This camp is fully booked with a waiting list
The Nicola Naturalists are hosting a BC Nature Spring Camp from Thursday 29 May to Sunday 1 June, 2014. Come and experience grasslands, wetlands and ranching in the beautiful Nicola Valley around Merritt. Our three-day camp features outings with grassland experts on the Douglas Lake Plateau Important Bird Area, a tour of the Guichon Ranch (three generations of holistic ranching), frogging with professional herpetologists in Kane Valley, a nocturnal search for Great Basin Spadefoots, and excellent birding and spring flowers. Keep scrolling down for the tentative itinerary.
Participants stay in historical buildings on the Nicola Ranch, 8 km from Merritt (www.nicolaranch.com). Rooms are rustic B&B-standard with shared bathrooms. Meals in the cowboy cookhouse. Registration fee covers all meals, accommodation, presentations and outings. We will carpool for outings.
Limited on-site RV parking can be arranged on the Nicola Ranch – please contact us for the adjusted fee schedule. RVs must be equipped with toilets.
Registration is limited to 18 BC Nature members. Full costs:
- Couple sharing queen bed in a private room – $520 per person
- Single person in private room (limited rooms) – $590
- Single in shared space – $490
Registration process.
- Registration is first-come-first-served by phone starting at 10 AM, Sunday January 12th, 2014. Phone 250-378-2468.
- The order of acceptance is based on this initial phone contact.
- After phone registration we will send you a full package of information by mail or by e-mail.
- A deposit of $250 per person will be required to hold your place. The balance (full payment) will be required by 18th April 2014.
- The registration form can be downloaded here: BC Nature Spring Camp 2014 registration
- You will be required to complete and submit this waiver form: Nicola Camp Waiver Form 2014
- If you’d like these forms in Word format please send us an e-mail.
- See our cancellation policy at the bottom of this web-page.
For more information contact nicolanaturalists@gmail.com
Look through our photo gallery for an idea of the richness of the wildlife and natural ecosystems of the Nicola Valley region. Click here: Photo gallery
Grasslands and wooded hills of the Douglas Lake Plateau. The inset shows a Swainson’s Hawk, a regular breeder on these grasslands. Photos © Alan Burger
Tentative itinerary – Spring Camp 2014 This is just a preliminary plan and will likely change. Keep checking this web posting for updates.
Thursday 29 May
- 4-5 PM: Participants arrive; meet & greet at Nicola Ranch; settle into accommodation.
- Evening: Welcome gathering in the cookhouse and dinner
- Short presentations on the history and wildlife of the Nicola Valley area
Friday 30 May
- Early morning birding
- Breakfast in the cookhouse and prepare lunch sandwiches
- Day activities: lectures and outings focused on wetlands, amphibians and birds; visits to local wetlands in the Kane Valley and Kentucky-Alleyne Provincial Park
- Private time and dinner
- Night visit to Great Basin Spadefoot breeding sites in the Douglas Lake grasslands
Saturday 31 May
- Breakfast and prepare lunch
- Morning – visit the Guichon ranch (holistic ranching and wonderful grasslands and wetlands)
- Afternoon – Visit Douglas Lake Ranch area to view and discuss geology, topography, grassland ecology. Birding at wetlands.
- Private time followed by social hour and dinner in the cookhouse
- Evening – lecture on grassland ecosystems
Sunday 1 June
- Early morning birding
- Breakfast in the cookhouse and prepare lunch sandwiches
- Morning – lecture and visit to the Lundbom Grasslands Interpretive Centre
- Lunch with the Nicola Watershed Community Round Table Society
- Afternoon – explore the Lundbom grasslands. Possible hike up Sugarloaf,
- 4 PM – participants depart for home.
A Great Basin Spadefoot near Douglas Lake, BC. This charismatic and threatened species is highly adapted to the dry interior grasslands and spends most of its life buried underground. If conditions are favourable, a night visit to a spadefoot breeding pond will be a highlight of the Spring Merritt Camp. Photo: © Alan Burger
Cancellation Policy for the Spring 2014 Nicola Valley Camp:
In the event that a participant cancels up to 6 weeks before the camp (i.e., up to 18 April 2014), Nicola Naturalist Society will refund the amount paid less $50 administration fee. For cancellation after 18 April 2014, the refund will only be made if someone else can be found to fill the place.
