April Overall
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The Canadian Wildlife Foundation’s Funding Program is happy to announce its new funding projects. In 2011, the Foundation will help hardworking programs as they teach awareness about Canada’s wildlife and work to conserve our at-risk species.
Beached Birds
The Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter of Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society is creating an Adopt-a-Beach program to help monitor seabirds that have washed up on local beaches. While some birds die of natural causes, others have come into contact with oil in the ocean from marine traffic.
Sea to Sky Wetlands Project
The B.C. Wildlife Federation’s Wetlandkeepers Sea to Sky project trains and educates participants in the inventory, mapping and restoration of wetlands.
B.C.’s Important Bird Areas
In B.C. a mere 25 per cent of Important Bird Areas (IBAs) overlap protected lands, like parks. The rest are at risk of development and human disturbance. BC Nature is working hard to inform the public about the importance of IBAs.
Forest to Sea Watershed Education Program
The Galiano Conservancy Association’s Forest to Sea Watershed Education Program offers environmental education to schools and groups across Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia.
BioBlitz
The Robert Bateman Get to Know program started the BioBlitz in 2010 to connect youth with biodiversity by encouraging them to embrace the arts and to get outdoors. The 2011 BioBlitz will ask kids to get to know the great outdoors by participating in activities like species identification, biodiversity mapping, nature photography and sketching, hiking, tree planting and clean-up projects.
Great Lakes
The Toronto Zoo’s Great Lakes Program teaches participants about the importance of our country’s Great Lakes as well as the species at risk that call it home: redside dace, lake sturgeon, Atlantic salmon, eastern sand darter and the American eel.
Woodland Caribou
The woodland caribou was designated as vulnerable in Quebec. Nature Quebec is working towards the recovery of the woodland caribou by creating awareness among land users and educating the public on what they can do to protect the woodland caribou’s habitat.
Purple Martin
In 1985, the B.C. western purple martin population dwindled down to five breeding pairs because of a loss of nesting habitat due to logging, clearing land for agricultural purposes, fire suppression and urban development. The remaining nesting spots were sought after by European starlings and house sparrows, leaving the purple martin homeless. In association with the Georgia Basin Ecological Assessment and Restoration Society, the Western Purple Mountain Foundation is conducting a migration study on Vancouver Island where the largest colony of purple martins will be banded (between 50 and 60 pairs).
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for Wildlife Conservation
Researchers at the Avian Science and Conservation Centre at McGill University are studying the potential benefits of using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in wildlife conservation. The centre has found that UAVs can collect data with higher degrees of accuracy than manned vehicles can and reduce the risk of disturbing and harming wildlife and its habitat.
Wetland Shrews
Researchers at Acadia University are studying the impact that habitat modification has on two of Nova Scotia’s shrews – the water shrew and maritime shrew.
Eastern North Pacific Gray Whale
In 1994, the eastern North Pacific gray whale was removed from the endangered species list. Since then Washington and British Columbia aboriginal groups have discussed resuming traditional whaling of this species. While most of these whales summer in the Bering, Chuckchi and Beaufort Seas, so¬me stay close by to Vancouver Island. Researchers at Saint Mary’s University are studying the population structure of gray whales living in the eastern, north Pacific ocean as well as the implications resumed whaling may have on the population.
Finches
The Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre and the Atlantic Veterinary College of the University of Prince Edward Island are joining forces to study the cause of trichomonosis in finches living in Canadian Maritime provinces. Researchers are studying whether or not public bird feeding and watering is linked to the transmission of this parasitic disease.
