Jeremy has been a solid anchor for Nature Vancouver since 1992 when he first joined the Society. He first became a director in 1993 and has served on the Board of Directors almost continuously ever since. His initial contribution to BC’s naturalists was as treasurer of what was then the Federation of BC Naturalists. He joined the Conservation Committee, now known as the Conservation Section, shortly after he joined and subsequently served as the Conservation Chair. He has also represented Nature Vancouver on the Boundary Bay Conservation Committee and attended its monthly meetings continuously since that time. He has served as Membership Chair, and as President. He was responsible for writing much of the material in Nature Vancouver’s Reference Binder and he became our Treasurer at a time when it was sorely needed. And as a member of the Finance Committee, with him, I can assure you, we would be hard pressed to find a more diligent and competent Treasurer.

 

When the Young Naturalists’ Club of British Columbia Society fledged from Nature Vancouver, Jeremy assisted with the development of its Constitution and Bylaws and he continued as a director of the new society until it got on its feet.

 

In addition to his efforts with Nature Vancouver, he was the President of BC Nature for four years and also its representative with Nature Canada for more than five years. He has also been President of the BC Naturalists’ Foundation and four years ago he came to the rescue of the Outdoor Recreation Council as its Executive Director and Treasurer.

 

Jeremy can always be counted on to step in and help with the little things too, whenever there is a need, whether it’s being the editor of Discovery when there is a gap between its longer term editors, writing articles for the Vancouver Naturalist or organizing Nature Vancouver’s display at Van Dusen Gardens. In between times he has been our mailman for many years and he also maintains our files and storage locker. Jeremy will always be there for Nature Vancouver.

 

 

 

To celebrate the 90th Anniversary of Nature Vancouver, the Marine Biology Section decided to publish a pamphlet on the seashore life. Sheila put herself, body and soul, into the production. She was responsible for the research, funding, design, photos and text, choice of designer and printing company. The result is a beautiful and educational pamphlet on the intertidal zones of the rocky shore in Stanley Park. Printed on waterproof paper it is usable over and over again, and can also be used as a poster.  Beyond Stanley Park itself, the information is relevant to rocky shores on both the mainland and Vancouver Island. It has also been commended by educators at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

 

Kay Beamish would have been very pleased with this publication which is intended and will succeed in getting the general public interested in Marine Biology.

 

Anne Murray has been a tireless worker in the cause of conservation for many years. She first came to notice of Nature Vancouver as a founding member of the Boundary Bay Conservation Committee and as a co-author of “Ours to Preserve” in 1992. This fine document led the way for the protection of Boundary Bay and its adjacent areas such as Roberts Bank and Burns Bog and promoted the concept of designating the overall area as a Biosphere Reserve.

 

Since then Anne has played a key role in the designation of the Boundary Bay Wildlife Management Area, its inclusion in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, and the designation of the Fraser Estuary, including Boundary Bay, as an Important Bird Area. It is generally acknowledged to be the most significant of approximately 600 IBAs in Canada. Anne has also written two books on Boundary Bay and its natural history. Anne is a director of the Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust and for the past four years she has played a vital role as the Conservation Chair of BC Nature. She is the key administrator of the IBA program of Nature Canada and Bird Studies Canada for all those naturalists involved with IBAs in BC.

 

Anne served as the President of BC Nature for four years and has been the Conservation Chair or Co-chair of BC Nature for the past four years. She has been a member of Nature Vancouver since 2005.

 

Helen has been a community developer and activist in the Dunbar area for many years.  Her passion for recycling resulted in being appointed a director of the Recycling Council of BC.  Most recently, she has taken a role in educating citizens around the Metro Vancouver proposal to incinerate garbage.  She is a major player in the Dunbar Salmonberry Festival, facilitating walks and hikes around Pacific Spirit Park and other areas, and ensuring stewardship of these areas. When the Eburne Saw Mill property was sold to TransLink, Helen represented the Dunbar Residents Association as part of a group who lobbied hard to get a walking path in front of the bus barn, making the river accessible.  This suggestion was initially rejected as a safety and security issue by TransLink, but because of her group’s persistence, it became a reality, to the benefit of all of us. It is a great pleasure to present Helen with the Frank Sanford Award for Community Service.

 

 

Alison has been the editor for two Nature Vancouver publications; Wilderness on the Doorstep - Discovering Nature in Stanley Park and Parks and Nature Places Around Vancouver, both published by Harbour Publishing.  Alison spent hundreds of hours on meticulous research. Her excellent communication with contributors and her rigorous standard for text and photographs for these two books raised the level of our publications to a professional level not seen before. She has added immensely to the profile and reputation of Nature Vancouver in the larger community.

 

Soon after becoming a member of Nature Vancouver, Murat offered to help with the website. He quickly solved a long list of problems which required a level of expertise that was not readily available to us. He then proceeded to give the website a new look and add more features. As a result we now have a website that looks good, is user friendly and easier to maintain.

 

With in a short period, Murat has contributed a lot to Nature Vancouver in terms of his valuable time and expertise. He is always available to help and it is a pleasure to work with him.

 

After a lifetime of work in the field of Chinese studies, Dan needed something to do in his retirement. Resolving to further satisfy his need for understanding the dynamics of the natural world, “our only home” as he terms it, and to make use of his problem-solving and organizational abilities, Dan joined the Conservation Section and the Board of Directors of Nature Vancouver.

 

Perhaps not fully realizing what he was getting into, he accepted the assignment of coordinating and bringing together, every one concerned about the sensitive issue of  removal of invasive plants and its effect on nesting birds and other wildlife. At first this seemed to be a daunting task because of the difficulty of facilitating a forum by which all views could be heard; views of three seemingly divided camps - namely ornithologists, botanists and the fledgling troops of mostly young and energetic persons eager to remove all invasive plants. The result is what now stands as A Strategy for Management of Invasive Plants to Ensure No-net-loss of Wildlife Habitat for Birds and Other Wildlife that is acceptable to all.

 

Dan worked hard to bring this about and fully deserves the recognition for his efforts.

 

Mark is a strong advocate for birds and the preservation of their habitats. His photos of birds and landscapes have graced the pages of many of our publications, including the posters on display at the Vancouver Park Board golf courses and the recently published Parks and Nature Places Around Metro Vancouver. He has made significant contributions to the monthly bird surveys at Sea Island Conservation Area and Iona Island. He has also helped with the planting and maintenance of native species in those areas. Currently he is advocating for the control and licensing of domestic cats.

 

Irmgard has been responsible for organizing the advertisements for Discovery since early 2007 and she has developed a good working relationship with our advertisers. The advertisements are essential to help defray the costs of publishing Discovery. 

Fred has been our Equipment Manager since the Fall of 2007 and has done a wonderful job of sourcing out a vast range of items including shower stalls, large coolers, camp stoves, bear bangers and sturdy coffee dispensers. He has re-organized our storage locker and much of our camp equipment is now out of cardboard boxes and into plastic bins.  Fred came to his first camp at Monica Meadows in 2006 at the very last minute when a vacancy occurred unexpectedly. He would have been our driver for Week Two at Cinnabar in 2009 but this camp was cancelled because of the forest fires.