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.
New BC Nature Waiver for 2026:
- Once you sign one once it will be entered in the BC Nature membership site and it is good for the rest of your life; only needs to be done once!
- Every individual must sign once, even couples, I need one from EACH person.
- Note as each form is filled in there are three spots beside the yellow highlighted lines MUST also be initialled.
These are a one-time event file. The memberships will need to be renewed each year with payment but not this Waiver. It is a one-time thing.
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: asmithnaturalists@gmail.com
Arrowsmith Naturalists Outings 2025-2026
| 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 |
| Wed Apr 15 | Stamp River Old Growth | An exploration of a stunning old growth forest upriver from the falls | Dianne Anderson |
| Wed Apr 22 | Thames Creek | 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 Pinnatus 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 |
| Wed, May 13 | Saprophytes – Alberni Hwy | Monotropoid Mycorrhizal: delightful coloured bright jewels on the forest floor. | Helen Davidson |
| Wed, May 20 | 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 |
| Fri June 5 | Summit & Loon Lakes | A beautiful hike to the summit of the pass over to Port Alberni with plenty of biodiversity | Jeanne & Rob Schippers |
| Fri June 12 | ANats/MRBA BioBlitz at Hamilton Marsh | THe first joint BioBlitz aimed at documenting the biodiversity of the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Reserve | Randy Richardson |
| 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 |
| Thurs. July 2 | Paradise Meadows & Battleship Lake | Alpine meadow and lake scenery with lots of blooming flowers | David Helem |
| Sat July 11 | Jasmine’s Backyard Food Forest | Jasmine Tomczyk will show us an example of her work with Food Forests | Jasmine Tomczyk |
| Sun. July 26 | Buttertubs Marsh | Birding and nature walk led by Doug Fraser of Nature Nanaimo | Doug Fraser |
| Wed Sept 16 | Seal Bay Regional Park | A comfortable walk among native trees and shrubs and around a forest marsh – of interest to birders and botanists | Toni & Ron Wyckoff |
| Wed Sept 23 | Little Qualicum Falls | Geology field trip led by Alan Gilchrist | Alan Gilchrist |
| Wed Oct 7 | George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary | A very special trip to the George C.Reifel Bird Sanctuary for fall migration season | Liz Thorne |
| Wed Oct 14 | Beaver ponds in Port Alberni | Opportunity to see beavers and arriving winter waterfowl | Toni & Ron Wyckoff |
| Wed Oct 21 | Mushroom walk at Big Qualicum Fish Hatchery | Intense mushroom gathering prior the Mushroom Festival | Terry Taylor |
| Fri Oct 23 | Mushroom collection at Summit & Loon lakes | Special mushroom collection mission | Randy RichardsonWed |
| Wed Nov 11 | Notch Hill | Our traditional visit to Notch Hill to see the warplanes fly-by | Jeanne & Rob Schippers |
Arrowsmith Naturalists
Mailing Address
Box 1542
Parksville, B.C.
V9P 2H4
Parksville, B.C.
V9P 2H4
