April 2019

Looking forward to my first term as President of this amazing society that I’ve been a member of for only four years; I am excited to support and represent our membership in a greater capacity. My education is in forestry/biology/botany and the Saskatoon Nature Society has been the perfect outlet for my passion for nature. You will commonly see me leading tree and/or botany field trips, as I love to connect with people and share knowledge of nature. I have enjoyed many trips as a member, although my personal favourite field trip is the annual orchid trip to Nisbet Forest.
At this time, I would like to thank Valerie Martz for her commitment and perseverance during the past two years. Under her direction, we were able to launch our new website! She has also continued to grow our partnership and collaborations with Meewasin and The Swale Watchers in support of conservation of the North East Swale. In addition, I would like to thank our outgoing board members: Marten Stoffel, Greg Fenty, Alice Hiller, and Joe Stookey, for their ongoing contributions and dedication to the Society. As well, I would like to welcome our new directors, LeeAnn Latremouille and Janine McManus. We are also fortunate to have Diane Wells taking on the position of Secretary.
Spring is finally here, and for us that means an increase in field trips! As Valerie mentioned at our AGM, our number and variety of field trips is the envy of other societies. This is of course made possible by the time and vast knowledge of our members. We are so fortunate to have a membership full of educated, experienced, and like-minded people. This spring we can look forward to multiple birding trips and workshops, a botany trip, and then transitioning into summer we have our (now annual) firefly trip to the NE Swale, during Nature City Festival. The birding workshops will also gear up many of our members to participate in the Saskatchewan Breeding Bird Atlas. Thank you to Stan Shadick, John Patterson, LeeAnn Latremouille, and Janine McManus for facilitating these workshops.
Check out our beautiful new website https://saskatoonnature.org for updates on events throughout the spring and summer. I hope to see everyone out on trips, volunteering, and simply enjoying the nature around us!
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Sara Bryson