The Weird & Wonderful: Lessons from the Cambrian with Joe Moysiuk

Joe Moysiuk is a paleontologist and evolutionary biologist at the Royal Ontario Museum & University of Toronto.

“Joe Moysiuk’s ongoing research of the many exciting fossils from the Burgess Shale has opened up and transformed our view of the Cambrian.” 

— Fossil Huntress

As part of the 2022 Vancouver Island Paelontological Society lecture series we are excited to invite you to this upcoming Zoom presentation.

This Sunday, September 25th 1:00 pm PST

You may find more info here http://fossiltalksandfieldtrips.com/index.html, and read backgrounder for Joe Moysiuk. Then link to the VIPS Zoom talk on the day of the presentation. Or simply use the VIPS meeting connection details below.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9965270007?pwd=WFl6OXB2cTJJU0QyN2NETWRnUzQrdz09&fbclid=IwAR235akSoloeHTuGgMGhevDy971FGb7Nn09sTZKOGzDqqyLs76-UHnsZPxw

Meeting ID: 996 527 0007

Passcode: 10Bb14

August 21 field trip

When: Sunday, August 21, 2022, 9 am departure

Travel: Meet at Helmcken Park & Ride at 9 am to arrange carpooling.

Exposure: Please see the email sent to paid VicPS members for details.

Exposure: Please see the email sent to paid VicPS members for details.

Equipment: Geological hammer, chisel and safety equipment (gloves, goggles, safety helmet advisable) and footwear suitable for wading. Bring water, snacks/lunch and sunscreen.

Please RSVP to Jerri Wilkins if you plan to participate

July 17th field trip

When: Sunday, July 17th, 2022, 7 am departure

Travel: We are going a little further afield on this trip, so set your alarm clock! Meet at Helmcken Park & Ride at 7 am to arrange carpooling. Or meet us outside the Courtenay Museum at 10 am.

Exposure: Please see the email sent to paid VicPS members for details.

Exposure: Please see the email sent to paid VicPS members for details.

Access: This site is not as easily accessible as other sites; some hiking and scaling of the riverbank is required and current water height in that section of the river is unverified. Good mobility, alertness and care required.

Equipment: Proper footwear for hiking and riverside collecting. Basic hammer and chisel (like equipment used on shales at Mt. Tzouhalem and Chemainus River). Bring the usual daytrip essentials: hat, sunscreen, insect spray, jacket, lunch, water and an endless supply of curiosity!

Please RSVP to Jerri Wilkins if you plan to participate

June 26 – VicPS Field Trip

Mark your field trip calendars!

When: Sunday, June 26, 2022
Travel: Meet at Helmcken Park & Ride at 9 am to arrange carpooling.

Paid members will have received the field trip destination description via email. Any others may plead your case to VicPS President Jerri Wilkins.

Access/Equipment: Site suitable for collectors of all ages and activity levels, although productivity of the site varies due to its protected nature. Parking is within a few meters of the start of a fifteen-minute walk on mostly flat ground to the site. This is an intertidal site, so expect slippery rocks. Fossils are found in the rock and in concretions, so small chisels and even a sturdy jackknife for the mudstones and a good hammer or sledge, chisel, and protective eyewear are required for the harder rock. Bring jacket hat, sunscreen, water and a lunch.

Next Vancouver Paleontological Society Meeting: May 18 (Wednesday) at 7 pm 

The next VanPS meeting is May 18 (Wednesday) at 7 pm, on Zoom, and you are invited to attend and participate.

Title: Talking Rocks: Paleontology Meets Sociology in the Anthropocene

Abstract: In this talk, Dr. Rebecca Yoshizawa will share perspectives as a sociological interloper entering the world of paleontology. From a gruelling trek to the Burgess Shale, to finding a fossil in her backyard, exploring paleontology’s thorny involvement in colonialism, and analyzing the promise of paleontology for saving the world, Dr. Yoshizawa reflects on the personal and the political when it comes to paleontology.

Bio: Dr. Rebecca Yoshizawa is an instructor in Sociology at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. She teaches the sociology of science, gender, health, technology, nonhumans, and families. Her research has concerned reproductive sciences and politics as well as developmental origins biology, with publications in Body & Society, Social Theory and Health, Feminist Theory, and the scientific journal Placenta. Her current research focuses on paleontology and its role in contentious conversations about deep time, place, and the Anthropocene. 

VicPS members, please look to your email inbox for a missive that includes the Zoom info.

April 24 – VicPS Field Trip

Sunday, April 24: mark your field trip calendars! Originally scheduled for November, this fieldtrip was postponed due to the atmospheric river, so let’s hope for better luck this month.

Note the earlier meet-up and departure time of 8 am at the Helmcken Road Park & Ride. The target site is north of The Malahat and we need extra to/from driving time.

Paid members will have received the field trip destination description via email. Any others may plead your case to VicPS President Jerri Wilkins.

VicPS Fossil Fair in the news

News coverage of the succesful Fossil Fair held by VicPS at Swan Lake can be found at the Saanich News website here. Congrats to all the volunteers and VicPS members who contributed their time and effort to this educational and fun event!

Image, caption courtesy of Saanich News

Our local Times-Colonist carried advance notice of the event, and followed up after the event with a photo of VicPS member and fossil expert Tom Cockburn at the Fossil Fair.

Fossil Fair reminder: March 26, Swan Lake Nature House