The once-defunct Prince George Naturalist Club is back in business and thriving with more than 80 members around town.
"[The club] wasn't doing much," said club chair Clive Keen. "I was called by the president of B.C. Nature saying that the club had gone downhill and would [I] do something about it? For some strange reason, I agreed."
Prince George is an ideal place for a naturalist club because the area's rich and varied flora and fauna can't be beat, Keen said.
"People in most parts of the world wouldn't believe how rich the wildlife and the nature in general is around here. Whatever the heck you are into in terms of nature, Prince George is the place for it," said Keen.
The club consists of nature-loving families, individuals and some world-renowned experts in everything from fungi to flowers to birds.
"We've got some tremendous experts in the club. I'm in awe of their expertise," said Keen.
"What's interesting to me is the broad range of things to explore. I'm fairly decent at birds and pretty good at mammals, but it's really great when you are out with people that actually know about a whole bunch of things that you didn't know about."
The last presentation held for the group was a talk with Gordon Hutchings, the author of a new book on dragonflies of western boreal forests.
A trip to Goodsir Nature Park on July 23 will hopefully enable attendees to spot dragonflies up close.
The club has held trips that have resulted in the sighting of lynx, snowy owls, muskrats, moose, and marmots to name a few. They've also witnessed a mother bear with three cubs, which is a rare sighting.
When the cold winter comes to the area, the club will still have plenty to explore outside. "There's animal tracking, snow shoeing and of course that's when you get around to looking at all of your photographs that you've taken over the year," said Keen.
In December, the club also participates in a Christmas bird count.
"It's a pretty standard activity, hundreds and hundreds of Christmas bird counts are done in Canada every year. You get a sense of what birds are increasing and decreasing," said Keen.
The annual membership fee is $25 which includes you in the mailing list. To find out more, visit www.pgnc.wordpress.com.
