From the Field: British Columbia

Postcards from the Field: Elly Bonny

Shell Conservation Intern Elly Bonny

Greetings from Invermere!

I have traveled quite a bit in my life: I have lived in several provinces; toured across Canada as a motivational speaker; and I even spent a semester in Nairobi, Kenya, working with street kids, doing some teaching and counseling and travelled throughout the country with a school program, visiting local conservation groups. My horizons continue to widen and I'm fortunate that this summer that I get to explore an incredible part of Canada as the B.C. Canadian Rocky Mountain Shell Conservation Intern. When I am not working from my home office in Invermere, I am working with Canadian Rocky Mountain Project Manager Dave Hillary, learning about the area's plant and animal species and mapping NCC properties in baseline reports. Here in the Rockies, there are no complaints about the view!

The 22,000-acre Mount Broadwood property, donated by Shell Canada Limited, is a strong conservation foothold in the Elk Valley

On Canada Day, we hosted reporters from Global TV (BCTV) and the Vancouver Sun in the East Kootenays as part of NCC's Gifts to Canadians celebrations. BC's gift was the protection of three properties in the Upper Columbia River Valley. I also travelled to the Elk Valley where, in September 2003, a large grove of giant Black Cottonwood trees, the oldest known Cottonwood trees in the world, were discovered. Right now, I am working on baseline reports for different properties in the area. There is a baseline report for every NCC-secured property that includes essential information including lists of plant and animal species, soil and hydrology information, details of ecosystems, property photographs and maps.

I am a recent Environmental Biology graduate of Queen's University and, come fall, I will be attending the University of Manitoba working toward a Masters in Resource Management. Before I leave B.C. at the end of the summer, I plan on going hiking, cliff-jumping and swimming.

Best Wishes,

Elly

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