The next Cowichan Valley Garden Club Meeting will be held Wednesday, June 11th, 2025, at Duncan United Church Hall (246 Ingram Street). The meeting starts at 7:00 pm, door will open at 6:30 pm.
I’m writing this on a very hot beautiful Sunday afternoon in June! I think summer has arrived! I can’t believe this is our last meeting before our break.
Our speaker for the June 11 meeting is Bernie Juurlink. His topic is Bats in the Cowichan Valley. Bernie’s presentation will give us an overview of bats in general. He will then tell us about bats in the Valley, their lifestyle and their habitats – something most gardeners will have wondered about if they have seen bats in their garden or surrounding areas. He will also cover white nose syndrome, a fatal fungal disease affecting hibernating bats in North America, and the unanticipated consequences of their drastic loss and the importance of maintaining biodiversity.
Bernie is a retired academic who is involved in a number of environmental groups. He is particularly active in the Cowichan Estuary Restoration and Conservation Association (CERCA). That organization’s bat acoustic monitoring program caused him to become very interested in bats, including reading many books and articles, and purchasing his own acoustic meter to record bats in the area. Bernie has kindly donated his honorarium for Wednesdays presentation to the local food bank!
Please remember to bring $50 cash or cheque to secure your spot on the Bus Tour which will be on June 19th. This is a very enjoyable day looking at gardens and visiting with your fellow members! Sign up will be at a table at the back of the room.
Volunteer sign-up sheets for the Cowichan Exhibition in September will be circulating during the meeting. Please remember that although we have made inroads into reducing our involvement with the fall fair, that does not take effect until September 2026. This year we still need a lot of help to fulfill our club’s commitment to the September 2025 Fall Fair. Please check your calendars for September 11-15 and try to find a couple of hours to help out.
- “On the Rocks” – a landscape design incorporating stones/rocks
- “Early Summer Bounty” – a traditional mass design
- Other categories include poppy, Delphinium, Peony, Rose, Iris, Hydrangea, flowering branch, Rhubarb, Pea Pods and citrus fruit as well as our usual Surprise Us and Don’t Judge Me categories if you have anything delightful we just have to see. Please refer to the website for more information
Our setup team this month is a bit short of people and asks if anyone has any plants for the plant sale table, please bring them along to the meeting. Thanks for helping out if you can!
This month we will be saying goodbye to our faithful setup family. I will invite them to join us at 8:30 to present them with a card, gift and heartfelt thanks. If we happen to finish the meeting before 8:30 please stay around to give them a hearty show of appreciation. They have doing setup for us for 9 years and haven’t missed a meeting that I know of. That’s dedication!!
One final note: our Vice President Anna has brought it to the executive committee’s attention that the Warmland Shelter is in dire need of donations of all kinds of goods. This organization does very meaningful work in the community and is near and dear to Anna’s heart.
As a club we do contribute to the food bank with our “grow -a- row” program but if anyone has extra vegetables, fruits or other foodstuff to donate, the Warmland folks would be extremely grateful. Below is a list of other items that are needed. Anna and the executive invite you to bring any donations to the June meeting and Anna will gather them and take them to the shelter. Anna is also willing to come and pick up any donations you have. Call/text her at 250-733-2515 or email her at annabonney69@gmail.com
| Smaller tents | Non perishable snacks (bar | Sunscreen |
| Sleeping bags | Umbrellas | Shampoo |
| Inflatable sleep mats | Bottled water | Tampons/pads |
| Tarps/twine | Backpacks | Razors |
| Hand foot warmers | Reusable water bottles | Body wash/soap |
| Head lamps | Socks | Nail clippers |
| Batteries | New men’s underwear (S-L) | Toothpaste |
| Paracord | New women’s underwear (XS-M) | Toothbrushes & floss |
| Hygiene wipes | Men’s and women’s shorts (XS-L) | Deodorant |
| Mini First Aid kits | Men’s shoes (10-14) | Chapstick |
| Bandaids | Hats | Freezies/popsicles |
I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday.
Cowichan Valley Garden Club, 2021, all rights reserved*
Our mailing address is:
*PO Box 917, Duncan, BC, Canada, V9L 3Y2*