Vancouver Naturalist_Sept 2011.pdf - Nature Vancouver

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YOUNG NATURALISTS’ CLUB of British Columbia www.ync.ca 604-985-3057 President: Daphne Solecki Executive Director: Kristine Webber YNC Vancouver Co-ordinator: Eva Nagy evnagy@shaw.ca 604-929-4286 As you may know, the Young Naturalists' Club of BC gets children outside discovering their local nature with a network of over 50 volunteer-led Nature Clubs across the Province of B.C. However, you may not be aware that there are three active clubs in Vancouver – YNC Vancouver led by Eva Nagy, the Vancouver Homelearners YNC led by Mirella Russel and Vicky Parnell and the Stanley Park YNC led by Shelley Cherkowski, and offered in partnership with the Stanley Park Ecology Society. This fall the YNC is piloting a program for older youth, called ecoHEADS offered through the West Point Grey Community Centre. If you are interested in helping the Vancouver Clubs by sharing your expertise and knowledge about the plants, animals and ecosystems of B.C. with YNC members, contact @ync.ca and register as a Nature Mentor. The YNC clubs and members have been busy over the summer! Vancouver Young Naturalist, Maja, spent her summer organizing youth work parties to help restore Beaver Lake Bog in Stanley Park. She was awarded a generation green award from Vancouver Foundation for this project. You can follow her progress by linking onto her bogger blog from the www.ync.ca website. This summer Young Naturalists across the province helped Heather Kharouba, a UBC PhD with her research by photographing and recording observations of butterflies across B.C. Heather is interested in how butterflies are adapting to the impacts of climate change. Camping is a great way for a family to enjoy the natural world together but can seem daunting for families that have never camped before. This summer the YNC offered Camping 101 for Lower Mainland YNC Members. The program was offered in partnership with Metro Vancouver Parks who provided an evening bat program and canoeing trip on day 2. And yes we did have sunshine! For more information on YNC clubs and Province-wide YNC initiatives see www.ync.ca and come visit our booth at the BC Nature fall General Meeting in Delta. YOUNG NATURALISTS’ CLUB of British Columbia is for young people aged 5 to 14. A oneyear individual or family membership is $25. Family memberships receive one copy of NatureWILD magazine, four times a year and a membership pack for each child of 5 and up. For more information go to www.ync.ca It may seem a bit early but Christmas is just around the corner... consider giving a Young Naturalists’ Club membership to the children in your life. For $25 they will be enrolled in their nearest nature club, participate in Explorer Days, the Action Awards Program and receive NatureWILD Magazine quarterly. Purchase online at www.ync.ca. Best of all, no batteries required. Thank you for all the support Nature Vancouver members provide the YNC. See you on the trails! YNC Vancouver Trip Report by Eva Nagy Lighthouse Park was the location of our June field trip, looking for the “Signs of Spring”. Lighthouse Park is a well preserved, low elevation old growth ecosystem. There are only a few others like it within the Lower Mainland. For its size the park covers a great variation of topography and receives around 158 cm of annual rainfall in its northern part and less than 130 cm at the southern tip, resulting in a wide range of biological species in a very short distance. Elaine Graham, the resident caretaker of the park for many years, took our group around to take a closer look at the signs of spring amongst the soil, lush foliage and towering tree trunks of Lighthouse Park. As we walked along the trail she pointed out some of the insects, birds and mammals that are living in its many layers. We also learned how particular organisms have adapted to survive in this coastal forest ecosystem. Elaine provided hand lenses and bug boxes and we all collected specimens for identification (carefully putting them back exactly where they were found). At the end we visited the Phyl Munday Nature House where everyone had a chance to have some interesting hands on experience among the many exhibits. It was a great outing and we learned a lot from our enthusiastic leader. Parks Canada celebrated its centennial in July this year, and offered a wide variety of events and activities at every park. There were so many programs across the lower mainland. We kept our members informed about the most interesting ones, but did not organize a trip for just our group. We had a Geology field trip in August. With the help of Nature Vancouver geologist, David Cook, we explored Acadia Beach in Pacific Spirit Park. The variety and the beauty of the rocks represented were very impressive. The glaciers brought many different types of rocks to this area as they were moving back and forth with the ice age. Among the rounded and polished cobbles that litter the beach one can find every type of rock found north of Vancouver from as far as the Garibaldi and Whistler areas. 14 Vancouver Naturalist September 2011
Conservation Matters continued from page 13 YVR and Boundary Bay has brought airplane flight paths closer to the birds. There is also the potential for water pollution from urban and industrial developments along the Fraser River, as well as the risk of oil and ballast pollution arising from shipping in the Georgia Strait, Roberts Bank and the Fraser River. Zostera japonica (an exotic eelgrass) has been introduced either from the port at Roberts Bank or from an oyster fishery formerly in Boundary Bay. Nature Vancouver's role Nature Vancouver, as well as the other BC Nature naturalist clubs in the Lower Mainland, have long regarded the Fraser Estuary as one of our most complex and precious ecosystems. Yet, as noted above, it is also one of the most threatened, and one of the greatest threats is the expansion of port facilities, along with the expansion of port activity, the associated rail and truck traffic and land development which inevitably accompany it. It therefore behooves the members of Nature Vancouver to take a very close interest in the proposed expansion of Deltaport which was recently been announced by the Port. We will want to make sure that, if the environmental assessment does proceed, it will be the most rigorous possible. It should be an Independent Panel Review conducted by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency similar to that now under way for the Northern Gateway Pipeline. We shall want to make our own judgement as to whether such an expansion can be justified by economic factors or whether the extra traffic could be accommodated elsewhere, in the inner harbour, for example, or at Prince Rupert. And we shall want to know whether the commitments made by the Port when the Third Berth was approved have been followed through and whether they have been effective. The Conservation Section will begin the process of examining these questions by organizing a panel discussion on October 27 at which knowledgeable guests will discuss the case for and against the expansion. YNC Vancouver Trip Report continued from page 14 David first introduced our group to the basics of Geology: What are rocks and How are rocks formed? He answered these questions and many more by showing us pictures and samples of ingneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks (the ones we found mostly). David also taught us how to become a “rockhound”; the tools we need, where to look and to ensure that it is legal to collect samples in our target area. We spent less than half an hour on the beach and collected an incredible variety of rocks. David identified a couple from each member’s collection. It was amazing how he kept everyone interested for the full length of the two hour long program; certainly one of the most informative field trips. My sincere thanks go to the leaders who helped, by donating their time and expertise to provide great programs to help develop the knowledge of our budding naturalists. 5251 Oak St. Vancouver, BC www.VanDusenGarden.org Gardens heal. Study Horticultural Therapy in 2012 Expand your exisiting skill set or pursue a career in Horticultural Therapy. Ideal for recreation and occupational therapists, activity workers, counsellors, healthcare workers, teachers, landscape designers... VanDusen’s is the only HT certificate program in Canada that is accredited by the Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association. The next program kicks off on January 14, 2012 with Course 1: Introduction to Horticultural Therapy running 5 days on Jan. 14 - 15, 27 - 29. Instructed by Shelagh Smith. Please call 604-257-8669 or refer to our website for more information. Gardening, art, ecology... VanDusen covers it! VanDusen is once again offering a variety of courses this fall. Visit our website for more details! Here is a sampling: Sep. 24: The Secret’s in the Soil Plant ID for Beginners Sep. 29: The Watercoloured Garden Oct. 2: Right Plant, Right Place Oct. 15: Winter Container Workshop Oct. 22: Plant ID for Intermediates Oct. 25: F u n g u s A m o n g U s : A n I nt ro d u c ti o n to Mushrooms Nov. 5: Effective Photo Composition Vancouver Naturalist September 2011 15
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Vancouver Naturalist_Sept 2011.pdf - Nature Vancouver

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