Very happy 2022 to all! As the snow piles and the days grow longer, I hope you’re all able to find more time safely enjoying the winter wildlife near you.
The New Year brings some exciting news for the KBA Canada program: we are happy to welcome Zachary Moore, our new Manitoba Coordinator, and Gabriel Bergeron, our new Québec KBA research professional. Zack is completing his Masters at the University of Manitoba, studying grassland songbird conservation on private rangelands in Alberta, and joins us with a wealth of experience from NCC, Heritage Saskatchewan, and more. He’ll be picking up where our previous Prairie Coordinator left off in this province. Gabriel is finishing his Masters at the Université de Sherbrooke, and comes from a strong ecological background. He brings a great knowledge of southern Québec’s flora and fauna to our team, and will be working with our KBA Québec Coordinator to continue mapping important nature areas across “la belle province”. If you’d like to find out more about the work going on in these regions, email us.
Missed our last monthly webinar? In part one of a two-part mini-series on engaging people in conservation through KBAs, Birds Canada’s Ontario Coordinator and Caretakers from Ontario and BC IBAs explored the successes and lessons learned from the IBA Caretaker program. Watch that webinar here.
The last KBA Canada webinar of 2021 was the Saskatchewan KBA kick-off meeting, filled with great presentations and discussions about the initiative to identify Key Biodiversity Areas program in Saskatchewan. Thanks to speakers Dr. Ciara Raudsepp-Hearne, Michael Rudy, Dr. Lucy Poley, and Peter Kingsmill. See this webinar here.
Work is just getting underway across Alberta, and on Tuesday, February 8th, 10am-11am Mountain / 12pm-1pm Eastern, we’ll host a webinar to officially kick-off the work. Join for a (re)introduction to the process, an update on the work done so far, and information on further opportunities for involvement. Find more info and RSVP here.
On Thursday, January 27, 9am-10am Pacific / 12pm-1pm Eastern, the KBA monthly webinar series returns with part two of the mini-series on engaging people in conservation through KBAs. Mark Stabb from NCC, and Wylie Thomas and Margaret Lidkea from Friends of Uplands Park Society will discuss the lessons they’ve learned about inspiring local conservation for diverse plants and animal species. Find more info and RSVP here.
The recordings for all past webinars can be found on our website.
One of the greatest strengths of KBAs is how they can highlight species that are traditionally overlooked or understudied. From brilliantly-patterned Northern Barrens Tiger Beetles (Cicindela patruela), to delicate and carnivorous Thread-leaved Sundews (Drosera filiformis) and ghostly, pale Seaside Centipede Lichens (Heterodermia sitchensis), there are thousands of incredible species and infraspecies across Canada that are finally getting their due with the KBA initiative.
Identifying KBAs for these species may still take a while, but that hasn’t stopped us from shining a light on these amazing creatures now. Our KBA Canada twitter has been running regular #SpeciesSpotlight posts, picking several potential KBA species every week and sharing some interesting facts about them. Follow us on Twitter at @KbaCanada to see these posts and more news on KBAs and conservation in Canada!
We are always looking for more stories about KBAs and the fascinating species within them. If you have a story about a KBA or a potential KBA species that you’d like to share, write to us at KBA Canada.
As always, please get in touch if you have questions or if you want to learn more.
Peter Soroye
Canada Key Biodiversity Areas Assessment and Outreach Coordinator / Coordonnateur de l’évaluation et de la sensibilisation des zones clés pour la biodiversité
