From the volcanic and glacial formations which shape the landscape of Wells Gray Provincial Park to the hair lichen required to sustain mountain caribou, the 13 participants of TLC’s Deertrails Naturalist Program spent a week learning about biological diversity from six renowned experts in their respective fields. Lichenologist Trevor Goward, TLC founder and naturalist Briony Penn, ecologists Lyn Baldwin and Nancy Flood of Thompson Rivers University (TRU), volcanologist Cathie Hickson and forest ecologist Andy MacKinnon shared their expertise hoping to inspire the next generation of naturalists.
“I have always loved nature, but it wasn’t until this program that I truly started to understand the interconnectivity of life in my own backyard. This program re-sparked my fascination with the natural world, and I left at the end of the week with a whole new apprecitation for this beautiful place we live in,” said Amber.
Students were well-trained in their own rights, most enrolled in post-secondary studies and some in graduate programs.
“The Deertrails Naturalist Program reminded me how to reconnect with the living world after so many years studying and analyzing conservation problems from behind a screen,” said participant Beatrice.
