Field Nats Unite! Nature Brings Three Neighbouring Clubs Together
By Jeremy Hatt
Earlier in the year, President of the West Elgin Nature Club (WENC), Kelly-Sue O’Connor, reached out to the Essex County Field Naturalists’ Club (ECFNC) suggesting we have a Zoom call to share strategies for increasing membership engagement in our respective Clubs.
The Membership Committee agreed that this was a great opportunity and began to plan a meeting time but Kelly-Sue then suggested something even better: why not include the Sydenham Field Naturalists (SFN) in the conversation? Kelly-Sue knew the President of SFN, Mike Smith, well and figured we might as well make it a tri-county meeting to bring together members from Essex, Chatham-Kent, and Elgin. A labyrinthine email chain was soon underway and before we knew it, members from all three Clubs agreed on a date and time to meet in person in Chatham!
The meeting was a resounding success. We met on October 8, 2024, at the Sons of Kent Brewing Co. for food, drink, and discussion. Five members from ECFNC, four members from SFN, and one member from WENC were present for the meeting. There was a lot of energy in the room as representatives of each Club gave a brief history of how each one was created, what they offer their members, and how they plan to expand and improve moving forward.
One of the major developments from the meeting was planning a few joint events each year hosted by a different Club on a rotating basis. This was later coined the Nature Neighbours Series and the first outing was hosted by SFN on December 7 at Sycamore Woods in Wallaceburg. The event was a great success with 26 people attending from all three Clubs. ECFNC, SFN, and WENC plan to meet in January or February to discuss another spring event hosted by WENC.
This type of collaboration is the first of its kind for ECFNC and really demonstrates what is possible when different groups come together to share ideas. Members are encouraged to bring forth any ideas they have for the Club and how ECFNC can continue to strengthen our community. It is also encouraged that members attend the events put on by our three Clubs as it’s a great way to meet new people and share the knowledge, history, and nature of our local areas.
Meeting Minutes
– arranged by Mike Smith, President SFN
Sydenham Field Naturalists / Essex County Nature / West Elgin Field Naturalists – Collaboration Meeting 08 OCT 2024 / 6:30 PM / SONS OF KENT
- Roundtable introductions
a. Mike Smith, President SFN
b. Ismay Earle, Vice-President SFN
c. Sherri-Anne Wills, Communications Chair SFN
d. Patti Henderson, Membership Chair SFN
e. Carl Maiolani, member ECFNC
f. Jeremy Hatt, Membership Chair ECFNC
g. Melanie Masse, Social Media ECFNC
h. Janice Boussey, Membership Secretary ECFNC
i. Aileen Petrozzi, ECFN
j. Kelly-Sue O’Connor, WEFN - Potential Collaboration Opportunities
a. Youth / membership attraction initiatives
b. Joint outing for all club members to attend
c. ECN Natural Heritage Restoration Program
i. Does the seed collection manual still exist? Possible to get a copy?
d. Carolinian Canada – Southern Ontario Seed Strategy
e. ReForest London – Seed Corridor Initiative - Sydenham Field Naturalists
Has been in existence since 1986, steward two properties for the municipality (Wallaceburg Sycamore Woods, PawPaw Woods) and one for Ontario Nature (Sydenham River Nature Reserve), planted two Miyawaki forests this past spring in municipal parks in Chatham, working more closely with Enbridge for funding of projects and initiatives, annual plant sale is our primary fundraiser, associated closely with ReLeaf Chatham-Kent (native plant gardening FB group), SFN started a FB group called Birds of Chatham-Kent, recent grant received from Invasive Species Action Centre for removal of multiflora rose from Pawpaw Woods - Essex County Nature
Also celebrating 40th year this year, a few properties that the club has helped purchase, membership committee started ‘pop-ups’ – more casual outings without a specific ‘leader’, monthly meetings in Windsor at Ojibway, quarterly newsletter – content supplied by members, Phrag Fighters committee has been a success and making good connections to the community, agreement with city of Windsor to remove phrag around a stormwater pond, consultations with private landowners and Caldwell First Nation - West Elgin Field Naturalists
Club started in 1947, KS is President and supported by a board of directors, do not have conservation goals, Monday morning walk every week, share natural sightings at each meeting, have monthly speakers, lack of knowledge about the club in general, started Instagram page which attracted new members, 30-40 members attend each meeting, do butterfly counts every year - Grant / Fundraising Opportunities
a. Invasive Species Action Center, TD Friends of the Environment, Federal 2 Billion Tree Program, municipal specific opportunities such as Chatham-Kent Community Fund
b. Breweries – custom beer – Sons of Kent, Red Barn Brewery have both done similar things in the past with other non-profit organizations - Combined Event
a. SFN can offer up a walk in Sycamore Woods – 11 acre old growth woodlot in Wallaceburg. Access is restricted to SFN board members only, so a specific date would need to be coordinated.
b. Maidstone Conservation Area is another good possibility
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