About the Central Okanagan Naturalists’ Club (CONC)

CONC is a naturalists’ club based in Kelowna, BC, part of the Central Okanagan. Please note that we are a group interested in birds, botany, cycling, hiking, and snowshoeing (in the appropriate seasons); we are not interested in running around naked.

CONC acknowledges our presence on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded land of the syilx/Okanagan people who have resided here since time immemorial. We recognize, honour, and respect the syilx/Okanagan lands upon which we live, work, and play.

We organize a variety of weekly activities (see calendar below) and hold monthly meetings (see below) featuring a presentation on a topic of interest to the club.

Join us!

Click for a PDF application form! Updated 2024 August 15 with new rates.

Additional membership information is available on the Information for Everyone page.

To participate in our in-person activities, you will be asked to sign an attendance sheet stating you are fully-vaccinated and have not been in recent contact with someone with COVID-19.

Details on the activities are in the calendar below and on pages devoted to each activity.

Next meeting: September 9, 2025 at Evangel Church 7:00 p.m.

Topic: Wild animals and human interactions

Presenter: Breanna Scott, Wildsafe BC

About: Black Bear, Grizzly Bear, Cougar, Coyote, Raccoons, Rats and Rattlesnakes and how to keep them safe from us, and us from them.

More details on this and other CONC meetings: Upcoming CONC meetings document.

Upcoming activities

The activities are listed in the calendar above.

Additional information on hikes/snowshoe/bicycle trips is on the Hiking page.

Additional information on birding trips is on the Birding page.

Friday botany trips in the spring (and occasionally in the fall) are described on the Botany page. Note that this information includes places you can visit on your own, along with species lists,

Monthly Meetings are held on the second Tuesday of the month, September through May, at 7:00 p.m., currently in person whenever possible and otherwise via Zoom, with a picnic in June and a potluck in January.

Latest newsletter

The latest newsletter (June 2025) has been published.

Other CONC activities

Many members participate in local, regional, and provincial bodies whose interests reflect the Club’s interests.

CONC is involved with December/January Christmas Bird Counts, the January Sweagle (swan and eagle) Count, the Johns Family Nature Conservancy Park Critter Count in May and the Okanagan Mountain Park Critter Count in June.

A 2020 activity was the Mission Creek Greenway Biodiversity Challenge organized by CONC in conjunction with the Friends of Mission Creek and Regional District Parks. How many species did naturalists find along the Greenway in 2020? The Challenge iNaturalist website is here.

CONC maintains a checklist of the approximately 8,000 species of fauna, flora, and funga that are confirmed or suspected to occur in the Regional District of the Central Okanagan (RDCO). The Checklist can be found at RDCOChecklist.info; check it out for details on the status of each species and send us any necessary corrections or additions.

A few members, active or retired professionals, produce scientific articles. Details are available on the About Us page.

More CONC information

Please use the menu system at the top of each page and its links to explore our different activities. To ask specific questions, use our info address: contact us.

Contact information:
Specific people on the executive.
The webmaster.
Last updated: 2025 06 14