A group of guests walks along the boardwalk through the desert at the Osoyoos Desert Centre during Romancing the Desert on Saturday. Guests walked between food and wine stations while a guide told them about the desert. The event is a fundraiser for the Osoyoos Desert Society. (Richard McGuire photo)
This year’s series begins with film and lecture about wolves at Watermark resort on Feb. 21
Nature lovers rejoice as the Osoyoos Desert Society will once again be hosting its popular Winter Program series later this month and into March.
This year’s series includes four programs – three programs featuring a documentary film combined with a presentation by a local expert, and one event featuring a behind-the-scenes tour.
The winter program series was started around 2000 as a way to provide opportunities for nature lovers to view films and benefit from the information provided by experts during winter months, said executive director Denise Eastlick.
“We’re a year-round organization and we thought the winter series was a good way to keep our members and supporters informed when the Desert Centre is closed for the winter months,” said Eastlick.
The series kicks off Feb. 21 with a film and lecture about wolves. The documentary The Rise of Black Wolf follows a wolf pack in Yellowstone Park and provides an up-close look at the world of wolves. After the film, ecologists John and Mary Theberge will discuss wolves in Canada. They will share findings from their long-term study of wolves in Ontario’s Algonquin Park and give an update on their current wolf research.
The second program in the series, scheduled on Feb. 28, features the film GMO OMG. The documentary sheds light on genetically modified food by telling the story of a father’s exploration of GMOs and their impact on the world around him, including his three young children.
Following the film, local organic farmer and
naturalist Lee McFadyen will be on hand to provide an insider’s perspective on farming and food issues in the South Okanagan.
On March 21 the Winter Program Series hits the road for an excursion to the South Okanagan Rehabilitation Centre for Owls (SORCO), located north of Oliver.
Participants will be treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of the centre’s new rehabilitation facility and a presentation about its rehabilitation and release process.
The tour also includes a visit to the site’s Burrowing Owl breeding facility and information about efforts to re-introduce this endangered owl in British Columbia.
Advance registration is required for the program at SORCO and reservations can be made by contacting the Osoyoos Desert Society at [email protected] or 250-495-2470.
“There’s a long list of people we work with on various projects at the Desert Centre and we use those contacts to line up people we think will be able to provide valuable information to our members and the community.”
Osoyoos Desert Society executive director Denise Eastlick
The final program in the series, Water Ways, will be held March 28th at Watermark Beach Resort. The program features a documentary focusing on water followed by a question and answer session presented by the Osoyoos Lake Water Quality Society. Participants will have an opportunity to learn more about the issues impacting Osoyoos Lake and current efforts underway to maintain the water quality of the lake.
Desert Society board members “do a lot of research” and use their many contacts formed through the years to decide which films will be shown and which guest speakers will be used during the winter program, said Eastlick.
“There’s a long list of people we work with on various projects at the Desert Centre and we use those contacts to line up people we think will be able to provide valuable information to our members and the community,” she said. “We’ve had some great speakers through the years and we think we have another great lineup of films and speakers for this year’s winter program.”
Over the past several years, there has been very good support for the winter program, with most of the films and presentations attracting between 60-80 people, she said.
“We see a lot of familiar faces at many of our presentations and then we get some new faces at each one as there are a lot of people who come to Osoyoos to spend the winter months,” she said.
Eastlick reminds anyone who hopes to attend the presentation at SORCO to phone first and reserve their place as there will be limited space for that particular event.
Admission for the Osoyoos Desert Society’s Winter Program Series is by donation. Programs run from 2 – 4 p.m. at the Watermark Beach Resort, except for the March 21 program which will be held at SORCO.
For more information, or to register for the SORCO tour, contact the Osoyoos Desert Society at [email protected] or 250-495-2470.
The Osoyoos Desert Society is a non-profit society founded in 1991 to conserve the biologically rich and diverse habitats of British Columbia’s Southern Interior.
Through habitat conservation, restoration and education, the society strives to generate public knowledge, respect and active concern for ecosystems worldwide.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
