On a windy, overcast Wednesday afternoon, around 20 assorted Dal faculty and staff donned their binoculars and begin their search. Their target? Any feathered friend they can find.
“I haven’t done a nature walk or a bird walk in a long time,” said Fern Kaufman, who works in the Registrar's Office. ““I really liked the walk, I’m definitely going to do it again!”
Kaufman was just one of several Dal employees embarking on the first of seven planned guided nature walks on Studley Campus.
"It’s all about getting people outside,” said Susan Gass, an Environmental Science instructor who helped organize the walk. “Sometimes when we’re in the city we don’t think about nature and yet we do actually have a lot going on around us right here on campus.”
Big on bird watching
The inaugural walk was led by Andy Horn, an adjunct research associate who teaches animal behaviour in the Departments of Biology and Psychology & Neuroscience. The first walk was an exploration into the hobby of bird watching by visiting the more bird-frequented spots on campus.
Horn was happy to spend his lunch hour sharing his bird-knowledge. “I’m a pretty keen birder,” he said.
The walks are free and will continue throughout the upcoming seasons. Future walks are planned to tackle other naturalist subjects in addition to birds, including edible plants, Indigenous knowledge, geology, intertidal communities, mushrooms, and urban forestry.
The next nature walk will take place sometime in June — faculty/staff, students and others interested in joining can keep their eagle eyes on Today@Dal and the university Events Calendar for details.