Comox Valley Naturalists Society

Sunday, October 19, 2003
Alison Watt
Triangle Island - The Last Island

In the summer of 1980, Alison Watt, a young researcher, was studying seabirds on Triangle Island, a fabled wildlife sanctuary off the northern tip of Vancouver Island. For four months amidst the wind-swept cliffs and isolation, she observed the wildlife, from sea lions to puffins, with another biologist, Anne Vallee, who was to die on the island just two years later.

Sixteen years later, Watt returned to Triangle Island to investigate a decline in the puffin population, and recounts her journeys and memories in her book ïThe Last IslandÍ. Her work was featured at the meeting of the Comox Valley Naturalists Society on Sunday October 19 at 7:00 p.m. at the Filberg Seniors Lounge, 411 Anderton Ave. in Courtenay.

Watt studied biology at Simon Fraser University, and botany at UBC. She has worked as a seabird researcher, and as a naturalist in parks across BC. Her non-fiction has appeared in Canadian Wildlife Magazine and her poetry in many journals. She is also an accomplished painter, and recorded her experiences on Triangle Island through her artistÍs brush as well as naturalistÍs eye and writerÍs pen.

Click on a link below to view descriptions of previous guest speakers.