SAM Spring AGM: Connecting Municipalities to Stewardship!
The SAM Spring AGM was held on May 25 - 26, 2018 in Stephenville Crossing. All 41 SAM members were invited to send a councillor, a member of staff or a interested resident to the AGM. The SAM Meetings are a time for members to come together to share their stewardship successes and challenges over the past year. They also give members a chance to network and partner on environmental stewardship projects!
The AGM opened on Friday night with a Pub Trivia Night hosted by SAM Staff with food provided by the Town of Stephenville Crossing, held in the Stephenville Crossing Firehall. Trivia contestants were quizzed on their knowledge of municipal mottos, NL outdoor activities, and if they were "Smarter than a Project Webfooter" (Project Webfooters are grade 4 students that participate in wetland field trips).
|
|
Pictured left: Friday Pub Night Trivia with SAM Trivia Teams!
Pictured right: The Prairie, a restored wetland in the heart of Stephenville Crossing, on May 24th, 2018 |
|
|
On Saturday Morning participants met for breakfast provided by The Town of Stephenville Crossing. It was a great time to chat over coffee before the work began! Our newly formed SAM Executive opened the meeting with the Community Stewardship reports. Each SAM member is invited to deliver a report of their stewardship activities and challenges over the past year. It was great to hear about all the activities happening around the province such as working toward wetland policies, planning for summer events, and the installation of new interpretative signage.
SAM Members can find inspiration for stewardship activities on the SAM website under the resources tab!
After lunch, which was provided by The Town of Stephenville Crossing, we heard from SAM Staff and their future work plan for the upcoming year, from Ducks Unlimited and their work in the province, and from Kathleen Blanchard with Intervale Associates and their work with Piping Plover and other endangered shore birds.
The day ended with a guided tour for participants from a local birder and naturalist Terry Downey. Participants bird watched at the St. Georges River Estuary Management Unit, and at The Prairie, a restored wetland in the heart of Stephenville Crossing. |
|
Bird Watching in Stephenville Crossing!
Pictured left: St. Georges River Estuary, Right:Terry Downey, Candace Austin Town of Steady Brook, and Jeff Lawlor Town of Portugal Cove St. Phillip's |
|
|
| The AGM came to a close with the SAM networking dinner on Saturday night. SAM executive thanked Stephenville Crossing for hosting this years AGM and providing such warm hospitality with a dragonfly print by Graham Blair Woodcuts. Also, The Town of Gander was presented with a gift to commemorate the 25th anniversary of signing their stewardship agreement with SAM and the Province. Way to go Gander! |
|
 |
| Thank you for Hosting the SAM AGM Stephenville Crossing! Pictured left is SAM Secretary, Pat Woodford, presenting a thank you gift to the Town of Stephenville Crossing Councillor Michael Batt. |
|
| For more information about SAM's business meetings check out wwww.samnl.org/business-meetings and keep up with all of SAM's activities on our Facebook or follow us on Twitter @SAM_Stewardship! |
|
SAM Network News & Updates
- The Fall SAM Meeting to be held in Labrador City September 21- 22!Thank you to the Town of Labrador City for offering to Host the Fall SAM Meeting 2018. SAM Members, watch for your "Save the Date" in your towns email! Book your flight and accommodations early to save and avoid disappointment
- Looking for some inspiration for your next municipal event? Check out the new "Eco-Calendar" on the SAM Website! If you have a submission of your next environmental stewardship event that you would like on the calendar email samstewardship@gmail.com
- Challenges finding funding for your next stewardship project? Use the SAM funding page as your guide! With over 30 links to funding and grants for municipalities, we are always updating the page with current deadlines and contact information.
- Check out the latest installment of the SAM Climate Change Blog Series "Keeping it Clean: Wetlands Purifying Water!"
|
|
 |
An American Wigeon in Tamarack Gully, Labrador City.
Image submitted by Fabian Benoit, Councillor Labrador City, NL
If you have any suggestions for content or image submissions contact samstewardship@gmail.com |
|
Sackville, The Town that Waterfowl Built: Tourism for the Birds!
Laura King, SAM Conservation Biologist
I recently returned from the town of Sackville New Brunswick where I was invited to speak about SAM at the Atlantic Society of Fish and Wildlife Biologists spring meeting. The SAM organizational method received excellent feedback! After the talk, participants were curious about how the laws in Newfoundland and Labrador work, what our agreements are like, how we integrate social sciences into our programs, and more!
There were many excellent presentations during the day that will help inspire furture partnerships and SAM work. What I also enjoyed was seeing how the Town of Sackville has promoted itself as a bird and wildlife destination. |
|
The number one attraction in the town is the Sackville Waterfowl Park which is a completely free trail and boardwalk system that surrounds a series of ponds. The ponds were created in 1988 to make bird habitat, but their effect on tourism is fantastic as well!
The ponds are full of life, with ducks and other waterbirds everywhere. Forest birds flit around you as you walk the trails. You can borrow binoculars at the spacious interpretive centre, which also has a craft shop connecting local artisans to the tourist market. They have great interpretive signage and produce a free bird brochure just for Sackville. They also promote guided tours including a birdwatching package that includes two guided bird tours, lunch and dinner, and accommodations. There's also a $12 family Wetlands Adventure with snacks and an interpreter!
The Town Sackville has bird-themed restaurants and cafes, bird crosswalks, bird art everywhere, and even bird-related poetry. Even the pub is called Ducky's!
|
|
No doubt this is something that takes a long time for a municipality to develop, but Sackville provides a lot of ideas that could be applied to your town to welcome more tourists, and maybe even bird tourists!
SAM is here to help - if you too want to become a "town that waterfowl built" we can help with your nature tourism projects, just email samstewardship@gmail.com |
|
|
Stewardship Spotlight - Gander: 25 Years of Stewardship
In 1993 The Town of Gander became one of the first Municipalities to protect habitat within their boundaries by signing a Habitat Stewardship Agreement. |
|
| Since then Gander has taken stewardship seriously and has hosted many public outreach events! Such as a youth geocaching event in 2011 held at Thomas Howe Demonstration Forest, |
|
| and creating walking trails, boardwalks and interpretation around Cobb's Pond. |
|
| Just this past October, The Town of Gander partnered with Ducks Unlimited and SAM to host a Nestbox Building Workshop with Gander Elementary! |
|
| These events and activities help to bring together the community for a common cause... Protecting Habitat! |
|
Gander has also provided two SAM Presidents along with many other SAM executive over the years. Former Mayor of Gander, Claude Elliot, is a strong supporter of SAM and over the past 25 years has been involved with many of the stewardship initiatives.
Congratulations Gander on 25 Years of Stewardship, lets keep it going for another 25! |
|
|
Geocaching 101: Starting your outdoor treasure hunt!
Geocaching is a technological twist on an outdoor treasure hunt! It has become increasing popular, and SAM has over 30 Geocaches for you to find with the profile nameEHJV_Stewardship!
Here are 5 Tips and Tricks for a successful hunt! |
|
| 1) Get your equipment ready:You can use either a handheld GPS or a smartphone. The Geocaching App is very user friendly and free! You might also want to use Google Maps which is also free to install. |
|
| 2) Sign up for the free account: once you have downloaded the free app on your smartphone, create a free basic account using your email address. |
|
| 3) Search for a Cache: In the App you can click on the "Map"and this will allow you to see all Caches around you! There are several different types of Caches that will appear in different colors. |
|
| 4) Navigate to the Cache: Once you have selected the cache you want to find, select it on the app by using the "Start"button. |
|
5) Leave your Treasure: When you find the cache you can open it and see what is inside! If there is a logbook you can sign it and there may even be a toy prize. If you take a prize remember to leave a prize for the next treasure hunter!
Log your cache by clicking the "Stop"button, you can then select the cache and reveal its details!
Start planning your next outdoor treasure hunt today! |
|
|
SAM Spring Photos: A Stewardship Photo Essay!
SAM Staff have been working with municipalities and Eastern Habitat Joint Venture partners over the past few months.
Check out the photos for some Stewardship inspiration! |
|
 |
| Trail breaking in Cooks Marsh with DUC |
|
 |
| Wetland Field Trips with DUC |
|
 |
| Wetland Clean up in Deer Lake with Elwood Elementary |
|
 |
| SAM Bird watching in Stephenville Crossing |
|
| If you have a photo or a story you would like to submit for the SAM newsletter email samstewardship@gmail.com |
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment