YNC Annual General Meeting- You are invited!
When: Saturday May 12th at 9 am
Where: Okanagan College, 1000 KLO Road, Kelowna
Where: Okanagan College, 1000 KLO Road, Kelowna
The YNC is a registered Canadian Charity and holds an Annual
General Meeting (AGM). All current members of the YNC are invited to attend the
AGM and have a right to participate in the election of the 2012/2013 Board of Directors (list below) as well as attend
to other YNC business. The AGM
will be followed by a YNC Leader meeting and you are most welcome to join us.
Please let us know whether you will be attending by emailing info@ync.ca RSVP by Mon. April 30th.
If you are not able to join the meeting in Kelowna, the 2011 Annual
Report, Financial Statements, and a listing of the elected 2012-2013 Board of
Directors will be posted on www.ync.ca shortly.
Note: Our AGM happens in conjunction with the BC Nature AGM and rotates around the province. This year we are being hosted by Central Okanagan Naturalist Club- thank you to
the Central Okanagan Naturalists for welcoming the YNC! More info about
the BC Nature Spring Conference and AGM please see their website.
2012 Young Naturalists’ Club
of BC
Slate of Directors standing for
election at May 12 AGM
Daphne Solecki
Daphne is the founder and current president of the YNC BC.
She joined Nature Vancouver in 1985 and has served as a director and in various
other roles since then. She is also past president of Nature Vancouver, and of
BC Nature. Having come to the enjoyment of nature late in life, she created the
Young Naturalists' Club of British Columbia, launched in 2000. Currently she is
involved in the evolution of YNC from a mostly volunteer organization to a
mature and professionally led organization. She steps down as President
this year but will continue to serve as Honourary President.
Daphne is the recipient of several awards including the
Queens Jubilee Medal, the BC Nature Elton Anderson Award, BC Ministry of
Environment Arbor Vitae Award and the Nature Vancouver’s Ney Award for
Conservation and the Kay Beamish Award for Nature Education. Daphne recently
received a Honourary Life Membership in Nature Vancouver in recognition of her
many years of service. In 2012 she was the recipient of a BC Community
Achievement Award.
Ian McKeachie
Ian joined the YNC Board in the fall of 2010. He has a
Bachelor's Degree in Geography and a Master's in Ecological Economics. Ian
brings both an understanding of ecological systems and economic realities to
his board position at the YNC.
Ian grew up on Vancouver Island, an area rich in natural beauty
and resources. Thanks to his
parents’ enthusiasm for the outdoors, he was fortunate to explore some of the vast wilderness around
him. This inspired in him a profound connection with
nature which he wants to share with other young people. Ian believes that the
most effective way to conserve the environment for the future is to inspire
young people to protect it, by fostering in them a respect and love for their
natural surroundings. It was this sentiment that brought Ian to his involvement
with the Young Naturalists’ Club of BC. He believes that the Young Naturalists’
Club of BC provides an amazing opportunity for families to come together and
learn about nature while experiencing the outdoors, thereby cultivating and
nurturing a much needed respect and love for nature and community.
Ian lives in Vancouver and works as an accountant at Expedia
Cruise Ship Centers. He tries to get outside as much as possible. Hiking and
skiing in the Coast Mountains, and exploring the local shoreline are favourite
pastimes.
Heather Chatwin
“My favorite earliest memories are peering under rocks by the
estuary of the Tlell River (Haida Gwaii). Then, while sitting in the soft
moss and lichens and eating a handful of huckleberries, I’d watch red squirrels
noisily tearing apart cones. Playing in nature by the Tlell River shaped
me fundamentally, and I hope that all children can have a chance to play
quietly by themselves, or imaginatively with their friends and family, outside
in the forest. I love being the leader of the Victoria Young Naturalists, and
seeing the excitement on kids’ faces as they taste forest teas, or touch soft
owl feathers.”
Heather has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science, that
is focused on environmental policy and protection in British Columbia and
Canada, and a background in environmental programming for youth and children. Her
educational hopes are to combine a naturalist’s love for nature with education
in the ways of thinking and social/political values that effect its
preservation and promotion.
Currently Heather is a Parks Interpreter with Capital
Regional Parks, Victoria. This will be Heather’s first term as a director
of the YNC Board.
Bob Peart
Bob has been a director of YNC since 2009. He has been an
avid outdoors person ever since he was a kid --- he particularly enjoys
backpacking, kayaking and birdwatching. He is a biologist with a Masters
Degree in Education. Bob has worked for the past 35 years in parks
planning and land use, as well as public conservation education. He has been
employed at both professional and senior management levels within government agencies
including Parks Canada, the Canadian Wildlife Service, and the BC Ministry of
Aboriginal Affairs. Bob has also held Executive Director positions with the BC
Outdoor Recreation Council and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society-BC
Chapter, and has volunteered for numerous conservation organizations over the
past 30 years. Bob is 'self-employed and semi-retired' and works on
various contracts that interest him.
Currently Bob is a Director of The Kesho Trust; a senior
associate for Children & Nature Network (US); Vice-chair of The Child and
Nature Alliance of Canada; and a Director of the Elders Council for Parks in
BC. He serves as a Director Emeritus for the Canadian Parks and Wilderness
Society and The Grassland Conservation Council of BC. In 2008 Bob was
awarded Canada's highest conservation award, The J.B.Harkin Medal, for his
lifelong achievement and dedication to nature.
Laura Estrada
Laura joined the Board in 2009. She is an environmental and
Earth science educator who is passionate about rediscovering our relationship
to the natural world. Though originally from Guatemala, her curiosity about
Earth's changing landscapes led her to pursue a B.Sc. in Earth Sciences and
Biology at Memorial University in Newfoundland and was later inspired to
explore the development of children’s ecological identities through an M.A. at
UBC.
Currently, Laura is working with the Mineral Resources
Education Program of BC in which she works with teachers to help them
incorporate Earth sciences and mining education into their classrooms. The
purpose of the program is to bring awareness through education about the
province’s mineral resources, the crucial roles of minerals in everyday life,
as well as the study of the responsible use and conservation of mineral resources.
She is honoured to be part of the YNC, which continues to
fuel and reinforce her passion about developing a strong relationship to our
natural world.
Ruth Foster
Ruth joined the Board in 2007. She is a nationally
recognized environmental education specialist. She is the recipient of the
prestigious Canadian Environmental Award for Environmental Learning, the Prime
Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence and the VanCity Environmental
Educator’s Award. She is also an associate with the Pacific WildLife Foundation
and a naturalist with the Reed Point Marine Education Centre.
In 1976 she co-founded an award-winning stream
rehabilitation project that has served as a living classroom for thousands of
students. Today Mossom Creek is alive with salmon. Ruth continues to teach
through Simon Fraser University’s Faculty of Education and to mentor students
at the Mossom Creek Hatchery in Port Moody.
Eva Nagy
Eva Nagy is a long time member of Nature Vancouver, having
served as a director and as Botany Section coordinator and trip leader. She has
been a YNC BC director since 2006, during which time she served as Treasurer
2006 - 2009.
For the past nine years she has been leader of YNC Vancouver
and shared with members her love of mountains and the rich natural history of
British Columbia. She has taken full advantage of all the wonderful nature
places in metro Vancouver and its museums and academic institutions for
memorable YNC Explorer Days.
Eva was awarded the Kay Beamish Award for Extraordinary Achievement
in Nature Education by Nature Vancouver in 2011.
George Bangham
George is one of the original YNC Board members and has
served for 10 years. Growing up as a young boy in remote communities in BC (was
a Junior Forest Warden with a red shirt!) has given him a deep feeling for
nature and he would like to see all children experience the wonders of nature
in some way in their development.
He brings his many years of business experience including
Director of Planning and Project Administration for Western Canada with a major
(Cellular) Telecom Co. prior to retirement. Following retirement he was a
Consultant on projects throughout the US.
George has been a Director with Nature Vancouver and is
presently a member of their Finance Committee. He has also been a Regional
Coordinator with BC Nature.
Lynne Carson
Lynne Carson is a retired Certified General Accountant who
left the formal workforce after eighteen years to raise a family in North
Vancouver. She was introduced to the YNC in 2010 by her longtime friend (and
previous YNC Club Coordinator) Jennifer Swanston and has been volunteering her
financial accounting skills to the YNC since then. Lynne has a solid understanding of the YNC finances and is
interested in volunteering her considerable financial and accounting experience
as a Director on the YNC Board.
“I thought it would be interesting to combine my skills as
an accountant and my interest in nature and ecology.” says Lynne. Lynne joined
the board in 2011.
Vanessa Lee
“I am passionately involved with anything green, watery or
mountainous! The love affair all started about 11 years ago with tracking
snakes in Ontario Provincial Parks has continued since with environmental
education and interpretation out west in various positions, from a Richmond
classroom teacher, a Vancouver Aquarium interpreter to my current position as a
Metro Vancouver Regional Parks Interpretation Leader. I’ve also dedicated
my volunteer time in the past to the David Suzuki Foundation and am currently
on the executive committees of Interpretation Canada and EEPSA (Environmental
Educators Provincial Specialist Association). I am dedicated to
connecting people to nature’s awe and wonder, and hope to inspire care of place
and wild things.”
Vanessa recently completed a Masters of Ecological
Education. Vanessa joined the board in 2011.
