| Spring Sensations | CSISS Big Birthday | ISCBC Forum | Wildflower Seed mixes |
| Spring Webinars | CBT Open House | Captivating Content | Staff Updates |
| Upcoming Events |
Spring Sensations
Goodbye snow, hello garden time!
Been feeling the warmth of the sunshine on your face? The snow in your yard melting away, have you thinking of all the garden goodness that will come? Cleaning up your bike to get around town? Us too!
As the days begin to feel longer and the birds are calling we are spending more time outside. We are ready to welcome all the great things the change in seasons bring. If you have plants of all kinds emerging in your yards we love seeing what is coming to life!
Behind the scenes, we are busy planning away for an exciting field and outreach year ahead. We are excited to get out and see you all soon. In the meantime, we are always happy to connect and learn more about how we can contribute to our communities.
CSISS Turns 10!
Celebrating a decade of Invasives Speices Prevention and Management.
CSISS is celebrating ten years of operation in the Columbia Shuswap Region!
Over the last decade as small non profit we have connected with a range of community groups, land managers, organizations, stakeholders, youth and school students and industries to prevent and manage Invasive Species throughout the CSRD.
Our small but driven team has witnessed the growth and changes within our world, organization and personal lives. CSISS now supports several full time year round roles and summer positions, providing fantastic employment opportunities and bringing benefits to our community and ecosystems.
We would like to extend a big thank you to all of our inspiring past and current staff and board members. We are extremely thankful for our longstanding and generous funders and supporters.
Stay tuned for stats, workshops and events as we celebrate turning 10!
ISCBC 2023 Forum
Invasives 2023
In February, Education and Outreach Coordinator Jess Booth and Board member Chris Gill attended the Invasive Species Council of British Columbia (ISCBC) in New Westminster Vancouver. The annual conference had not been held in person since 2020, and it was fantastic to connect with other Regional Invasive Species Organizations (RISO’s), partners and networks across the province. The forum highlighted Indigenous led projects, provincial updates, success stories across North America, arising threats, (Spotted Lanternfly, Feral Pigs) addressed Climate change and Invasives issues and featured some incredible youth volunteer work. We came away with new knowledge, energy and inspiration to share what we learned with the communities we work in. Thank you ISCBC and the team for putting on such a great gathering!
Are you aware of all the species your wildflower seed mix contains?
Unfortunately, many ‘Wildflower’ seed mixes are full of invasive plants! Invasive plants tend to germinate easily, grow quickly and reproduce prolifically, which means you probably don’t want them in your garden. When planning out your gorgeous pollinator attracting gardens be sure you aren’t accidentally introducing common invasives that are widely sold at garden centers.
Follow these 4 Top Tips:
TOP TIP 1: Local Seeds
Purchase seeds locally of native seed producers like:
Use the PlantWise- Grow me Instead resources to grow non invasive and native flowers as an alternative. These are available at local reputable garden centers and at our farmers market events.
TOP TIP 3:Seed donation & Seed Library
Stop by one of our outreach events or Farmers Market to collect some local seeds harvested in Revelstoke and sorted at our “Seed Saving Workshop” with the Revelstoke Bee City and the Revelstoke Local Food Initiative in the fall last year.
We have seed packs with Fireweed, Goldenrod and Pearly Everlasting (beautiful alternative to Baby’s Breath).
TOP TIP 4: Avoid Bulk and Commercial Seed producers
Avoid purchasing inexpensive bulk seed packs from large commercial chains. Often these seed mixes produced overseas and are full of “cheap filler” invasive species. Check the ingredient list before purchasing, this can only be found on the packaging or online at the company’s website. Please contact CSISS if you are unsure.
Common Culprits
Invasive plants, seed packs, and seed mixes (containing invasives) that are commonly sold in garden centers and supermarkets
PlantWise and Pollination Networking Webinar Recording
With spring arriving you might be curious to learn about how you can support plant-pollinator relationships in your garden.
In this webinar we speak about the PlantWise program, which encourages gardeners to choose non-invasive and native plants for their gardens. Brenda Beckwith and Valerie Huff present Pollination Networking for Your Garden.
This webinar is an invitation to reconnect our home spaces to the surrounding landscape, support plant-pollinator relationships, and give back some of what we have taken away. You will meet some of our native plants and native pollinators.
The Columbia Basin Trust (CBT) is hosting community engagement sessions across the region to seek feedback in their new strategic plan. In 2022 it was announced that environmental education would no longer be considered a strategic priority for the Trust. Our invasive species education and management programs are supported by CBT and we value their longstanding contributions to CSISS allowing us to connect to many people and places within the Columbia Region.
We have several local partners who deliver high quality and meaningful environmental education programming who may be negatively affected by a shift in their funding sources
To support the important work of reducing invasive species and supporting environmental education, some actions you and your partners could take include:
Submitting the online survey or workbook: This is a good opportunity to provide feedback directly to the Trust about the importance of environmental education and invasive species management in the region.
Attending community sessions: These sessions provide an opportunity to engage with other community members and share your concerns and ideas for moving forward.
Attending a symposia event: These events may provide additional opportunities to network with others working in the field and share best practices for invasive species management and environmental education.
Submitting a video: This is another way to share your perspective on the importance of these issues, and to highlight the successes of your programs and partnerships.
Thank you for your commitment to this important work, and for engaging in the process of shaping the Columbia Basin Trust’s new strategic plan. Your input is valuable in ensuring that the Trust’s priorities align with the needs and priorities of the community.
CSISS is excited to be attending and presenting at the upcoming CMI conference. We are teaming up with our friends at Central Kootenay Invasive Species Society and East Kootenay Invasive Species Society to present a speedy session “Invasive Species, the tourists we don’t want – What you can do to prevent the spread“.
We are looking forward to the opportunity to connect with sharing some best management practices to reduce the spread of invasive species when recreating.
There are many incredible presenters attending and interesting sessions throughout the conference. Including a free and open to the public keynote address looking at responsible recreation through the lenses of climate and culture.
Invasive species and nature inspired, news, stories, podcasts, books capturing our attention.
Wild Boars, Pleistocene Horses and Coyote Killing Contests. – The Hunter Conservationist Podcast.
If you don’t have ‘Round Canada’ on your podcast list you should! This recent episode covers so much but we found the conversations on wild boar farming in Alberta and White Nose Syndrome in bats in BC eye opening!
Goldfish Rescue!.. Release in the Ocean? – Fish for Thought
What a wild concept?! There have been many unusual internet trends but buying goldfish to “Release” them into to ocean is one that we cannot get behind!
The Fish for Thought You Tube Channel raises some insightful arguments and most importantly reminds us about the value of “Don’t Let It Loose”
Staff Updates
CSISS Staff shifting with the seasons
Kelsey Desilets, departs CSISS.
Kelsey has been a wonderful asset to our team throughout 2022 and the beginning of 2023 as our Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator. We have loved working alongside her in the field and in the office.
Field Operations Manager Laura Gaster will oversee aquatics fieldwork and Jess Booth, Education and Outreach Coordinator will oversee the aquatic outreach program.
Good luck with your next steps Kelsey, you will be missed!
Nolan Novonty returns!
We welcome Nolan back to the CSISS team as our Field Program Technician.
We loved having Nolan as a program assistant in 2022, always keen to tackle a project, data, remove invasives, water many plants at our restoration site and connect with members of our community.
Keep an eye out for Nolan as he carries out aquatic and terrestrial fieldwork across the region.
We look forward to introducing you to our new summer staff in the next few weeks!
Upcoming Events
April 24 – Columbia Basin Trust Open House Revelstoke
April 25- Emcon Training with CSISS
May 2- City of Salmon Arm Training with CSISS
May 3 – Garden Centre Outreach by CSISS to local businesses
CSISS 2024 Annual Report: A Year of Growth and Success As we reflect on 2024, CSISS is proud to share the accomplishments of our dedicated team across our aquatic, terrestrial, and outreach programs in the Read more…
Register here: https://forms.gle/JyWfxwWnynvso8nu8 When: Thursday 26th September, 2024, 10am-2pm Location: Tsútswecw Provincial Park, meet at Main Parking Lot & Information Centre Description: Come join the Columbia Shuswap Invasive Species Society (CSISS), BC Parks and other land managers for an Read more…