Members Only Outing – Mosses on the Macnamara Trail with Jennifer Doubt
REGISTRATION CLOSED – WAIT LIST ONLY
Saturday 23 October (NO RAIN DATE)
10:00 AM – approximately 12:00 PM (noon)
Meeting Location: Macnamara Trail Head (McNab St., Arnprior).
(please note that there are no bathroom facilities)
From Highway 417 exit at County Road 29 (exit 180) and head north to Madawaska Boulevard. Turn left onto Madawaska Boulevard and continue for 1km to MacNab Street. Turn right on McNab Street (just after Rona) and look for the Macnamara Trail parking lot on the right after the entrance to the Nylene Canada plant.
Leaders: Jennifer Doubt
Jennifer Doubt, originally from Deep River, Ontario, has collected and documented mosses and liverworts for over 25 years. Along with the other fun, dedicated staff, students and volunteers that make up the Canadian Museum of Nature Botany team, she cares for a busy, growing archive of over one million preserved plants and lichens, and shares the collection far and wide for research and education.
Jennifer’s plan is to walk along the trail and see what we find! She is hopeful that we will have a chance to see some different moss and liverwort growth forms, including some capsules. She will discuss iNaturalist and how to maximize the chances that mosses can be identified from photos, as well as the limitations of field- and photo-identification for plants with microscopic features.
Solid, comfortable closed toe footwear and ability to walk for the duration of the hike is required. (While on your own you may be accustomed to wearing sandals on hikes, as a courtesy to the group, please do not risk a foot injury when on a group outing.) Please bring water to drink, sunscreen, bug spray and/or bug jacket and dress for the weather with long pants tucked into your socks (poison ivy and ticks are still present). We will be travelling very slowly, so when dressing for the weather, an extra layer might be handy.
A hand lens (10 – 20x) or other strong magnifier and a camera are always a good idea if you have them. Jennifer will have a few extra hand lenses to share with those who don’t for their individual use during the walk. Please also note that many locations we visit are in areas where picking flora of any kind is either not advisable or outright banned. Please do not pick anything while on group outings as it could reflect poorly on the club as a whole. Our trip leaders can make an educated and judicious choice about sampling.
A note about Covid: Participant numbers will be restricted to 8 participants due to the nature of the outing (close viewing of the mosses). You may register yourself and anyone in your own household only. Participation will be on a first come first registered basis. Confirmation emails will be sent.
We will be maintaining physical distancing requirements. Please bring a non-medical mask to be worn when physical distancing is not possible. Please do not come if you are ill or have come in contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid 19. Notification of cancellation as soon as possible would be appreciated.
Register at events@mfnc.ca (please include your full name) no later than Thursday October 21st.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.