Feb 26, 2023 Gold-panning Field Trip to Sooke Potholes

We kept an eye on the weather to the very last minute and it paid off! We met at the Juan de Fuca parking lot at 10am and by 10;15 we were on our way.
There were 7 of us, plus Megsi of course!
The weather was sunny when we arrived.
We parked at the first parking lot and took the first trail on the other side of the gate down to the water. It was a 2 minute walk from the car – quite manageable even with some snow on the ground.
The beach was great, not a lot of snow and everyone quickly went to work. Lots of conversation and fun.
About 20 minutes after we arrived, the big cloud that had been dumping wet snow on Metchosin caught up to us and within 10 minutes it had passed, giving us only a very light dusting. Everyone kept panning or digging or whatever they were up to.
No gold for me – just a big iron very old spike that took a while to find.
We did get gold, however, as expected, someone before us must have found the nuggets!
Looking forward to the next field trip, it will be announced at the meeting tomorrow.

Monthly meeting: Feb 6th, 2023

Topic: Can We Predict Earthquakes? Tales of the Cascadia Subduction Zone

Presenter:  Ms. Isaporn (Grace) Sethanant – School of Earth & Ocean Sciences – Faculty of Science UVIC

The meeting was well attended and passionately presented, there was lots of talk about it afterwards. 

Click on the pictures to see them larger and to run them as a slideshow.

The presentation was given by Ms. Israporn Sethanant who has been so kind as to share a pdf of the presentation itself below for those of our members who might not have been able to attend in person:

Tales of Cascadia (download)

Call for volunteers

Our Rock and Gem Show ’23 will be upon us in six weeks. We need volunteers to help run the show as listed below.

Please contact Karol Jorgensen if you can take a shift(s): karol.jorgensen@vlms.ca

Shifts are 2 hrs:

Door sales – take entrance fee, stamp hands, crowd inquiries, warm smile

Greeter – welcome, regulate admissions, advise on show events & facilities locations.

Security at doors – ensure public are not entering & exiting

Security on floor – roam & monitor

Field Trip: Island View Beach, Jan 29th, ’23

The field trip to Island View beach was very well attended, with 16 members showing up.

The tide was quite high when we arrived and the weather very cold and sunny. We started off going to the left first to give the high tide time to start going out. After about an hour we turned around and slowly worked our way back towards the cliffs.

One member found a beautiful small agate. Others found jasper, pretty quartz and also a few interestingly shaped rocks. A very determined flower stone hunter managed to find their very first one!
The tide unfortunately did not recede enough to get us close to the cliffs, however now we know the tide heights that should get us there. Island View always has a lot to offer – if not just for the views and the wildlife. And the wild crazy people sailboarding in the cold water in the winter!

Board of Directors & Annual General Meeting 2023

The Victoria Lapidary and Mineral Society is a non-profit society under the Societies Act. As such, we are run by a board of directors who are elected once a year at our January Annual General Meeting. There are 9 elected postions plus the Past President, and a further 8 positions who are appointed by the board. Our new board this year is:

Elected Positions
Yvan GagnonPresident 
Yvan Gagnon
president@vlms.ca
Allana ShillitoPast President 
Allana Shillito
allana.shillito@vlms.ca
David JacksonTreasurer
David Jackson
treasurer@vlms.ca
Karen RoweVice President
Karen Rowe
vicepresident@vlms.ca
Becci SimmonsMembership 
Becci Simmons
membership@vlms.ca
Position openSecretary
Position Vacant
secretary@vlms.ca
Position openMember at Large
Joanne Nielsen
joanne.nielsen@vlms.ca
Position openMember at Large
Karis Zabolotney
karis.zabolotney@vlms.ca
Position openMember at Large
Robert Belz
robert.belz@vlms.ca
Position openMember at Large
Hayden Sander
hayden.sander@vlms.ca
Appointed Positions
Position openLaphound News Editor 
Position Vacant
laphoundnews@vlms.ca
Kathryn HawkinsLibrarian
Kathryn Hawkins
librarian@vlms.ca
Sean MaierField Trips
Sean Maier
fieldtrips@vlms.ca
Position VacantField Trips & Program Coordinator
Arlene Modderman
arlene.modderman@vlms.ca
Karol JorgensenProgram Coordinator
Karol Jorgensen
karol.jorgensen@vlms.ca
Sarah HamiltonShow Chair
Sarah Hamilton
showchair@vlms.ca
Barb McKenzieSocial Committee
Barb McKenzie
barb.mckenzie@vlms.ca
Karen RoweWorkshop 
Karen Rowe
lapidaryworkshop@vlms.ca
Becci SimmonsWebmaster
Becci Simmons
web@vlms.ca

We are still looking for volunteers for the following positions, please contact president@vlms.ca if you would be willing to donate your time and join a convivial and supportive team to help keep our club going.

  • Secretary
  • Vice President
  • Laphound News Editor
  • Social Committee Chair