The Blomidon Naturalists Society is a field naturalists club based in Wolfville, but its interests and activities span most of the eastern Annapolis Valley. Active since 1974, the club meets monthly at the Beveridge Arts Centre at Acadia. Every meeting features a speaker – our speakers have included research scientists, Acadia students, local naturalists, and artists with topics ranging from wildlife photography, to tidal power, to botanical illustration to Sable Island horses. The club also has the occasional field trip, which could mean a hike to Cape Split, mushroom walks in the Kentville Ravine, annual seasonal bird counts, and last year a wind farm tour.
The Blomidon Naturalists Society is deeply connected to Acadia – many current and former professors and university staff are members, as are many alumni (present company included). The Society supports Acadia students in the natural sciences through an annual scholarship award.
We publish a quarterly newsletter which accepts submissions from members and the public. Non-fiction articles on topics of interest to naturalists, poetry, photographs, and drawings are accepted.
The Society has also published several books (which are regularly offered for sale at local bookstores and from the Society itself) on local natural history, including Within the View of Blomidon by the late Acadia Biology professor, Dr. Merritt Gibson; A Natural History of Kings County; and Birds of Kings County. The Society also produces an annual natural history calendar which includes daily tide times, current and past historical events, and beautiful photographs taken by local photographers. Photographic submissions to the calendar are welcome.
The Society always welcomes new members, and membership is open to any interested person. All of our events/field trips, most of which are free, and meetings are open to the public.
For more information about meeting and event schedules, please see blomidonnaturalists.ca or check our Facebook page, To submit an article, photograph, etc. for the newsletter or calendar, please contact Shelley Porter (newsletter editor) at [email protected]
Shelley Porter is an Acadia alumnus (BScHon. ‘87, MSc. ‘97) and current editor of the Blomidon Naturalists Society newsletter
