You may enjoy this video produced by John MacKenzie of Rogers TV, Victoria. The energy and enthusiasm that Jerri conveys while describing the event and all that the members of VicPS bring to Fossil Fair for the public’s pleasure is wonderful to see and hear. Kudos to all you volunteers!
Our second fieldtrip in April will be this coming Sunday, April 19th to North West Bay just south of Parksville. An email has been sent to all paid members with details of the site that are relevant to fossil hunting.
Victoria members: meet at the Helmcken Park & Ride on the Island Highway at 8:00 AM.
Up Island members: we will rendezvous with you at the Petro Canada located at the corner of North West Bay Rd and the Island Highway by 10:00 AM for a potential beverage and bio break. We will stop in Duncan only if a carpooling meetup is requested there.
For those of you inspired to join us because of this year’s Fossil Fair: if you’ve never been out fossil hunting, please wear clothing and foot wear suitable for a day outdoors, such as if you were hiking. A rock hammer or mason’s hammer, a cold chisel/concrete chisel, leather gloves (not gardening gloves) and safety glasses will be required if you are going to remove fossils from sandstone or shale. Newspaper, masking tape and a marking pen or pencil are handy to wrap up and tag fossils that come apart as you extract them. When you RSVP, if you don’t already have the field trip email, please request the writeup on the site details.
We do have extra hammers and chisels. Annual membership dues are not required on your very first field trip with us.
The beach is suitable for children and those able to walk several kilometers on relatively flat surfaces.
Please RSVP by email to vicpalaeo@gmail.com, indicating where you will rendezvous with the group. Waivers will be signed prior to embarking to comply with insurance requirements.
NOTE: If you accept a carpooling ride with another member, please contribute your share to the cost of gas with the driver.
Our first fieldtrip in April will be this coming Sunday, April 12th. An email has been sent to all paid members.
Victoria members: meet at the Helmcken Park & Ride on the Island Highway at 8:00 AM.
Up Island members: we will rendezvous with you at the Northfield Road Tim Hortons by 10 AM for a potential beverage and bio break. We will stop in Duncan only if a carpooling meetup is requested there.
The site we’ll be visiting is suitable for children and those able to walk several kilometers on relatively flat surfaces.
NOTE: If you accept a carpooling ride with another member, please contribute your share to the cost of gas with the driver.
Please RSVP by email to vicpalaeo@gmail.com, indicating where you will rendezvous with the group.
VicPS has officially changed its name from the Victoria Palaeontology Society to the Victoria Peleontological Society. Two things were accomplished with this change: the “dipthong” was removed, and the use of “paleontological” has our name conform to the word usage in the names of our associated regional societies.
Apart from the name change, our mission remains the same:
- promote an interest in paleontology
- contribute to education and scientific knowledge in paleontology and other earth sciences
- collect, preserve, study, and catalogue fossils
- hold lectures, seminars, and exhibits of fossils
There will be more wording and contact email id changes occuring over time as a result of this change. Meanwhile, the old website URL and contact email ids will continue to work.
Fossil Fair is the Victoria Palaeontology Society’s annual public education display and fundraiser (free, donations optional). This year, it will take place on the weekend of March 21 to 22 from 10 am to 3 pm at the Tillicum Shopping Centre.
Fossil Fair encourages public awareness of ancient life on Vancouver Island and pride in BC’s fossil heritage. At Fossil Fair, VicPS members share our specimens; demonstrate how to be citizen scientists (find, record, preserve, study fossils); highlight discoveries and research contributions by citizen scientists; and help the public to identify BC fossils they bring in.
The base display consists of over 15 cases of fossils from various geological ages on Vancouver Island, hands-on fossil displays and descriptive posters, plus interactive activities. This year’s activities include a scavenger hunt, fossil sand box, micro-fossil display, hands-on fossil display, an origami station, craft table and fossil ID station.
We also welcome participation by like-minded associates. This year the BC Fossil Management Office, the Royal BC Museum, and Passport to Science will join us, bringing their expertise and
activities. Welcome!
Membership in the Victoria Palaeontology Society secures your vote at the Annual General Meeting next Wednesday, Feb. 4, at 7 pm PST. As of today, we have 37 members, four of whom are new.
Why Dinosaurs?
A reminder that ‘Why Dinosaurs?’, a 1h 17m documentary with contributions from our very own Marji Johns and Gary Kaiser, is now available worldwide on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfSIU2c9GRU. This is an award-winning, labour-of-love documentary made by a father and son obsessed with dinosaurs, who roam the scientific world simply to satiate their curiosity – which makes it a very engaging show! Gary and Marji are interviewed near the end.
February Fieldtrip
A reminder that the first fieldtrip of the year is Sunday, February 8. As usual, details and logistics will be circulated a week or so in advance and your RSVP will be sought as we arrange carpooling from the Helmcken Park & Ride on the Island Highway in Victoria, or alternative spots for those living north of the Malahat. Watch for the email.
February Meeting
Members will have received an email with materials relevant to the meeting on Wednesday evening, Feb 4, at 7:00pm PST. It will be IN PERSON and VIRTUAL. Note the early start time of 7:00pm PST. This is to ensure we have ample time for the presentation and the AGM.
As usual, the first part of the meeting (7:00-8:00pm) will be a pictorial ‘2025 Year in Review’ covering fieldtrips, discoveries, events and public displays, with time for questions and dialogue. For those of you who attended the September meeting, it will be a bit of a repeat, with info from the final four months of the year added. For new members, this will provide a very comprehensive overview of who we are and what we do. All BCPA members are welcome to join this part of the meeting.
The second part of the meeting (8:15-9:00pm) will be our official Annual General Meeting. This is for members only, and BCPA executive members are welcome to observe. All current board members have indicated their willingness to continue for another year and no new names have been put forward to date. If you’re new to the Society, the AGM will make it clear how your $30 annual dues and vote contribute to the advancement of paleontology in BC.
Meeting Access:
Look to your email for the meeting connection information. See you then!
Happy New Year Everyone!
Welcome to 2026! Attached is the VicPS schedule of events for 2026.
FIELDTRIPS:
This year, we’re doubling up on fieldtrips, with twice as many on the roster compared to last year. Thanks to John Kitson for committing to these extra trips.
For those new to VicPS, fieldtrips are on Sundays (less traffic) and the time indicates when we leave/return to the Helmcken Park & Ride on the Island Highway. For those without vehicles, we arrange carpooling from the park & ride, which is accessible via transit.
Fieldtrip locations are chosen based on tides and river levels, with beach visits generally April thru July and river sites generally June thru Sept. Higher elevation sites are reserved for months when weather and tides are not favourable. We usually take a hiatus from fieldtrips in Dec/Jan.
Fieldtrip dates, times and locations are subject to change based on weather and times; logistics, along with site details, are confirmed via email in advance of each trip. Fieldtrip invitations & details are sent only to those who have renewed their annual dues by the January 31st deadline (details below).
MONTHLY MEETINGS:
Monthly meetings are generally the second Tuesday of the month, with hiatus in the summer during peak fieldtrip season. Monthly meetings are subject to cancellation if we do not have a speaker or a topic of interest to discuss.
Last year we had a wonderful run of workshops, thanks to leaders Marji Johns and Thor Henrich, and those continue to be a possibility if other leaders step forward.
PUBLIC DISPLAYS:
The annual Fossil Fair to display our fossil collections for the public will take place at Tillicum Mall for the second year in a row. More details on that leading up to March break, but please consider booking a table and displaying your material to augment the fair, or volunteer to run an activity. We have microscopes for a cool microfossil display but haven’t been able to do that in a few years, so the more volunteers we have, the more creative things we can do to show the public the cool history below BC!
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES:
It really helps with administration when dues are paid by the JANUARY 31st deadline, as our Society is required to remit a portion of dues to the BC Paleontological Alliance in early February. I thank you in advance, and note that dues can be paid by e-transfer to victoria.palaeontology.society@gmail.com, or by cheque to:
Treasurer
Victoria Palaeontology Society
4034 Hessington Place
Victoria, BC, V8N 5C6
On February 15th, names of those who have not renewed membership for 2026 will be removed from the distribution list, and access to the resources in the member’s area of the BCPA website will cease. A few reminders will be sent throughout the month, for your convenience.
We look forward to what the earth will reveal to us in 2026!
(VicPS Chair) Jerri Wilkins
VicPS member John Kitson is leading this field trip. John warns that this coming weekend will likely be rainy, so dress accordingly. Field trip details have been emailed to all VicPS members. Please RSVP, indicating at which location you wish to meet.
For first-timers, please remember to bring a rock hammer (a regular or mason’s hammer will do), cold chisel(s) and safety glasses. You will get to learn about concretions.
Monthly Meeting Topic: ‘Finding Footprints: They Are Out There!’
Please note that the monthly meeting that had been scheduled for November 12 has been moved to November 27 to accommodate our speaker’s schedule. This meeting will be online only. VicPS members will receive connect instructions by email.
Footprints of dinosaurs and other ancient creatures are being discovered elsewhere in BC, so why not at our usual sites here on the Island? What do we look for, and how do we know these traces when we find them?
Please join us online Thursday, November 27 when special guest Elaude Koenig MSc Student, UVic School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, will help us to begin our journey to understand, appreciate (and maybe even find!) these traces of ancient life. Every journey begins with a single step; we look forward to Elaude helping us take ours!
Going forward, VicPS plans to return to in-person meetings resuming in January (as we usually do not have a December meeting).
The Vancouver Paleontological Society has invited us to attend a virtual presentation by Dr. Melina Jobbins, a Postdoctoral Fellow in Palaeobology at the University of Manitoba. Dr. Jobbins, originally from France, has spent her academic career in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Canada.
Her research focuses on the Placoderm Fishes, some of our oldest bony ancestors. These ancient fish provide insights into our understanding of the origins of jaws, teeth, bone and other vertebrate structures.
Further details are available on the Vancouver Paleontological Society’s website.
Topic: Dr. Melina Jobbins speaks on Placoderm Fishes
When: Nov 26, 2025 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
Https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84187022894?pwd=cfhafVtL6CVIkh6ZIxxKjZ1OsL4hRB.1
Meeting ID: 841 8702 2894
Passcode: 776834
