On B.C.'s first-ever Family Day, members of the Lower Mainland Young Naturalist Club partnered with the Delta Farmland & Wildlife Trust to learn about the importance of tall grass habitat on agricultural land as a means of protecting and conserving wildlife.

With funding from Vancity, as well as the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation, young naturalists participated in a Citizen Science project at Brunswick Point where they monitored wildlife on the foreshore marsh as well as at a grassland set-aside.

The project provided a unique hands-on opportunity for local youth to be involved in research that contributes to the protection of critical habitat for a number of provincially and federally listed species such as the short-eared owl, great blue heron and western meadowlark.

Engaging youth in this Citizen Science project to monitor the species using grassland set-asides creates a broader awareness of the role local grassland habitats play for wildlife.

Families were enthusiastic observers of wildlife and especially enjoyed learning from a local wildlife expert (and trust chair) Mary Taitt.