Our volunteers do many things. In the back room we have our directors and officers working on policy, keeping the administrative wheels turning, publishing our newsletters and this web-site as well as all the other thousand and one things that a charity has to accomplish.

Meanwhile, we occasionally manage events “on the ground” that any supporter can volunteer to join. This page shows you that volunteering can be fun – the most recent events will be at the top of the page:

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Trail-marking at Philipsburg – June 2014

On 15 June 2014 some 18 members of the Philipsburg Support Team spent a long day affixing green, red and blue trail markers within the sanctuary to help visitors find their way around. Once the maps are published later in the year finding the birds will become really easy.

18 volunteers (minus the photographer) receive their instructions

18 volunteers (minus the photographer) receive their instructions

Fixing the first trail marker

Fixing the first trail marker

Blue trail team (foregound) and red and green teams (distance) set off to work

Blue trail team (foregound) and red and green teams (distance) set off to work

"Are you quite sure this is the right trail ?"

“Are you quite sure this is the right trail ?”

 

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Wood Duck nest box installation – March 2014

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BPQ were given a set of beautifully constructed nesting boxes for Wood Ducks (or maybe Screech Owls?) made of western red cedar and a group of some fifteen volunteers headed down to Philipsburg to erect them on trees around the edges of Streit’s Pond on our sanctuary there. as well as enjoying a job well done in good company, there were Eastern Bluebirds to watch, flocks of Cedat Waxwings, an adult Bald Eagle doing a low level fly-past and a couple of Tufted Titmouse.

The temperatures were mild, the sun shone and all the work was easily completed. We thank Jane for organising the day and Joel, Chris and Patrick for acting as installation team leaders.  Here are a few pictures taken on the day … if you click on the smaller thumbnails they will open up into a full-size gallery …

Do you remember those old sepia photographs of Victorian explorers hauling their sleds over the ice? The tradition is maintained by BPQ volunteers.

Captain Scott of the Antarctic leads his team to safety

Captain Scott of the Antarctic leads his team to safety

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Philipsburg trail defining day – summer 2013

The spring trail mapping day helped us to define the lines of the main trails that we will be advising visitors to use but there were areas where we not quite sure of the best line to take and others that definitely needed to be modified. A smaller group of volunteers went back to the Philipsburg sanctuary in the summer to take more detailed notes:

Sighting the first birds of the day

Sighting the first birds of the day

Monster ferns - the Philipsburg sanctuary is not just for birds

Monster ferns – the Philipsburg sanctuary is not just for birds

Streit's Pond from the cliff top

Streit’s Pond from the cliff top

"This is the way"

“This is the way”

"We need a new bridge here"

“We need a new bridge here”

 

 

 

 

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Philipsburg trail walking day – spring 2013

In the spring 2013 we asked for “a few” people to join us at Philipsburg and help to create a preliminary map the main trails that will guide us over the next few seasons as we upgrade some of the facilities for visiting birders. We expected maybe a dozen of the regulars to turn oout … we got almost forty volunteers, some from as far away as Trois Rivières and Québec city!

 

The volunteers arrive

The volunteers arrive

Pausing for breath

Pausing for breath

Clearing obstacles

Clearing obstacles

A priority for replacement

A priority for replacement

Comparing notes at the end of the day

Comparing notes at the end of the day