http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/ Posts from the tour en-us Copyright 2009 Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:12:24 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss It is hard to put into words how critical to the success of this project Heather's presence has been. I could not have asked for a better person to have on the road out west last summer. Heather's knowledge, skill, and resourcefullness were fabulous to have around. Travelling with people for months on end in a van and trailer can be stressful, and people understandably get a bit of cabin fever at times. That never seemed to be an issue for Heather. She always wore a smile, and was quick with a hug for anyone who needed one. And we did, what with the various trials and tribulations along the way! Besides keeping me sane and functional, Heather did a fabulous job co-ordinating many programs, entering evaluation data, designing curriculum linked activities about reptiles (which we hope to upload to the website soon), and anything else that was asked of her. It has been my intent for some time to step back from this project in the spring of 2009, to concentrate on opening our public nature centre in Orillia. Heather impressed me so much, I offered her my job if the funding came through to keep the project going. Unfortunately, the NSERC Promoscience funding we applied for was turned down. We still had high hopes for some other funding but announcements about it were delayed for so long that Heather had to move on to a great job in Guelph. I've still been hoping she'd return for the fall and winter, but after years of bouncing between outdoor ed contracts, she has decided to investigate the potential of a more stable life- she has enrolled in teacher's college for the fall! So, congratulations, Heather, on your acceptance! We hope you'll come back and visit often! Good luck with whatever career path the future holds! Best regards to all, Jeff Hathaway Project Co-ordinator http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2009/06/staff_profile_heather_carscadd.php http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2009/06/staff_profile_heather_carscadd.php Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:12:24 -0500 Kyle is a U of Guelph grad who worked with the project through the winter. If more of our funding had come through, he would have been here last summer as well. Instead, he got some great experience nearby, working at Georgian Bay Islands National Park, and still volunteered with Sciensational Sssnakes!! on his days off! Last summer would have been much more trying for the home teams without Kyle's enthusiastic help! Kyle's dry wit and low-key presentation style are a hit with kids and adults alike. Of course, he has many other useful skills! Kyle is back for the summer after a short stint in Arizona doing bird research. Yes, birds... How silly is that! However, Kyle is working directly with Sciensational Snakes!! for the summer, not this project. I look forward to telling you about his replacement! Jeff http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2009/06/staff_profile_kyle_horner.php http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2009/06/staff_profile_kyle_horner.php Tue, 16 Jun 2009 21:05:22 -0500 Wow, the passage of time is so quick. We had a tremendously active winter and covered lots of ground in southern Ontario. Many happy school kids! We also improved our success rate with our evaluation surveys, and ended up with data from over 2600 students in our database! For various reasons, this was also a very hard winter for me, personally, which has contributed to the lack of postings to this blog. It was a tremendous challenge to keep this project, and everything else, moving forward, but we have managed it and life is working itself out in its myriad of ways. I'll try to get a few more details about the winter activities posted, but the most important thing to broadcast is that we have funding again! We will be active just in Ontario this year, and have funding from both Environment Canada's Habitat Stewardship Program and the Ministry of Natural Resources Species at Risk Stewardship Fund. Robin Manley, who co-ordinated our Trent-Severn Waterway Wildlife special project for the last two summers, will be managing most of the Reptiles at Risk on the Road project for this summer. If you have an event or organization that you think would work well for a program this summer, please feel free to let her know! Cheers, Jeff http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2009/05/up_and_running_for_2009.php http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2009/05/up_and_running_for_2009.php Fri, 29 May 2009 08:54:39 -0500 Hello everyone! Winter is upon us, and though most of the reptiles that we talk about in our shows are safely underground below the frost line hibernating for the winter, we are just as active as ever. We have now been home in Ontario from our 11 week tour across the country for as long as we were gone. We haven't had nearly as many interesting stories (thus the lack of Blog entries), but we've still been just as busy. We have spoken to thousands of students most of whom seem to have great stories of their own about reptiles they have seen! Part of the program in Ontario includes a survey which all the students do before our program. This survey tests the students knowledge about Ontario reptiles as well as their attitudes towards them. As a way to evaluate our programs, for our own interest and also to be able to present quantitative numbers to our funders, we also have the students do the same survey the day after our visit. This allows us to see changes in their knowledge and attitude, and I must say that a majority of the surveys that I have marked show a significant increase in both! We love marking the surveys and seeing the great comments that students write. On a side note, if you are a teacher reading this who has had our program at your school - don't forget to mail your surveys back, the information is invaluable to us and allows us to continue to provide our programs for free. I said we haven't had as many interesting stories since our return, however there are two that I can think of. One occurred a few weeks ago when we were traveling to schools north of London Ontario. We were on a 4 day excursion and staying with friends in London in the evenings. One morning we woke up to a heavy snowstorm. Now, we have traveled across our very large country and through mountains in a broken-down van and trailer, a simple snowstorm is not going to stop us - especially since we're now traveling in a car which is in nearly perfect working order (a significant improvement I must say). So off we headed to our morning school. We called the school when we were about 15 minutes away to say that we were on our way and should arrive on time to start our show rather than our usual early appearance. The school was ecstatic. They had already had their afternoon puppeteer program cancel on them and were impressed that we had traveled from the same area out to their school. We arrived just on time and presented our program to an enthralled crowd. After the program we packed everything back into our car which now had 4 inches of snow on top. We brushed off the car, made a run out of the unplowed parking lot and onto the lightly traveled country roads. Our drive to our afternoon school was across more major roads and so was easier than our morning drive had been. It turned out to be quite a successful day despite the almost 8 inch accumulation of snow throughout the day. The next story happened just last week when Kyle and Jeff were on the road. They were headed out to spend another 4 days this time just west of London. On their way out they got caught behind a truck accident on the 401 near Toronto for about an hour. Now, that in itself is not much of a story, as thousands of people spend every day in traffic and behind accidents on the 401 near Toronto. I think it's interesting because on our trip out west we traveled 11 weeks thousands of kilometres huge distances between shows, and though we sometimes broke down ourselves, one thing we didn't have to deal with was traffic. We were traveling to small communities along rural, often dirt highways and distance was usually our biggest concern rather than traffic. In fact the only traffic we encountered then entire time was when coming into Vancouver. Now that we're back in Ontario, we've had to travel the 400/401 corridor through the Toronto area several times and it always slows us down and makes me wish we were back in the prairies with wide open (though bumpy) roads. Until next time, Heather http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/12/winter_is_here.php http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/12/winter_is_here.php Sun, 07 Dec 2008 20:52:18 -0500 Well it's my first official trip on the road with Reptiles at Risk! It is nice to see the time spent calling and emailing schools translate into actual programs. We are spending the week in Leeds and Grenville County, the home of the longest snake species in the country. Though currently it is hard to believe reptiles even exist here, considering the frigid fall weather. But though the blizzard may try to dampen our spirits, improvised ping pong and tasty cheese will fuel us through the cold nights. And if that's not enough, there's always stimulating conversation with myself while Jeff and Heather sleep in the car. We have currently reached 6 of the 9 schools we are visiting here, and it has definitely been a rewarding experience. It is amazing to talk to teachers and students who cross paths with Black Rat Snakes on a regular basis. Though nationally rare, there seems to be no shortage of the lengthy serpent in this small neck of the woods. This has also served to highlight the need for this programming, as many of the students have heard of the snake, but few know how to recognize it or why it is important. I definitely get the impression that we are having a positive effect, and changing attitudes for the better. So, another day and a half to go in Leeds and Grenville, then a weekend to relax before Jeff and Heather head up to the Ottawa Valley to hang out with the Wood Turtles. In the meantime we have the extreme pleasure of staying at QUBS, the Queen's University Biological Station. To call it a research station is kind of like calling the Four Seasons a field camp. Heat, hydro, TV, wireless internet, full kitchen...what more could the RAR team ask for? Sunny weather? Perhaps. But I suppose that whether you're a Canadian reptile or a Canadian reptile fanatic, the snow and cold are an undeniable part of life. Kyle http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/10/a_chilly_week_in_the_east.php http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/10/a_chilly_week_in_the_east.php Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:16:21 -0500 We got back to the Sciensational Sssnakes!! headquarters about a week and a half ago. We are very happy to be home, however it's been very busy since we arrived. We have spent some time cleaning and re-organizing our van and trailer; we won't be using it as much in the fall which gives us some time to work on some of the smaller problems with it. We've also spent a lot of time calling and organizing schools and community groups for our fall programs and writing reports following up on our trip so we can qualify for some of our funding. We will be spending the next few months until December or January traveling to schools and community groups in special areas in Ontario where reptiles at risk can be found. The trip across the country was fantastic! It was great to see the variety of people and places in Canada, it really is an amazing country. We're happy to be back to the land of lakes and rivers and Canadian shield and are looking forward to meeting many more people who live with reptiles at risk around their area. Til next time, Heather http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/10/were_home.php http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/10/were_home.php Thu, 02 Oct 2008 06:08:41 -0500 After our evening program in Shaunavon we decided to drive to Climax where there was a campground which would be closer to our morning program the next day. As we turned off the main highway and into Climax we slowed down to see where the campground was. The van shuddered a couple of times as we were idling and then stopped completely. Jeff and I both knew immediately what was wrong, as this has happened before. Our fuel gauge for the front fuel tank doesn't work and sometimes we run out. This normally isn't a problem as we have a second fuel tank and just have to flip the switch over to the other tank as we feel the van shudder. This time however, both Jeff and I were pretty tired and didn't clue in to what was happening fast enough. We flipped the switch over to the second tank and tried to start the van again. A couple of minutes later we still hadn't gotten it started and were starting to get worried. We were stopped in the middle of the main street in town and there was no one around to help. Also, by this time we had run the batteries down trying to start the van. Fortunately, a really nice guy drove by at the other end of town; he saw us and came to our rescue. He tried to boost us with no success, so instead he got out a rope and towed our van and trailer to the campground which was just around the corner. In the morning Jeff woke up early to start fixing things. I woke up shortly after to try to help. Running a diesel engine out of fuel is a bit worse than a gas engine- Jeff had to remove the fuel filter and manually fill it with diesel fuel. We had left the battery charger on all night, so he then tried to start it, but nothing happened. It turns out we had burnt out our starter the night before, trying to get it going. We called our morning school and the principal came to pick me and the animals up to go do the show while Jeff stayed to get our van fixed. The Climax Garage was very helpful- Roger towed us over and checked a few things to confirm our diagnosis. We were worried that they would not have a replacement part, and that we would need to stay in Climax for a few days while they got it. Amazingly, at the same time, the only guy in town who has the same engine as us happened to come in with a spare starter motor to get it rebuilt. Even though there are three different possible starters for a 1987 Ford van, it was an exact match! What are the odds of that? Roger took our starter off and tested it, and somehow between both he was able to get us repaired and back on the road within a couple of hours. Even better, he only charged us $75- Climax sure is a friendly place! By the time I had finished the show, Jeff came to pick me up and we headed to val Marie for our next program. We are really thankful to the wonderful people in Climax, Saskatchewan who helped us out! Heather http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/09/van_troubles_again.php http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/09/van_troubles_again.php Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:48:17 -0500 After Jenny left we had a few more days without programs, however the trek east had started and Jeff and I went from Vancouver to Kelowna then Kelowna to Jasper. We spent a day in Kelowna writing more funding application stuff and catching up on various tasks. We then got to spend a day in Jasper looking around. It is another beautiful town with mountains surrounding it and glacial streams. We went mountain biking, saw elk and bighorn sheep, and even got to go see a glacier and play in an ice cave! We owe a big thanks to Dana for being our tour guide- Jeff met Dana last summer at Kejimikujik National Park in Nova Scotia when the project toured the east coast. Dana is working in Jasper now, and offered us a place to stay. After Jasper we headed to Edmonton where we got to see Jeff's friend Stu and, of course, the West Edmonton Mall. The Mall itself wasn't quite as big as I was expecting, however the attractions in it were pretty great. From Edmonton we headed to Calgary and had our first show of the eastbound trip. That show was at the Calgary Library and it went really well. We also did a show at the Medicine Hat Mall before heading on to Saskatchewan. Right now we're 2 days in to a 3 day stint here before making the long drive back to Ontario. For our 3 days in Saskatchewan we've been doing a morning and afternoon school program in different small communities, then an evening program where children who have seen our show during the day can invite their parents or any other community members. They have been very successful so far and I'm looking forward to our three shows today. Heather http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/09/traveling_east.php http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/09/traveling_east.php Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:47:23 -0500 We completed a few programs on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands before taking a bit of a break from programs in order to clean, feed and make some decisions. The first couple of days we spent cleaning and tidying the trailer and van. Quite a lot of clutter had accumulated over the last number of weeks. Jenny then flew out from Ontario to meet with us. We won't be home before a major funding application deadline - NSERC PromoScience, one of our project's biggest supporters. We had to decide whether or not to apply for another three years of funding to keep this project going. This seems like an easy decision, however the project takes a tremendous amount of effort and planning so the possibility of another three years warranted serious consideration and all three of us needed to discuss it. One big challenge is the uncertainty from year to year about funding from some sources, so in the end we decided to apply for a fairly significant amount for three years and see what happens. We hope that we'll be approved and that the project will continue. We also gave the animals a big feeding, since this was our only major break in our program schedule. With these important tasks out of the way, we took a few well-earned days off! For our holiday we explored Vancouver Island and enjoyed being tourists. We had many memorable experiences including renting sea kayaks and going out onto the Pacific Ocean. We kayaked up to a pull out rock for seals and got to watch them swim around our kayaks. We went to Nanaimo and ate Nanaimo bars as well as a place called Coombs which has lots of touristy stores, one of which has a grass roof with goats on it. The best part of our week was when we traveled to Tofino on the West Coast of the Island. Tofino is pretty touristy as well, however we didn't stay long in the actual city. We took a Whale watching tour to Hot Springs cove and spent the night there. The hot springs are really neat, they are not built up at all like some of the others that we've seen. The water cascades down through a bunch of natural rock pools until it hits the ocean about 25 meters away. You can stand in the really hot waterfall at the top, or choose a pool you're comfortable in. As the water travels down it cools off a little until it hits the last pool. The last pool is right by the ocean and cold waves wash into it every once in a while. It is really neat to sit in the hot bath and then have a nice cold wave wash in to cool everything down for a bit. We finished off our holiday with an evening on Long Beach. We flew Jenny's kite then sat and watched the sun set over the ocean. It was a great finish to a great but brief vacation. Jenny took the opportunity to drive our van back across the island, she really enjoyed the mountain roads. We got back to Jeff's cousin's house quite late but were up again before dawn to get to the Duke Point ferry which took us back to the mainland. Before taking Jenny to the airport we had a little time to tour around the fishing harbor at Steveston - it was really neat to see a harbour dominated by working fishing boats instead of recreational craft. Too bad our limited freezer space prevented us from buying a lot of fresh seafood! Heather and Jeff http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/09/days_off.php http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/09/days_off.php Thu, 18 Sep 2008 17:46:10 -0500 Our funding for Reptiles at Risk on the Road includes a food budget of $10 per person per day. That doesn't seem like much, especially to people who are used to corporate budgets of $50 or more a day, however by following a few simple rules you'd be surprised what we can do with our gas stove and oven and a barbecue. There are just two rules: 1. Buy ingredients for meals rather than prepared foods; and 2. Buy what's on sale. Simple. We've eaten exceptionally well on this trip. Everyone has contributed to cooking, chopping, shopping, or cleaning up after meals so that no one person is doing it all. A typical day starts with toasted bagels with cream cheese or cereal, then for lunch we have sandwiches or wraps or crackers and cheese, and for dinner whatever meat was on sale with a veggie and rice or mashed potatoes. These typical days don't actually happen all that often though, here's some of the other things we've had: Breakfasts: Bacon - yummy bacon! We even had Canadian Bacon, otherwise known as Back Bacon a couple of times. Eggs - we've had scrambled and fried eggs. Jeff downloaded a recipe for eggs Benedict, my favorite type of eggs, which apparently we're going to try to make one morning. French Toast and Pancakes - great receptacles for the raspberry syrup and birch syrup that we bought to try out. Birch syrup was interesting, but probably not something that any of us would buy again. Lunches: Smoked Salmon!! - We've eaten a lot of salmon and seafood since we've gotten to the west coast. Smoked salmon, or candied smoked salmon or lox style smoked salmon tastes great on crackers. Tuna - not canned tuna - sushi grade tuna which we found at a couple fish shops on the coast, eaten raw. Cheeses - We don't just stick to cheddar. We buy a lot of Havarti, but we also went to a cheese farm and bought some goat cheeses. Macaroni and Cheese - Ok, I know it doesn't sound special, but when you add cut up hot dogs as we did, it becomes a super special reminder of what my Mom used to make me when I was young. We haven't eaten it much, in fact we found some bulk packages on sale a few times and ended up with 36 packages of Kraft Dinner, I think we still have about 33 of them left... Dinners: Here's where it gets more exciting... Seafood - we've had homemade stuffed fresh salmon, mussels picked off a beach, scallops, shrimp, and even fresh oysters (which we cooked). Meat - the best tasting steaks ever - bison steaks cooked rare on our barbecue; plus Duck a L'Orange which James made with Orange Marmalade. Escargot - Jeff made stuffed mushroom caps with escargot which were really good. Sounds expensive, but a can of escargots is pretty inexpensive. Overall it's been a great summer of yummy food. There's a lot of canned food left in the trailer for our trip back which Jeff and I will try to eat, however I'm sure we'll have a hard time resisting the sales and great food we come across. We'll probably be coming home with a lot of those left over dry goods ... plus of course, a couple of pounds on our bodies to keep us warm over the winter. Heather http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/09/food.php http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/09/food.php Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:18:38 -0500 So we've been on the road now for 7 and a half weeks. We have now hit the furthest point west that we will present programs. We now get to talk about Sharp-tailed snakes. This species is endangered and only found in a couple of places on the BC islands. In fact there have only been a handful of sightings of this small snake. They live in Garry Oak ecosystems which have been wiped out from 95% of their former range, along with of course all the species that depend on them. Right now we're waiting outside the Pender Island Library where we will soon do our last show on our western route (we'll be doing more shows on our way home when we leave the islands after a week off here). I thought since we've now passed all the way across the country from Ontario to the Pacific ocean I'd take the time to share my amazement of the vastness of this country and the great variation in landscapes that it has to offer. For most of the trip we have stayed off the Trans-Canada highway and away from the more touristy areas. Instead we've spent the majority of our time along Canada's southern border where more of our reptile species are found. It's been a great way to see the country, much better than flying or even driving straight across. We started out in the familiar rocky Canadian shield of Ontario and part of Manitoba. We then passed into the prairie landscapes of western Manitoba, Saskatchewan and eastern Alberta. The prairies are certainly not nearly as flat as people say they are (though one prairie inhabitant did tell us that along the trans-Canada it is as flat as they say). We passed along the southern border through beautiful badlands where the geography is all negative. You drive along and suddenly the landscape drops before you into really neat rolling hills or strange hoo-doos. After the prairies came the mountains which have been really beautiful. It has sometimes been a struggle to convince our van and trailer to go up some of the steep roads. It's also been interesting going down as well with all the brake problems we've had, though fortunately none of our brake problems has coincided with mountain descents. And finally we've come to the west coast. We spent a great morning a couple of days ago exploring in tide pools on the coast. We found hermit crabs, mussels, little fish, cool invertebrates, millions of snails and of course lots of neat washed up kelp, driftwood, shells and stones. In fact I think there's a small pile of stones and shells in my pocket right now. We dropped James off at the airport a few days ago and two days later we dropped off Sara. Both had to head back to Ontario for school while Jeff and I drive the van and trailer back to Ontario. We have about another 4 weeks before we'll be home as we won't be heading straight back. We'll be taking a week off our here to enjoy the west coast and also doing a group of shows in some Saskatchewan schools as well as some other shows on our route back through and in Northern Ontario. For the drive home we'll certainly miss James' antics and Sara's giggles and of course Sean's great photography and Lenny's hypothetical questions (which fueled discussions which helped us all stay awake while driving). It'll be a whole lot quieter on the drive home, though I'm still looking forward to seeing some of the places we've passed through again, plus some new places, and of course, spending more time looking for herps. Well, I'm off to do our last show before I get to be a tourist for a week! That's it for now, - Heather http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/08/west_coast_at_last.php http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/08/west_coast_at_last.php Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:53:58 -0500 Anywhere you go in this country, you're bound to encounter a wide variety of people. With this project we get the pleasure of basically just driving around meeting people. Not to mention, when we meet these people we get to talk shop about herps, one of our favourite things. It doesn't matter if you're in the East or the West, Canadians seem to be down right good people. For example, when we were in southern Saskatchewan we were in a small town and that day there was a wedding, which meant that night there was a reception. That evening I was out for a walk and low and behold I found myself at a table talking with friendly, down to earth people. A small town full of hospitality ... it reminds me of home. But that's just the tip of the iceberg- we keep meeting people that, in my book, are prime examples of great Canadians. In Alberta we met two guys (the Paddling Bryans) from Montreal that were going to canoe from Alberta to the Gulf Coast. We spent a great evening chatting with them and sharing a meal. We even met them in a great way. The night before the staff of the park we were at (another group of stellar people) had us all over for a campfire, which inevitably became an evening of sing-songs and story telling. It has been really great to see that some things never change, all across Canada the folk you'll meet are good friendly people. Alas, there will always be people that just make you shake your head and hope their passport doesn't have a maple leaf on it. One thing that also has remained a constant as we drive cross-country is various mechanical issues with the van and trailer, so it's common that we find ourselves in auto shops and trailer dealerships. Recently, we have been working on our brakes for the trailer to ensure that driving across the great divide goes swimmingly. In one town, we went to a trailer dealership to ask about fixing the brakes. The man there seemed to be quite helpful and told us that his crew didn't have time to fix them, but he explained how we could remove the whole assembly and he'd have a look at it. At our next show we removed the entire brake assembly and brought it to him afterwards. He quickly told us that the entire thing was shot, and that it would be too costly (both in time and money) to replace the individual parts. Luckily he had two of the same brake assemblies in stock. We needed four, but two would certainly do until we could reach the next available dealership. We happily bought the parts and installed them the next chance we got. A few days later we were in Kelowna and went into another trailer dealership- Okanagan Truck and Trailer. The guy behind the desk was also really helpful and after hearing that we needed two new brake assemblies, he asked why. We explained that we were told that our whole brake assemblies were shot and that they needed to be replaced. He then took a look at our old brake assembly (the same one we'd shown the previous shop) and informed us that they looked fine and that he'd be happy to run a few tests on them. He concluded that all they needed was a gentle sanding, a good cleaning, and some adjusting. This was of course something we could do ourselves in a campground after a show. He explain that he would love to sell us a brand new brake assembly but we didn't need it and frankly he'd hate to see us waste our money. So, at no charge he explained, in great detail, how to get our brakes in tip-top shape and wished us a safe journey. It was a little annoying to realize that we had been taken advantage of by the first salesman, but at the same time one could only laugh at the vast difference between the two people. The first guy saw us as a means to make a quick buck off some people he would likely never see again, while the second guy saw a group of people that needed help and took some time out of his day to make sure we got what we needed without wasting any money. Nevertheless, it does seem that no matter where you go in Canada, no matter the province or what direction the wind is blowing you, 99% of the people in this country are just great. But, that being said, I guess after meeting so many great Canadians we were bound to find one that didn't fit the norm, no matter how awesome a norm it is. I guess some things never change. - James http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/08/some_things_never_change.php http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/08/some_things_never_change.php Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:19:33 -0500 A fun fact for all to learn- some places have problems with homeless cats roaming the streets, but here in Kelowna, there are FERAL BUNNIES!!!!! That's right, Bunnies! It seems that when owners no longer wanted their pet rabbits, they decide to release them into the wild. And, rabbits being the creatures that they are, have now populated the wilds of the Kelowna's streets. It's really neat to be driving to your next show and see albino, tan, black and brown bunnies on the sides of the roads grazing! But, of course, these bunnies are not supposed to be here and apparently there is talk about what to do about them, but no decision has been made yet. I just thought that this is a really fun and unique fact about Kelowna! So, as you all know, we are now in the Okanagan Valley. And let me say, it is gorgeous here!!! Rolling hills as far as the eye can see and these hills are covered in sand, grasses, cacti, and shrubs, with some ponderosa pine scattered throughout. When we first entered the Okanagan, it was really hot! Sometimes it would be over 40C in our van! But, as we drive north, the temperature is becoming more reasonable and it no longer feels like I'm going to die from heat stroke anymore. My feelings so far on this trip are that I'm soooo happy to be here, travelling the country and teaching people about reptiles, and I'm soo happy to be travelling with this crew. They are an amazing group of people, and we are always laughing no matter what. We could be just fooling around or we could have discovered a new problem with the van and trailer, but thankfully our spirits seem to always be up. I think this part of Canada is absolutely beautiful and I would love to come back again, whether it is to live here, work here or to just take a vacation. People in BC have been very friendly and helpful, and it's just a great atmosphere. Also, the wildlife here is phenomenal! So many creatures to see, and things to learn. I only have 6 days left in this wonderful province before I fly home and head back to school, and I plan to enjoy every minute of it! We'll keep you posted and please check out some of our photos!!! There are some really cools ones!! Adios Amigoes!!! * Sara * Sara Pearce Meijerink http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/08/thoughts_from_sara.php http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/08/thoughts_from_sara.php Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:13:35 -0500 We're now near Kelowna in the central part of the Okanagan Valley. Two hundred people showed up for our program this morning at the Westbank library, which was great! A local newspaper article last Friday probably helped to promote our appearance, and it should be interesting to see how big the crowd is at our next few programs! Apparently, Global TV is showing up tonight; more media coverage is always a good thing. We also hope to get the remaining two trailer brake units today, and install them- hopefully that goes smoothly! It would be great to have all four trailer brakes functional again! - Jeff http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/08/central_okanagan.php http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/08/central_okanagan.php Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:29:33 -0500 Staff Profile: James Baxter-Gilbert James is back with us for another summer of fun and excitement. Not that it isn't also a lot of work, but James brings his own special brand of fun and excitement to the job! He's quite a character- perhaps a cartoon character brought to life! James is a Zoology student at Laurentian University, going into his senior year. Obviously, he is very interested in reptiles, but his interests also include many other aspects of the science, and art, of life. He is remarkably adept at many tasks, and not at all fazed by the challenge of tackling something unfamiliar. This may be related to his farm-boy upbringing, and his fix-it attitude is certainly a great asset on the road. James is the kind of guy you want to have around when everything goes wrong, so it's even better when things are going as well as they have been so far on this trip. Too bad we'll have to put James on a plane in Vancouver to go back to school, as we'll definitely miss his presence on the return leg of the trip! P.S. James asked me to add that he's dashing and handsome... http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/08/staff_profile_james_baxtergilb.php http://www.reptilesatrisk.org/2008/08/staff_profile_james_baxtergilb.php Sat, 16 Aug 2008 17:07:43 -0500