FruitSave Program Seeking Volunteers

Traditional Chinese Exercise for Health

All Classes in the Cowichan Valley *unless stated

Wild Goose Qigong (Chi Gong)

Gentle movement • Calms your mind • Heals internal organs • Develops fl exibility Mondays 9 -10 am Tuesdays 6 pm - 7 pm (combined Qigong and Chun Yuen) Wednesdays 10-11:15 am Fridays 10-11:15 am (Victoria)* Northern Shaolin Chun Yuen Quan

Dynamic movement • Improves posture • Increases energy •

Strengthens bones

Tuesdays 6 pm - 7 pm (combined Qigong and Chun Yuen)*

Wednesdays 9 am - 10 am

250 748 4060 rivendellrhythm@shaw.ca

www.WildGooseQigongCentre.com

•Functional Medicine and Nutrition Consultations •Lab Assessments/Education •Individualized Lifestyle and Wellness Plans 250-931-0012 sageheartnutrition@gmail.com www.sageheartnutrition.wordpress.com

COWICHAN VALLEY AS A LITTLE KNOWN BIRDWATCHING DESTINATION

Gary Ward, MSc, MBA is a wilderness guide and teacher addicted to Vancouver Island.

Twice a day, across mud flat and shallow water, over fifty Great Blue Herons do their Tai Chi dance for breakfast, catching small fish for themselves and hatchlings. Every spring in Cowichan Bay, the herons join a chorus of other birds that live in or fly-through the Cowichan Valley, but few know the variety of birds that make the trip. Birding in the Cowichan Valley is a rich activity that can draw you out into new areas and put you in contact with the rich diversity of the valley and yourself. The time of year is not important. Resident birds are here all year long, but a constant stream of migratory birds fly in and stop at a variety of locations.

Somenos Marsh and the Trout Hatchery offer walking trails and many species of birds visiting the water and the surrounding trees. A variety of ducks ply the waters and rest along the shores, adding colour to the scene. Overhead, the calls of thrushes and robins fill the air, punctuated by the buzzed pecking of woodpeckers in the trees. The birdsong is loud and constant early morning and evening as the light and shadows move to provide cover for the activity of many birds. The throng of songs dies away as the sun rises higher in the sky, the temperature warms and the shadows thin.

The light does not affect the shore birds, raptors and herons as much. In Cowichan Bay, the Mergansers hatch and swim their broods along the edges of the water while the Osprey hunt from the tops of pilings in the estuary. Some swans, the Mutes, stay all year in the valley, migrating between Cowichan Bay and Somenos Marsh, allowing Trumpeters, on a larger migration, to settle into wetland areas to rest and feed along their journey.