Welcome to the SONC website.
If you have any suggestions please get in touch with Bob Handfield or Glenda Ross.
Mission Statement:
"To provide a dynamic local focus for experiencing the natural world of B.C. and for promoting its conservation"
- Indoor meetings are held on the 4th Thursday of the month, September to May (except for December) at 7:00 pm at Penticton Seniors' Drop-In Centre, 2965 South Main Street, Penticton.
- Please bring your own coffee mug ---- New members always welcome.
- Our birding, wildflower, geology, social group meets every Thursday in the north parking lot of Cherry Lane Mall (north of Warren Ave. and east of Atkinson St.) at 9 AM.
- Field Trips are generally made in the spring and fall.
Annual Waiver
Required annually with membership fee
PS Reminder to complete the new waiver – if you have not done so.
Send completed form to Link soncmembership@gmail.com
Eva Durance: Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas of the South Okanagan Similkameen
Title: Home on the Trail: Backpacking from Banff National Park to Kananaskis, Alberta
Description: In August, 2004,
Eva and two friends spent two weeks on a trek from Redearth Creek, Banff NP, through BC’s Assiniboine and Height of the Rockies PP ending in Alberta’s Kananaskis Provincial Park. This was a longer version of annual backpack trips in the Rockies and elsewhere, but the distance and remoteness of much of the trail posed unique challenges alongside an unforgettable experience of a glorious place.
Bio: Eva has been an avid backcountry explorer, on foot and by canoe, since her teenage years. Backpacking in wild areas became her passion from her first trip in Algonquin Park, ON, to her last two, the Berg Lake Trail, 2018 and Mt. Fitzwilliam, 2025, both in Mt. Robson Provincial Park. She is a graduate of the National Outdoor Leadership School in Wyoming and did some commercial guiding, but most trips were just with a few fellow enthusiasts.
Recent Newsletter
Bird Outings
Thursday birding outings are back!
Trip Outings
SONC Creston Valley field trip summary - May 2024
New for Review
PS Reminder to complete the new waiver – if you have not done so.
Send completed form to Link soncmembership@gmail.com
Feb 8 and 13, 2026 Outdoor Council of Canada – Field Leader Training Certification
- This nationally recognized course will provide participants with Outdoor Council of Canada (OCC) training in Field Leader and allow the Field Leader to lead in low-risk terrain as defined by the OCC. The course will be delivered by two OCC certified instructors.
- Two Days: Sunday Feb 8th and Friday Feb 13th
https://outdoorcouncil.ca/event/field-leader-hiking-2/
Feb 13-16, 2026 The eBird Big Backyard bird count
https://ebird.org/news/great-backyard-bird-count-2026 and many of you have participated alone or in small groups in the past. Let me know if you are going to go out birding and send me your bird lists to create a master one for the club. If you use eBird please and share to SONCMEMBER and I will get it as well. All you have to do is create one list sometime over the four-day period to count.
Oct 14 2025 - Grant Report: BC Nature Club Grant for the Hummingbird Project
Full Info at: Action Needed Now
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