892-9578 for further information.

Jul. and Aug. - The Strathgartney Inn will feature watercolour painting workshops, a drawing workshop, and.2a multi-media workshop. Contact 675-4711 for details on these 5 day workshops.

Mid-July - a comet is predicted to strike Jupiter

Jul. 22 - The Institute of Island Studies and the Island Nature Trust will co-host the launch of Like the Back of My Hand, a 1/2 hour video production featuring the natural history of P.E.I. through the writings of Geoff Hogan. With a script prepared by Deirdre Kessler and the video and production wizardry of Henry Dunsmore, this should be an entertaining evening. The Launch will be at the new Arts Centre in the old Royal Bank Building on the corner of Queen and Richmond St. The inaugural award of the Geoff Hogan Biology Honours Research Fund will be made. The fun begins at 8:00 p.m.

Jul. 29 to Aug. 2 - The Canadian Council on Ecological Areas will be held at Acadia University. Contact Dale Smith, N.S. Dept. Natural Resources, Belmont RR # l, N.S. BOM 1C0 902—662-3030 OR FAX 662-2160

Aug. 4 to 7 - the 23rd conference of the Canadian Nature Federation will be held in Halifax. For registration information, please contact Peter Payzant, P.O. Box 2, Waverly, N.S.

BON 280 902-861-1607.

Aug. 9 to 11 - There will be a shorebird course offered at Mount Allison University taught by the internationally renowned birder Stuart Tingley. Seats are limited and tuition is $100.

Aug. 12 to 14 - Atlantic Waterfowl Celebration in Sackville, N.B.

Sept. 20 to 23 — The Coastal Zone Canada ’94: Cooperation in the Coastal Zone conference will be held in halifax, N.S. Contact the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, P.O. Box 1006, Dartmouth, N.S. BZY 4A2 OR fax 902-429—9491.

WOODLOT OWNER OF THE YEAR y .by Ken Mayhew

John Curley, a woodlot owner from Fort Augustus, was presented with the Woodlot Owner of the Year Award for 1994 at his woodlot on June 6th by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry, Walter Bradley. This is the fifth. year for' this award ‘which recognizes outstanding achievement and dedication in the field of forest management. .

Mr. Curley owns a 300 acre woodlot in Watervale, several miles south of Fort Augustus. The forest is composed of white spruce, red spruce, and balsam fir with a scattering of white pine and various hardwoods, particularly red maple, throughout. This property holds a special attraction for Mr. Curley because it has been in his family for several generations.

"My father out most of the trees off of the property in the 305", noted Mr. Curley. "Unfortunately he didn't plan for the future, because all that came back after the harvest was poor quality trees. Over the years it's become a labour of love trying to rebuild this small forest."