President Iain Scott called the meeting to order with the land acknowledgement and the singing of O’Canada.

Rotary Moment from President Iain:

While we are grappling with temperatures that are life threatening, Caroline and I experienced comfortable temperatures as low as -6C in New York. I say comfortable as we were aware of the migrants from warmer climates who have been forcibly transported to New York and who do not find -6C comfortable.

On Tuesday last week, a 60 day reprieve ended for migrants. At the end of the 60 days, families had to either leave the shelter system such as the Row Hotel, or return to The Roosevelt Hotel to apply for a new 60-day shelter stay.

On a sunny Wednesday morning at Bryant Park we watched skaters as we enjoyed a coffee and were aware of a family nearby with young children trying to give their children a reprieve from the stress of their situation. Sadly they are trying to figure out their next steps. These immigrants are from dozens of countries, including Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jamaica, Haiti and Colombia.

Peter Tonge introduced his guest Rosie. President Iain recognized Anya (guest of Mandy) and our guest speakers who would be introduced later in the meeting.

President's Announcements:

Thank you Lloyd for updating the membership list over the holidays, your work on District Grant applications and to Elaine, Cathy and Glenn who took part in the District Grant Application Certification. We have been notified we will be able to qualify for grants up to $50.00 per member or a maximum of $2,194.62. We could apply for a grant to cover some of our budgeted student scholarships, or other. We were one of 33 clubs who have certified members. Please note that April 2024 is the grant application deadline.

Rossbrook House event - As Cathy reminded you all last that this dinner is scheduled for February 26th. It will be a dry event. Cost is $60. There will be a rainbow auction, and Rossbrook representatives. More information to come. Cathy has tickets and they can also be purchased online through our Clubrunner site. If you are able to contribute a rainbow auction prize please let me know as soon as you can.

Club Board Meeting - Tuesday, January 16, 2024.

Siloam Mission - a letter of thanks for a Club donation.

Paul Harris Award - Peter Tonge came forward to accept a Paul Harris Award (4th) from President Iain. Members acknowledged this significant level of support with a hearty round of applause.

Greg Fraser has also been awarded a 4th Paul Harris to be delivered by Club Executive Secretary Lloyd Talbot.

New Member - Ezekiel McLeod was welcomed as a new member and presented with a certificate of membership. Welcome aboard Ezekiel!!

Iain's weekly joke - As a scarecrow, people say I’m outstanding in my field. But hay, it’s in my jeans.

Bridge of Hope Ukraine - Mandy and Anya came forward. Anya wished everyone a Happy New Year and reported that 30 volunteers helped at last week's furniture drive including some first timers. Bridge of Hope has now helped 156 families. Mandy added there is a need for couches, desks (important), kitchen tables and chairs. Also seeking a volunteer to help with snow removal (and donation of shovels). Contact Mandy. Next furniture drive in 2 weeks.

Jillian Detwiler, Associate Professor and Associate Head of Graduate StudiesDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba

Parasite: An organism that lives at least part of its life cycle on or within another organism (the host) upon which it is physiologically dependent and to which it causes harm in some way. Examples: ticks, swimmer's itch. Research Program: Discover diversity of wildlife parasites. Many factors influence host-parasite interactions. Which ones are most important? What behavioural factors influence host-parasite interactions? What ecological factors influence host-parasite interactions? Brainworm?

Further information: https://detwilerlab.weebly.com

Jillian introduced Sidney Mann, MSc Student, Detwiler Lab, U. of M.

Surveying Parasites of Gastropods in Assiniboine Forest
Managing Brainworm: Conservation strategies.

Gastropods are necessary for brain worm transmission. Surveys collect very few infected gastropods. Issues with identifying areas for land management.Where do gastropods occur? Determine influences of habitat on diversity and presence, determine the habitat preferences of infected gastropods.Predicted Gastropod Habitat - increased gastropod presence in: late summer, cool temperatures, high humidity, increased rainfall, leaf litter, moist soil.

Study site: a section of south west Assiniboine Forest.
Field Methods: 1 transect/ site, sampled nine times June-October. Measured: temperature, humidity, proportion of ground cover, rainfall.
Collected: gastropods, soil samples
Lab Methods: Gastropods - dissected to assess infection status. Soil samples: processed to determine moisture content. 1116 gastropods and 10 species of gastropods collected. Results - 50% are brainworm intermediate hosts.
Dissection Results: 11/1116 gastropods were infected with what could be brainworm. Other parasites: non brainworm nematodes and trematodes. Conclusions - brainworm transmission in Assiniboine Forest could be reduced by: removing/limiting deer and managing land (especially at sites identified in study.
Future Work: Determine effect of soil PH and calcium on gastropod presence and abundance. Assess the effect of infection on gastropod behaviour.
Acknowledgements: Charleswood Rotary Club Friends of Assiniboine Forest, Cameron Ruml, City of Winnipeg; Undergraduate Students. Funding from the Field Work Support Program; Major GEH Barrett Hamilton Memorial Scholarship and NSERC GS-M.

President Iain - thanked Jillian and Sidney and asked them to keep us updated with the progress of the field studies. Keep in mind you are always welcome to return as a guest.

Happy Bucks

• Lloyd - enjoyed a good lunch at Breezy Bend on Friday. He also reminded us that today is Blue Monday, the saddest day of the year. And shared 5 tips to get through it.
• Ed (Toews) - is happy with his new loaner hearing aids. Ed was very sick throughout the holidays, and his dog took the opportunity to eat Ed's hearing aids. But the good news is...the loaner ones work about 60% better!
• Paul - was happy that Sarge called for anniversary announcements, because it reminded him that his own is tomorrow.
• Jack D. - was happy that the boss of his First Friday group thanked him for introducing him to Ventusky.
• Mandy - was happy for a successful Bridge of Hope event on Saturday. They had their youngest Ukrainian volunteer so far, along with her husband and 12 year old son.
• Len - had a Rotary moment. He enjoyed a wonderful presentation by Tom, who is fundraising for a Legion memorial wall.
• Chuck - was happy that he took his granddaughter to her first Flyers game, and they won! 2:1, so Chuck chucked in $2.
• Alan - was happy on behalf of himself and fellow engineers who have been advocating for more nuclear power, to hear that Alberta is evaluating the acquisition of a medium size reactor.

50/50 – Rod's ticket was drawn for the raffle. The blue marble is still intact.

Next week we are going to hear from our new members, David Soper & Ezekiel McLeod. And in the following weeks we will hear more vocational talks from new members.