Outings
Let’s Explore
Outing Information:
For outings, please wear appropriate clothing and footwear. Carpool if possible. An email detailing meeting place and time will be sent out prior to the outing. Keep in mind, that the locations are subjective to weather conditions and having trip leaders. If the weather is bad, members check your email. Most trips start at 9:30.
When carpooling, it is Arrowsmith Naturalists recommendation that at the end of your outing a donation of $5 be given to the driver of the vehicle.
Please Note: – Guests are very welcome. A Guest Waiver and Day Membership forms are available at time of outing or on the Membership page. These forms must be read carefully, completed and signed with an accompanying $1.00 fee before participating in an outing.
Leaders are needed for several outings. Great way to get to know your fellow naturalists and learn more about the trip. If you are interested: arrowsmithnaturalists@gmail.com
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Arrowsmith Naturalists – Outings 2025-26
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| Date | Location | Description | Leader |
| Sun. Jul. 27 | Buttertubs Marsh | A guided tour led by Doug Fraser of Nature Nanaimo | Doug Fraser – Nature Nanaimo |
| Wed. Aug. 6 | French Creek Estuary Nature Preserve | A detailed exploration of the plants of the French Creek estuary and the nature preserve | Terry Taylor |
| Wed. Aug. 13 | Heritage Forest | Learn the history and ecology of this preserved old growth Coastal Douglas Fir forest | Tom Whitfield – BPP Society |
| Fri. Aug. 22 | Astronomy Outing | Observation of the night sky highlighting the Milky Way and summer constellations | Terry Taylor & Dave Erickson |
| Wed. Sept. 10 | Wildwood EcoForest near Cedar | A demonstration of sustainable logging recognizing the importance of the entire ecosystem | Sue Wilson |
| Wed. Sept. 17 | Helliwell Park on Hornby Island | A rocky headland with beautiful beaches and a stand of old-growth Douglas Fir | Dianne Anderson |
| Wed. Oct. 9 | Saysutshun Island | Forests, beaches, and historic sites a stone’s throw from downtown Nanaimo | Toni & Ron Wyckoff |
| Wed. Oct. 15 | Roberts Memorial Provincial Park | A 2nd-growth forest and sandstone ledges popular with sea lions | Liz Thorne |
| Wed. Oct. 22 | Mushroom Walk at Big Qualicum Fish Hatchery | A warm-up for the Mushroom & Nature Festival in peak mushroom season | Terry Taylor |
| Sat. Nov. 1 | Morrell Nature Sanctuary | A temperate rainforest with a lake, beaver pond, and plenty of mushrooms | Bob Harvey / Rob & Jeanne S |
| Tue Nov 11 | Notch Hill , Nanoose Bay | Garry Oak meadows & Arbutus, a bench with the carved outline of the Island, magnificent view of the Nanoose Bay Estuary, might see WW2 planes | Rob & Jeanne S |
| Wed Nov 19 | Stamp Falls Canyon | A visit to Stamp Falls Canyon to see the fish runs | David Helem |
| Wed Nov 26 | Little Qualicum Hatchery | An easy stroll along the Little Qualicum River and the man made Salmon spawning channels and surroundings | Helen Davidson |
| Sat. Dec. 6 | Moorecroft Regional Park | Garry oak meadows, a Coastal Douglas Fir forest, and beautiful coastline views | Dianne Anderson |
| Sat. Jan 17 | Lighthouse Trail | A beautiful walk through a Coastal Douglas Fir forest on flat, well-maintained trails | Dianne Anderson |
| Wed, Feb 4 | Courtenay Airpark & Estuary | An easy birding walk along the river with an opportunity to view the wintering trumpeter swans | Duncan Campbell |
| Wed, Feb 18 | Thames Creek | A walk through a temperate rain forest with awesome old growth trees, then across the bridge to scenic lower Thames Creek | Maggie Green |
| Wed. Mar 4 | Deep Bay and Ship’s Point | A spit of sand, cobble, mud flats , sand bar, and deep water bay. The Ship Point trail features large Douglas fir, Sitka spruce & Garry oak, then a walk along the beach | Duncan Campbell |
| Wed, Mar 18 | Nile Creek | A lovely hike through the forest along Nile Creek | Maggie Green |
| Fri Mar 28 | Clay Banks at Englishman River | A pleasant walk along spawning channels, beaver chewed trees, and clay banks left over from the iceage with the possibility of seeing birds and spring flowers. | Toni & Ron Wyckoff |
| Thu April 2 | Piper’s Lagoon | Garry Oak meadow flowers. Impressive view of the sea and historic Shack Island, with bird and sea life sightings possible. | Rob & Jeanne S |
| Thu Apr 16 | Stamp River Falls POSTPONED | A beautiful walk along the river to the falls and the fish ladder | Dianne Anderson |
| Wed Apr 22 | Thames River | A 4 km hike along the Thames Creek and through some old growth forest. The walk is on single file paths with roots and rocks to negotiate, with twists and turns and few short areas with some short but significant grades. | Maggie Green |
| Fri May 1 | Lotus Pinata Park & Harewood Plains | See Lotus pinata – Nanaimo’s floral emblem and a wildflower splendour of common camas, sea blush, and monkey flower | David Helem |
| Wed, May 6 | Stoney Hill loop – Cowichan | This easy trail winds along the bluffs above the Sansum Narrows, with several spectacular views along the top of steep cliffs | Toni & Ron Wyckoff |
| Sat, May 16 | Jack Point / Duke Point | A lovely trail featuring sandstone formations, a view of Gabriola Island, and spring wildflowers such as gold stars, fawn lilies, stonecrop, and blue-eyed Mary | David Helem |
| Sat June 6 | Nanaimo Extension ridge | Abyss fissure and Extension Ridge sandstone caves and rock formations. A two part walk with a drive in between | David Helem |
| Wed June 17 | Saprophytes – Alberni Hwy | Monotropoid Mycorrhizal: delightful coloured bright jewels on the forest floor. | Helen Davidson |
| Wed June 24 | Goshawk Nest Visit | As a follow-up to April’s General Meeting presentation of Mosaic’s Goshawk research, visit an active goshawk nest with a Mosaic biologist | David Vey – Mosaic |
| Sat July 11 | Jasmine’s Backyard Food Forest | Jasmine Tomczyk will show us an example of her work with Food Forests | Jasmine Tomczyk |
Arrowsmith Naturalists
Mailing Address
Box 1542
Parksville, B.C.
V9P 2H4
Parksville, B.C.
V9P 2H4
