With Dr. Siobhan Darlington, Dr. Jason Jones, and Dick Cannings

Connecting Knowledge with Action: How Small Ideas and Deeds Can Transform Attitudes and Landscapes

It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the state of the world and the environment, but the history of conservation is full of success stories demonstrating how individual actions can transform landscapes. Please join local experts Siobhan Darlington, Jason Jones, and Dick Cannings—three biologists at different stages in their careers—for a presentation on their personal and professional experiences translating ideas into action.

Support a Great Cause The Rendezvous is our premier annual fundraiser. Proceeds from this evening and the live auction provide critical funding that allows the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance (OSCA) to continue its essential school education programs, inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards.

Food & Drink We are thrilled to announce that this year’s event will feature delicious food provided by Oliver Eats. To complement the menu, guests can also enjoy a curated selection of locally produced beer and wine.

Evening Schedule:

• 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. – Rendezvous: Mingling, Food, Drink & Auction Preview
• 6:30 p.m. – 6:45 p.m. – Introduction to the Panel
• 6:45 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. – Panel Discussion: Connecting Knowledge with Action
• 7:30 p.m. – 7:45 p.m. – Short Break
• 7:45 p.m. – 8:05 p.m. – Audience Q&A
• 8:05 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. – Final Auction Bids & Closing

Join us for an evening of inspiring conversation, community connection, and local flavours—all in support of conservation education in our region.

Biographies

Dr. Siobhan Darlington, PhD, RPBio (she/her):
Siobhan is a wildlife biologist with the BC Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship in Penticton. She has been leading the Southern BC Cougar Project (www.bccougarproject.weebly.com) since 2019 as part of her doctoral studies at UBC Okanagan, and has a diverse background working with large carnivores, mesocarnivores, ungulates, and birds across Western and Atlantic Canada. She and her partner, David Bell, are avid birdwatchers and banders in the South Okanagan, and enjoy recreating outdoors through backpacking trips, mothing, and travelling abroad.

Dr. Jason Jones, PhD, RPBio (he/him):
Jason is a terrestrial ecologist and co-owner of two consulting companies: EcoLogic Consultants Ltd. and Campfire Archaeology and Heritage Ltd. Over his decades-long career, Jason has had the good fortune to work in government, for non-governmental organizations, in academia, and in the private sector. Growing up in the Okanagan, he has witnessed the transformation of many ecosystems and has also seen reasons for optimism. Away from work, Jason is the Station Manager for the Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory, supports the Southern Interior Land Trust with monitoring work at their Bourguiba Springs property, and is working with the Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society on restoring a 10-acre parcel near Oliver that he shares with his partner, Colleen.

Dick Cannings, MSc, RPBio (he/him):
Dick was born and raised in Penticton in a family that loved nature and the outdoors. He was Curator of the Cowan Vertebrate Museum at UBC for 17 years before moving back to the Okanagan, where he spent 20 years as a consulting biologist and writer. He worked with Birds Canada coordinating the Canadian Christmas Bird Counts, the eBird program, the BC Nocturnal Owl Survey, and the BC Breeding Bird Atlas. Dick also served on the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, the BC Environmental Appeal Board, the BC Forest Appeals Commission, and the board of the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

He helped found the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance, the Meadowlark Festival, and the Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory. Dick has written more than a dozen books on natural history. In 2015, he moved from biology to politics and served as the Member of Parliament for South Okanagan–West Kootenay for ten years. He and his wife, Margaret, are now happily—and busily—retired.