Thank you to the Town of Port au Choix municipal staff, Mayor and Town Councillors for being such amazing hosts for our 2023 Spring AGM! We are grateful for all your efforts in organizing and delivering a wonderful meeting, and your support and participation was really appreciated. We had wonderful community outings, lots of municipal engagement, and stimulating takeaways. We would also like to thank each of the municipality representatives for coming and participating in the weekend events. Your participation always strengthens our organization. |
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| We would like to specifically recognize the efforts below who helped contribute: |
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We want to sincerely thank Cynthia Downey of Stephenville Crossing, for serving on the SAM Board of Directors as one of our longest tenured Director's for six years. As treasurer for SAM, Cynthia was an extremely dedicated volunteer. When called upon, she was always there to answer the phone, provide financial advice, sign off on expenses, or just lend a smile. Her presence will be greatly missed, and we want to thank Cynthia for her commitment to and service with SAM. We appreciate all of her valuable and important contributions over the years! |
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Welcome Frank Deering! A New Addition
to the Board of Directors |
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SAM member representatives at the 2023 Spring AGM elected Frank Deering of Bay Roberts to serve on the Board of Directors. Since his first attendance at the 2021 SAM Fall Business meeting in Deer Lake, Frank has proudly been involved in SAM and will be a great addition to the Board. We are very excited to have you on board, Frank! |
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Conserving the Special Barrens of Cape Freels |
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In March of 2023, the Town of New-Wes-Valley expanded upon their existing Stewardship Agreement (Business Pond Conservation Area and Queens Meade Conservation Area) to add the vulnerable Cape Freels Conservation Area, which includes a wetland complex, sand dunes, tidal marine flats (Pinchard's Bight), a sandbar, Cape Island, and Shoal Arm Pond. Within Cape Freels you can find important species of flora and fauna such as: Red knot ( Calidris canutus), Piping plover ( Charadrius melodus), Leach’s storm petrel ( Hydrobates leucorhous), Short-eared owl ( Asio flammeus), Marsh felwort ( Lomatogonium rotatum), and Little yellow rattle ( Rhinanthus minor). The well maintained and meandering Cape Freels Hiking Trail - The Wonder Shore takes you through this impressive habitat, allowing the public to safely view various avifauna feeding on the rich shoreline, wetlands, intertidal zones as well as the coastal barens. With the newly added Cape Freels Conservation Area, the Town of New-Wes-Valley now conserves approximately 4,820 acres of significant hyper-oceanic barren habitat for nesting shorebirds, seabirds, waterfowl, and some critically listed species. |
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Thank you to the Town of New-Wes-Valley for your continued support and demonstrating your municipal leadership in the conservation of biodiversity! We are excited to share your story of environmental stewardship. |
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This event gathers eNGOs from across the province (over 20 of which were represented) to work together , foster relationships for future projects, partner collaboration and general sharing of conservation ideas. Conference events included a Nocturnal Owl talk and walk through the Town of Lumsden, various trainings on topics like volunteer management, a panel with post-secondary students on careers in eNGOs, speed networking (one-on-one), a networking dinner with special guest Mayor Tiller from Town of New-Wes-Valley, and a public nature walk at the Town of Carmanville Wetland Interpretation Centre. |
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Thank you to everyone for an eventful weekend! If your organization would like to be a part of planning the 2024 eNGO Conference, or if you would like your organization to be on the invite list, please reach out to engocommunitynl@gmail.com. This event was possible thanks to funding through Memorial University's Catalyst Conference Fund For Public Engagement. |
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Conservation Biologist Ashley has been busy with several outreach and engagement events on the western side of the Island. In April she helped the Upper Humber Rod and Gun Association in the Town of Deer Lake with an outdoor education event for students from Xavier Jr High, providing basic compass training and a waterfowl ID game, complete with a Bird Identification book prize! |
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Did you know? Girl Guides and Scouts who complete SAM Programming can earn a special SAM Crest! |
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| Outreach at French Shore Academy |
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At the beginning of June, Ashley spent some time assisting Intervale Associates with their important work, and attended a Piping plover ( Charadrius melodus) Index Count in Port aux Basques. Despite the damage that Hurricane Fiona caused to coastal dunes and beaches in the area in 2022, there were still Piping plover sightings and even a few nests spotted! |
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Later in June, Ashley presented our Wetlands 101 programming to students of C.C. Loughlin in Corner Brook with the help of Ducks Unlimited Canada intern, Jessica, where they eventually returned to Margaret Bowater Park for a Duck ID game, a scavenger hunt, and an activity to learn about food chains/webs. |
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Did you know? You can follow SAM on a variety of Social Media Platforms! Check us out on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @SAM_Stewardship |
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Do you have a conservation story you would like to see featured in a future newsletter? Send an email with the details to
samengagement995@gmail.com! |
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