The 2013 Summer Camp Dates

We are pleased to announce that on April 21, 2013, the IPYNC will be opening registration to children who did not attend last year's summer camps.  Please contact Scott at ospreys@eastlink.ca for more details.  Below are the camp dates: 

Camp 1 for children 5 to 11 years of age from July 8^th to 12^th    

Camp 2 for children 5 to 11 years of age from July 22^rd to 26^th   

Camp 3 for children 5 to 11 years of age from August 5^th to 9^th  

Camp 4 for children 12 to 15 years of age from August 19^th to 23^rd

UPDATE Camp 4 for children 12 to 15 years of age is now August 12^th to 16^th

 

In the coming weeks, more information on camps and activites will be posted here, so check back often!

Peace, Love, and Jellies
-The IPYNC Staff

 

Sea you,

IPYNC Staff

 

 

Bees, Reptiles, Mosses, Canoeing and More with Nature NS!

Hello Everyone,

We would like to share a wonderful opportunity for participants in the Indian Point Young Naturalist Club to join other budding young naturalists from across the province at Kejimkujik for Nature Nova Scotia's AGM and conference in May. Below is a message from our friends at the Young Naturalists of Nova Scotia describing the amazing programs they have planned!

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Everyone,

Looking ahead to May, we have an amazing opportunity for anyone who is interested in nature. Each year, adult naturalists from across the province gather for the Nature Nova Scotia AGM and Conference. This is a weekend filled with excellent talks and walks about nature, and is held is a different place in Nova Scotia each year. This May, for the second time, the YNC will host a whole weekend of nature programming gear for youth at the same time as the adult program.

This year, the weekend will be held at Milford House, which is near Kejimkujik National Park and Historic Site. There are meal and accommodation packages available, including one for youth at the ridiculously low price of $56 for the weekend. AND, for a limited time, the YNC has some bursaries to offer youth that will cover the cost of the weekend. What more could you ask for?

Please check out the tantalizing program (bees! reptiles! mosses! canoeing!) at http://www.naturens.ca/node/84. There you will also find the registration form. Contact Zoe at yncns@yahoo.ca to inquire about the bursaries. This is also a chance to meet youth from the other 4 YNC chapters in Nova Scotia!

THIS IS A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED WEEKEND OF OUTDOOR FUN!

 

Regards,

 

Zoë

http://nature1st.net/ync

YNC motto "Young Naturalists Observe and Conserve"

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