December:
Renew your membership in VicPS and the BCPA, and welcome 2026 with a new schedule of events!
At this VicPS Quarterly Executive Meeting, your Society executive do the EXCITING work required to operate VicPS: manage the money, decide where to focus our energies for the coming year in ways they support the Society mandate, etc.
For full transparency, these meetings are open to any Society member who wants to attend and observe. A reminder notice will be sent in advance, and notes are shared with members following the meeting.
On Friday, September 19th, at 7:30PM (Mountain Standard Time) or 6:30 PM PST, the Alberta Palaeontology Society has invited us to their presentation by Dr. Jessica Theodor entitled: ‘New Species found at the John Day Fossil Beds’.
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in eastern Oregon preserves an amazing and colourful sequence of interbedded volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks, with dramatic stratigraphy including flood basalts. The fossils preserved there range from the middle Eocene rainforest faunas and floras of the Clarno Formation Nut Beds (44 Ma) and the Hancock Mammal Quarry (40 Ma), the Bridge Creek Flora (33 Ma) and the Turtle Cove Unit of the John Day Formation (29 Ma), the Mascall Assemblage (15 Ma) and the Rattlesnake Assemblage (7 Ma).
Recent work in the Turtle Cove Unit has yielded remains of two enigmatic insectivorous mammals, Cryptoryctes and Micropternodus.
ZOOM LINK:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84197949921?pwd=IGD8LCDlri68xD6dWqr0TbK30BDXlV.1
Meeting ID: 841 9794 9921
Passcode: 507378
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Join instructions
https://us06web.zoom.us/meetings/84197949921/invitations?signature=qSAOdvLhUEsOjltJCZ4_jZHupYdSsq5D9OE9YP9vBSA
We are grateful and excited to have a NEW MEETING SPACE!
Paleontologist Edward Davies, Branta Biostratigraphy Ltd., has offered his office for us to gather monthly, share our fieldtrip finds, do research, and enjoy speakers. Next Wednesday, our first meeting of the fall, I will review our activities over the summer, including the very successful 15th BCPA Symposium, followed by a review of specimens found on our summer fieldtrips.
Please join us in person and bring those specimens! We will also discuss how we want to use our monthly meeting time over the coming year.
The address is 2680 Seaview Road, Victoria, BC. Park in the driveway, or on street if the driveway is full.
For those who cannot join in person, we will link you in via Zoom and do our best to share specimens on screen.
ZOOM LINK: Paid members will have received this in an email. Please look there for details.
Symposium 2025 is almost here!
The Organizing Committee is pleased to confirm all speaking slots are filled and the presentations look fabulous. Registration continues until next Thursday.
Attending Symposium? Artist Ray Troll will be unable to speak at the Symposium Banquet, in-person or virtually, as advertised. In his place, Pat Trask, Museum Curator of Natural History at Courtenay and District Museum and Palaeontology Centre, will share the journey of the baby Elasmosaur from its discovery in the Courtenay area to its home in the museum, and the marvelous things the specimen reveals.
Unable to attend Symposium? You can still benefit from a beautiful piece of artwork available for pick up at Symposium; a beautiful high-quality colour poster of three heteromorph ammonites from the Nanaimo Group.
Order ahead for pick up at Symposium and avoid shipping charges (get a friend attending Symposium to pick is up for you), or have it delivered right to your home. When ordering, select “local pickup” to save shipping costs if it’s being picked up at Symposium for you.
See you at the symposium!
The 2025 BC Paleontological Symposium is next month, August 22nd – 25th, and there is still time to register if you haven’t already. The schedule is posted here: 15th BC Paleontological Symposium 2025 v2 – Vancouver Island Paleontological Society (scroll down the page).
For those considering the Hornby Island Fieldtrip, overnight accommodation is being organized at a campground adjacent to the fossil site. Cost is $50 per person. If you are interested, please contact Jerri Wilkins and she’ll put you in touch with the accommodation organizer.
If you haven’t been to a symposium before, it will blow your mind! Great science, great conversations, and great displays.
See you there!
The VicPS fieldtrip this month will be to the lovely Chemainus River. The site requires a 15-minute walk on a gentle to moderate grade from the parking lot to the river, the ability to traverse a rocky riverbank, and it’s possible you may want to wade across the slippery rocks of the river to the other side. It is appropriate for families, and children old enough to be around the river. All children must be in the company of an adult.
Expect beautiful views, wet feet and a high probability of finding specimens. Sunday is forecast to be a bit cooler than mid-week, but do bring and use sunscreen.
Details are in the email that each member should have received; contact Jerri Wilkins if you have not received the email. Please RSVP.
The Fernie Ichthyosaur has been formally named: please see this article on the ResearchGate website.
For a quick read on context, this brief Wikipedia entry provides an overview.
The monthly VicPS meetings are on summer hiatus and the focus is on fieldtrips, public education, and the Symposium.
June 15 – Field Trip, TBD (Lead: Corbin Rolfe)
Join Corbin Rolfe as he leads his first official VicPS fieldtrip! Please look for an email from Corbin with details of the trip, closer to the date.
June 22 – PUBLIC EDUCATION: Cowichan Valley Nature Kids (lead: Jerri Wilkins)
VicPS has been invited back for a second year to provide a ‘fossil field day’ for kids in the Cowichan Valley. Last year our volunteers had a blast introducing kids to the ancient marine life on Mt. Tzouhalem in Duncan. If you like participating in public education, Jerri will reach out closer to the date seeking volunteers. No experience necessary – we all learn by doing!
July 20 – Field Trip (lead: Jerri Wilkins)
We’ll visit one of the most beautiful and productive sites on our annual field trip schedule, and one Jerri looks forward to visiting every year. It’s a moderate walk and a good site for families, and for swimming (sometimes on purpose). Look for the invite closer to the date.
July 24 – PUBLIC EDUCATION: Island View and You (lead: Carol Barbon)
This is our annual opportunity to join the Capital Regional District and nature-based organizations for a day of public education focused on the past and present animals and ecosystems of Island View Beach (Cowichan Head) on the Saanich Peninsula. Closer to the date Carol will be looking for volunteers to hang out at Island View Beach for the day….tough job! If you attended the May 18th fieldtrip, this is your opportunity to test your memory by sharing knowledge with others. Jerri know who you are… we will be in touch!
August 10 – Field Trip (lead: Jerri Wilkins)
This site on the shore is easily accessible, and for those with patience and a good eye, it can reveal well-preserved gastropods and occasionally an ammonite. Details will be provided in a fieldtrip guide closer to the date.
August 21 – PUBLIC EDUCATION: Slithery, Slimy & Scaly (lead: Carol Barbon)
For this event, we join the Capital Regional District and nature-based organizations at Elk/Beaver Lake to talk about all things slithery, slimy and scaly. VicPS brings a new perspective to this annual event, exploring with kids why we don’t see snakes and frogs and lizards in the local fossil record. Or do we? Volunteer to help Carol, and you’ll learn the answers. She will reach out for volunteers closer to the date.
August 21-24 – BCPA-VIPS Paleontological Symposium 2025
This bi-annual meeting of paleontological researchers is four days of all things paleo as it relates to Vancouver Island and BC. Presentations on the latest scientific research, scientific posters, workshops and fieldtrips and lots of like-minded professionals and enthusiasts to meet. Check out the details below, and sign up today:
15th BC Paleontological Symposium 2025 v2 – Vancouver Island Paleontological Society
Mike was instrumental in advancing paleontology in BC having discovered the recently named elasmosaur with his daughter, Heather, in 1988. This transformational find precipitated the creation of the British Columbia Paleontological Alliance. Traskasaura sandrae now stands as our official provincial fossil emblem.
Jan 7, 1956 – May 15, 2025
A Celebration of Life will be held at the Courtenay and District Museum & Palaeontology Centre on June 1st at 1:30 pm.
Everyone is welcome.