About the Nicola Naturalist Society

Our regular monthly meetings have resumed – Check out the Meetings page: Meetings

We are now on Facebook. Check out our new Facebook page: NNS Facebook

The Nicola Naturalist Society, formed in 2010, is based in Merritt, BC. Membership is open to anyone interested in nature, wildlife and the health of the local ecosystems. Along with more than 50 other naturalist clubs in British Columbia we are a member of BC Nature (Federation of BC Naturalists). NNS members receive automatic membership to BC Nature, receive the BC Nature quarterly magazine and can participate in all BC Nature camps, meetings and other events.

Merritt has a NatureKids BC club catering to children aged 5-12 and their families.  For more on this click here: Merritt NatureKids

Final Report for our amphibian monitoring project has been released. Our club ran a five-year project mapping and monitoring amphibians over a 7,200 sq km study area. For more information and a copy of the report click here: Amphibian Monitoring.

Check out our popular butterfly and moth pages: Butterflies & Moths and More Butterflies and Moths

During the fall and winter the Nicola Naturalist Society holds monthly evening meetings, usually in the lecture theatre of the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology (NVIT) in Merritt. We run regular events like the Christmas Bird Count and organize field outings to enjoy and learn about local flora, fauna and environment. Go to the Meetings & Events page for more information on upcoming meetings, events and outings. You can also find links to past events there – to get some idea of our society’s activities.

The Nicola Valley and surrounding areas comprise a rich diversity of ecosystems, including moist and dry forests, grasslands, sagebrush, alpine meadows and many types of wetlands. Several rare and threatened species occur in our area. As our society grows and matures we will be undertaking special projects. We organized an exciting 5-year amphibian monitoring project that ran from 2011 to 2015. We are also co-monitors of the Douglas Lake Plateau Important Bird & Biodiversity Area (IBA). Go to the Projects page to find out more about these projects.

A major objective of the Nicola Naturalist Society is to provide education and information on the wild organisms and ecosystems of the BC interior, especially those that are found in the Nicola Valley and surrounding areas. See our Features & News page for special features on local species and natural communities, and news of recent club activities.

NNS members receive a quarterly electronic Newsletter containing nature news, special wildlife features and photographs and much more. Examples of our past newsletters are posted on the Newsletters page of this website.

Go to the NNS Photo Gallery to see photos of our local wildlife taken by the Society’s members.

American Pika – commonly found on scree slopes in the mountains of British Columbia. Photo: © Murphy Shewchuk. More of Murphy’s photos at  www.murphyshewchuk.com

If you are interested in the wonderful flora, fauna and wild places in the Merritt/Nicola area we welcome you to join the society. Click on the Membership menu button to download a membership form and send it, along with the membership fee, to the address on the form: Membership

We are registered as a society under the BC Societies Act. For a copy of our constitution and bylaws click here: NNS Constitution & Bylaws