ECO INFO"
BIRDERS AND wannabes,
‘take note: back-yard
preparations for the
' springtime birding season
are already in high gear. °

’ Our: recent. sunny weekend
- prompted a visit to Wendy and

‘John .Morton’s Wild Bird Nature -

’ Shop on Pemberton, where along
_ with: the merchandise comes a
. quantity of free advice for people
wanting to attract. birds, bats and
butterflies to their back-yard.
Hot tips of the week are:
@ Make sure. your chickadee

. feeders are up now for nesting in :

February and March.

@ Get your hummingbird feeders
up before- March 15,. or ‘the males
7 zooming’ through on’ their
‘. migratory path will miss them.

. @ Remember to keep. feeders
. Clear .of droppings to guard
‘ ‘against the spread of disease that

“was, -experienced. by some birds

this winter,

A variety of books aré:available -

.. to inspire homeowners and.,even
. baleonied apartment dwellers into
creating a habitat: for birds; in-
Sects, amphibians, and squirrels.
Attracting Backyard. Wildlife by
‘Bill Merilees ‘(Whitecap Books) is

>? replete. with practical information:
“on, creating-a. West Coast..wildlife -:
‘sanctuary, from bat boxes’ to: frog

ponds: ,

* Other. opies’ covered include
first) aid © for. injured animals,
“seasonal. gardens for. birds, attrac-
., ting butterflies, and “toad lights”
rn te don’t. know what they are, ei-
ther)"

An interesting ook at our local
flora,

“tal: History : ‘Society. quarterly,
” Discovery,. in- which articles “are

interspersed . with news of upcom-.

‘ing members’ field trips.. /..
: These |. natural
definitely get around-a.lot. There

are“10. field trips planned’ inFeb-
ruary alone, during which you can

: go owling in. Pacific Spirit’ Park,
for’ éxample; - Oro sec the ‘over-
oc wintering © passerines of Stanley
‘Park (1:don’t know- what ‘those
-are, either. Clearly I’m in need of
a. membership to‘fill up some of
the gaps in my natural, history
‘knowledge).
Family - memberships . are $40,
. individuals are $30, and members
“sreceive Discovery, which is edited
by: North: :Vaiicouverite “Roland
‘Wahlgren. .
“. Cheques ; should be made pay-
able to the: Vancouver. Natural
History Society and-‘sent to

: Patricia Brandimayr, 4150 Irmin |

St.,; Burnaby, V5J_ 1X5. Include

your’ name, address, phone
.number and occupation, and in-

dicate if you are interested in‘vol-
;, unteering. :

‘My first step ‘into the realm of ©

back-yard :(well, balcony) bird life
was. marked by: the purchase of a
: hummingbird feeder and info

os book. :

“In coming. weeks, ‘stay ‘tuned for
everything -- you. aeed:to know

about attracting hummers to‘ your:

yard.

fauna and. geography is. §
provided by the, Vancouver. Natu- - }

history.’ types,

Looking beyond our own back
yard, how about helping .to
beautify your municipality?

Those of you still holding tive
Christmas trees are invited to
plant them tomorrow at Inter-
River Park, the site of the old
Premier Street landfill in North
Vancouver. /

North Van District, staff, in-
cluding people from the ecology
centre, recycling program and
parks department, will be on hand
to help you site your tree to max-

imize its survival potential and its -

contribution to the landscape.

The event starts at 10 a.m., and
is BYOS — Bring Your Own
Shovel. Heavy gloves are also
recommended.

For more information, call the
Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre at
987-5922.

Many readers must be anxious
to know the fate of the bottles,
cans and jars they put in their
blue boxes in the wake of media
reports of a contractor using
crushed glass as fill on land in
Surrey,

Our recycling coordinator, Al
Lynch, spent a day last week with
International Paper Industries
(IPI, the company that collects
and markets our blue box: materi-

_als) finding out just where the

waste is hauled off to,

Details will follow, but Lynch
tells me he is confident that no
North Shore waste ‘is
dumped or misused.

Generally, the only time miateriaf

‘must be thrown out is when it has
been irretrievably contaminated,

as when a non-recyclable window
pane shatters amongst the glass

Spite es Fg Mae

being

ack yar

bottles and jars.

Such occurrences are more
often the fault of the public
misusing drop-off facilities as
they are the fault of anyone at
IPI.

At times, some material — such *

as colored glass — must be stored
to await an opening on the mar-
ket, but to the best of Lynch’s
knowledge it is never thrown out,
For information, call IPI at
929-3416 or the .North Shore

Recycling Program at 984-9730,

Hats off to Lonsdale Quay”

Market for setting up Canada’s
first SOS — Share Our Strength
— ‘food drop-off. booth called

~ “Extra Helpings.”

SOS is a network of more. than

birders

5,000 volunteers, primarily from
the food industry, who raise funds

‘and create awareness for hunger

relief groups.

“Extra Helpings" gives shop-
pers a chance to donate fresh
produce to emergency meal pro-
grams,-as a complement ‘to the
non-perishable goods that’can be
dropped off for the Food Bank at
several locations across the North

‘ Shore.

Lonsdale © Quay - merchants | are
also encouraged to donate unsold
fresh produce and other items at
the end of the week.

. The food is taken by FoodRun-
ners, ‘a Vancouver Food Bank
program that picks up extra pro- .

‘duce and meals from hospitals,

restaurants, hotels, and catering
services and takes them .to com-
munity meal Programs.

Skyline Sports is having a Giant 36th -
. Anniversary Inventory Reduction Sale. All
‘stock is atleast 36% off*

‘Everything must go.

SKI WEAR
SKI EQUIPM ENT wu
"SPORTSWEAR
FOOTWEAR |

-ROLLERBLADES —

RACQU ETS
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