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VicPS Chair’s Message to Start 2026

Happy New Year Everyone!

Welcome to 2026!  Attached is the VicPS schedule of events for 2026.  

FIELDTRIPS:

This year, we’re doubling up on fieldtrips, with twice as many on the roster compared to last year. Thanks to John Kitson for committing to these extra trips.

For those new to VicPS, fieldtrips are on Sundays (less traffic) and the time indicates when we leave/return to the Helmcken Park & Ride on the Island Highway.  For those without vehicles, we arrange carpooling from the park & ride, which is accessible via transit.

Fieldtrip locations are chosen based on tides and river levels, with beach visits generally April thru July and river sites generally June thru Sept. Higher elevation sites are reserved for months when weather and tides are not favourable. We usually take a hiatus from fieldtrips in Dec/Jan. 

Fieldtrip dates, times and locations are subject to change based on weather and times; logistics, along with site details, are confirmed via email in advance of each trip. Fieldtrip invitations & details are sent only to those who have renewed their annual dues by the January 31st deadline (details below).

MONTHLY MEETINGS:

Monthly meetings are generally the second Tuesday of the month, with hiatus in the summer during peak fieldtrip season. Monthly meetings are subject to cancellation if we do not have a speaker or a topic of interest to discuss. 

Last year we had a wonderful run of workshops, thanks to leaders Marji Johns and Thor Henrich, and those continue to be a possibility if other leaders step forward.

PUBLIC DISPLAYS:

The annual Fossil Fair to display our fossil collections for the public will take place at Tillicum Mall for the second year in a row. More details on that leading up to March break, but please consider booking a table and displaying your material to augment the fair, or volunteer to run an activity.  We have microscopes for a cool microfossil display but haven’t been able to do that in a few years, so the more volunteers we have, the more creative things we can do to show the public the cool history below BC!

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES:

It really helps with administration when dues are paid by the JANUARY 31st deadline, as our Society is required to remit a portion of dues to the BC Paleontological Alliance in early February.  I thank you in advance, and note that dues can be paid by e-transfer to victoria.palaeontology.society@gmail.com, or by cheque to: 

Treasurer
Victoria Palaeontology Society
4034 Hessington Place
Victoria, BC, V8N 5C6

On February 15th, names of those who have not renewed membership for 2026 will be removed from the distribution list, and access to the resources in the member’s area of the BCPA website will cease.  A few reminders will be sent throughout the month, for your convenience.

We look forward to what the earth will reveal to us in 2026!

(VicPS Chair) Jerri Wilkins

Local April 2025 VicPS Events

With no speaker scheduled for the April 9th meeting, our President will report out on recent activities – we did just host a Fossil Fair! – and catch us all up, as well as introduce new members to our Society. 

The meeting link will be sent via separate email to paid members. 

We are in the final stages of determining which workshop will take place on April 12th, and details of the April 20th fieldtrip will be circulated a week in advance. Look to your email for further details.

Press Release: FOSSIL FAIR 2025

More details on the upcoming Fossil Fair, taking place at Tillicum Mall on the weekend of March 22 – 23. Please help get the word out!


The Fossil Fair is a hands-on, educational experience for all age groups, organized by recreational collectors (citizen scientists) and professionals. The public is encouraged to bring in fossils found in BC for identification. Specific activities for children include hands-on inspection of fossils, a scavenger hunt with prizes and fossil colouring and rubbings.

NEWS RELEASE – 27th Fossil Fair 2025 FINALDownload

Fossil Fair 2025: It’s a GO!

Good news from our VicPS president:

The event will be March 22 and 23rd, 10 AM to 3 PM at Tillicum Mall. The space is near the entrance to Winners, at the top of the escalators, in a very prominent part of the mall.  We will have the entire space to ourselves, and Tillicum Mall will market the Fossil Fair as part of their Spring Break public education support for local organizations.

email from VicPS president Jerri Wilkins

Stay tuned for more details. For now, set those dates aside for some paleo learning and discovery!

FOSSIL FAIR SEEKS NEW LOCATION

The Victoria Palaeontology Society needs your help.

After 26 years, the wonderful partnership with Swan Lake & Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary – host to our annual Fossil Fair – has come to an end. This change is a loss, and also an opportunity. 

Our deepest gratitude to Swan Lake. They have been an incredible partner over the years, on so many levels.  Just one example: access to their microscopes has enabled us to engage the public in exploring the beautiful microfossils that add so much to our knowledge of the past. 

We now have the challenge of finding a new partner for this annual event. A new partner and a new location may offer new opportunities. We get to re-envision Fossil Fair and incorporate some of the ideas we’ve dreamed of over the years and were unable to accommodate due to space and time constraints.

Finding a new venue and new partner will be VicPS’ top focus. Please let us know if you, someone you know, or an organization you know might make a good partner for Fossil Fairs going forward; and we’ll aproach them to discuss the details.

Below, as one document, are a letter of introduction and a Fossil Fair proposal. Please review it and distribute it thoughtfully in aid of VicPS’ search for a new Fossil Fair partner.

FOSSIL FAIR PROPOSAL 2025Download

Fossil Fair @ Swan Lake: March 23 & 24 – debrief

Now fossil fair 2024 is in the rearview mirror, here are some words from our president about the event:

The VicPS annual Fossil Fair at Swan Lake was March 23rd-24th. About 250 people attended, down almost half from some previous years, but enthusiasm and interaction were up, and more than 100 kids participated in the annual scavenger hunt to find specimens in the collection. The National Geographic Fossil Dig/ID kits were a big hit among this year’s winners, as was the ‘Happy Little Dinosaur’ board game.  … New this year was a poster about the Nigel House vertebrate fossils found near Swan Lake. A shout-out to Edward Davies for sharing dozens of high-resolution slides and photos from which we were able to put together a poster. Fossil ID is always a favourite among volunteers and this year IDs offered a few very exciting moments. We had the highest number of fossils brought to Fossil Fair for identification in recent memory.  A few notable specimens:

  1. Mt. Tzouhalem, Duncan – Hexanchid shark teeth, several Glyptoxoceras specimens with helix intact, and what appears to be a cross-section of a coral (button, hexacoral—still seeking verification)​. …
  2. Gulf Islands – A brachiopod from Russell Island. We don’t get many specimens brought in from the Islands (other than Hornby and Saltspring), so this was interesting.
  3. Bone material, Northern BC – What appears to be marine reptile. As is often the case, the exact location of the discovery is unclear, as this was found some time ago by a family member of the person who brought it in for identification. The family is trying to establish providence.

We brought the RBCM and GSC into the conversation to assist with identification. Those conversations are ongoing. 

This year, the RBCM and Fossil Management Office were unable to participate in Fossil Fair due to other commitments, and a few other usual volunteers were unable to attend. VicPS member Kalene (who works at DinoLab) offered up a few volunteers, plus an Elasmosaurus paddle (full scale) model (thanks, Kalene!). DinoLab’s Kirsten had the kids doing Elasmosaurus ‘high-fives’ and it was a great opportunity to showcase the new provincial fossil and hand out lapel buttons provided by the Fossil Mangement Office (thank you, Elisabeth and Genivieve for the buttons!). Serendipitously, the DinoLab preparator who volunteered on Sunday (Jake) was the only Fossil Fair volunteer experienced in working with bone, and in particular marine reptile specimens, and recognized the specimen brought in for identification as likely marine reptile. His hunch was later supported by vertebrate experts in our network. As is our usual way of working, VicPS members came together in the week before the event to ensure lots of volunteers were on hand when the event weekend arrived.  Thanks to John, Carol, Caleb, Justin and Thor for participating.  …

2024-fossil-fairDownload

VicPS Monthly Meeting: March 8, 7:30 pm

Please join us March 8, 7:30PM at our regularly scheduled monthly meeting for an update on the following:

FOSSIL FAIR – TENTATIVELY Sat., March 25, 2023

Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary recently confirmed they do want to partner with us on the Fossil Fair this year on Saturday, March 25th.  That’s only a few weeks away!  Our ability to respond depends upon our volunteer capacity.  If you’re available that weekend, please consider volunteering.  VicPS President Jerri Wilkins will briefly review what’s involved so that VicPS as a group can decide if we have the capacity to proceed.

MARCH FIELD TRIP

Usually there is no March field trip due to efforts focused on the annual Fossil Fair.  If the Fossil Fair doesn’t go forward, we’ll plan a field trip. 

SYMPOSIUM 2023 UPDATE

Registrations and Abstracts are coming in and the Symposium is on track to be a fulsome four-day event. VicPS President Jerri Wilkins will present a behind-the-scenes peek into how the event is shaping up and will play out. This is primarily for members who are not involved in planning, to see what the planning team’s been up to, and where your talents will be needed as we get closer to June.

All paid VicPS members will have received details as to how to connect to and participate in this virtual meeting. Please contact Jerri Wilkins at our vicpalaeo gmail address for these same details, if needed.

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