our coastal legacy is at risk. Yet an exciting opportunity exists to protect an important part of that legacy—St. Margaret’s Bay’s beautiful Troop Island. As many know, the island is for sale and has been subdivided into lots for future development. The SMBSA and the Nature Trust, have been working in the background and have successfully raised over 80% of the funds needed to purchase the island and are going out to the public to raise the remainder. Support has already come from HRM, the Province, Mountain Equipment Coop Land Acquisition Fund and private donors. For full details of the campaign please visit our website. This is an exciting chance to protect one of Nova Scotia’s most ecologically significant islands and a treasure in the bay that many have enjoyed for generations.

To learn more or to make a donation please visit heartofthebay.ca/Islands/TroopIsland/tabid/114/Default.aspx or call Ella McQuinn at 823 1228.
NS Nature Trust www.nsnt.ca