National Wildlife week has officially begun. To kick things off, the City of Ottawa is hosting the event “Backyard Biodiversity: Welcoming nature into your yard, not your home,” today at 7 p.m. at Andrew Haydon Hall (Council Chambers) at City Hall.
The main message in this four part series is coexistence with nature. This session will focus on coexisting with and appreciating wildlife in our urban spaces.
Sarah Kirkpatrick-Wahi, the Conservation Coordinator from Nature Canada (Canada’s oldest nature conservatory) will be giving a presentation on “Wildlife in our Backyards.” Kirkpatrick-Wahi is well versed in this topic as she works for the Nature Canada’s “Naturehood” project, an initiative aiming to inspire urban residences to connect with nature.
The second expert speaker will be Bill Dowd, the CEO of coexistence. Skedaddle Humane Wild Life Control is Canada’s oldest and largest wildlife control company and it is partners with the SPCA and other animal control departments across Canada. Dowd will be discussing how to humanely keep wildlife out of your backyard.
Before the expert speaker’s presentations, there will be an environmental exposition and slideshow on from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. This exposition will provide an overview on Ottawa’s wildlife and natural environment.
Over 20 environmental and nature organizations will be present for the event, including local initiatives like: the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club and the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club and national initiatives, like: the Canadian Wildlife Federation and the Nature Conservancy of Canada.
Last February, the first session in the series, which covered coexistence with coyotes, was a huge success with over 200 residences in attendance.
An even bigger turnout is expected for this second session, as the information is broader in scope and relevant to more Ottawa residences.
This free of charge event, like all others in the series, seeks to preserve wildlife in Ottawa through, understanding, appreciation and respect.
For more information visit: http://bit.ly/1lSWnZn
