Origins of the Edmonton Nature Club

   Announcement Written in October, 2004

Have you heard the exciting news from Edmonton? A new naturalist club has formed. Now, unless you're new to Alberta's naturalist community, you might be thinking "There are already two nature clubs in Edmonton-why start a third? ... and where, all of a sudden, are the people for this new entity?" It is actually very simple when one realizes that the Edmonton Bird Club (EBC) & Edmonton Natural History Club (ENHC) have merged to form this new group, with a combined membership of about 450 individuals.

Surprised? Well, given the history of this issue, one should be. It did not happen overnight or without some controversy. This merger issue has been smoldering for at least 18 years. Every so often, like a volcano, it would briefly erupt only to die down again.

The EBC had long-time, devoted members who really were not interested in other aspects of nature beyond birds. On the ENHC side were a similar group of members who were not so interested in birding. Neither side was willing to give up their identity through a merger. Muddying the waters was the fact that the ENHC had a small component of dedicated birders in its membership. Some held memberships in both clubs while others did not. In the mid 1980's the ENHC birders formed a Bird Study group. It was first chaired by Darwin Wiggett, then Terry Thormin, Gerry Lunn and finally by Petra Rowell (ENHC) & Jim Lange (EBC). On March 20 1987 the study group became a joint committee between the two clubs. After a number of years Dick Dekker asked what the difference was between the EBC & the study group. My reply: "a fine fuzzy line". The bird study group was set up primarily for instruction on bird ID or calls, using a field guide assisted approach, whereas the EBC had a lecture format. With rising room costs and falling attendance the bird study group was eventually dissolved.

At an EBC meeting in September 1986 the merger volcano once again erupted when Dick Dekker raised questions about the struggle to secure executive members, dual memberships, and the potential benefits of shared costs, programs and field trips. The EBC, under president Jim Lange, decided to look into the issue. In February 1987, vice-president John Allan asked members of the EBC for feedback. The results were clear: members were not interested in merging. Nonetheless, some members were interesting in cooperating in areas of common interest. This suited me, so the EBC commenced talks with ENHC president Carol Smith, and later Geoff Holroyd, about areas where we might work together. Shortly following these talks, Alan Hingston proposed a joint newsletter to advertise meetings and field trips. The joint newsletter, Nature Network, became a reality and was and will continue to be mailed to members of both clubs.

Over the years work progressed slowly, mainly behind the scenes, trying to blend and support the activities of both clubs. Opposition to the merger also began to wane as long time members from both clubs passed on. With new people and fresh ideas on both executives, the merits of merger once again became attractive. The process was furthered when the executive of the EBC appointed a liaison representative to work with the ENHC executive-to pass information back and forth. This sharing of information-conducted by Audrey Gordey and Jim Lange-remained in effect until this past spring when the clubs' executives started to hold joint meetings.

In 2002 the issue of merger again erupted when Bob Parsons, past president of EBC, brought it forward. The clubs decided, with all the joint initiatives already in place, that the time was right to approach the members once again. An exploration committee, co-chaired by Bob Parsons and Chris Fisher, developed a 'merger survey' to ask members whether or not they wished their respective executives to pursue a merger. Circulated to members of both clubs during the summer of 2003, the survey results were collected by Bob Parsons (for EBC) and Tanya Hope (for ENHC). Both clubs were overwhelmingly in favour of the merger.

Now the real work began. A finance committee examined the legal and logistical requirements of merging the two clubs' finances. And a publications committee studied merging the clubs' respective publications, the ENHC's Edmonton Naturalist and the EBC's Wingbeat. Last but not least, a bylaws committee was charged with developing new bylaws for the club, including job descriptions, which detailed the expected monthly time commitments for each position. Aware that all this would take much hard work, by many volunteers, it was decided to shoot for completion by fall, 2004: we would hold our joint AGM on the 12th of October.

Work progressed well. The draft bylaws were circulated to all club members for their approval. The clubs' finances were audited and then merged. After conducting a title search, the new club's name-Edmonton Nature Club-and its new bylaws were approved and officially registered on the 14th of June 2004. As a not-for-profit group, we are not yet a registered charitable organization-one step at a time!

Next in order was the striking of a nominations committee. Its role was to canvas the existing executives and club members to see who might be interested in standing for positions on the new executive. There were early suggestions that it would be difficult to find a president willing to look after such a large group. My own personal thoughts were that the numbers were irrelevant-the work was done for all members, be they 200 or 500!

Well, the moment of truth arrived and we headed into the meeting. The nomination committee had an impressive list of candidates for the various positions. Much to our delight, the turnout for the meeting was high. With 55 members present, most of the executive positions, directors and committee chairs were filled. And so, after 18 years of deliberation, the EBC and the ENHC went into the history books. In their place is the fledgling Edmonton Nature Club. With a great new executive-headed by Marg Reine-and many motivated members with lots of ideas and enthusiasm, the new club's future bodes well.

In closing, I wish to thank everyone for his or her tremendous effort in working to see this become a reality. It certainly would not have happened without your commitment. We have a bright future ahead and I look forward to seeing the results.

by Jim Lange