Submitted by Rosemary Taylor Terry Slack was a rare character. He grew up with next to nothing, when his family emigrated to Canada when he was a kid. They lived by the Fraser in more ways than one, recovering wood from its banks and harvesting fish from its waters, which thus provided for many of the family’s needs, collecting driftwood to provide shelter, firewood and more. He played with the Musqueam kids who also lived in that area, and everyone got on well…
Graduate Scholarship – Clare Kilgour Clare Kilgour is a PhD student at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Zoology. Her research is part of the larger Road Salt and Pacific Salmon Success Project, and focuses on understanding the impacts of road salt contamination in urban salmon-bearing streams of the Vancouver Lower Mainland. Using data from a network of data loggers, she has demonstrated that pulses of road salt enter local streams during winter months, coinciding with spawning periods…
Undergraduate Scholarship – Caio Krause Conradt Caio is a 3rd year undergraduate at Simon Fraser University (SFU), pursuing a double major in Biology and Environmental Sciences with a focus on Ecology and Conservation, and Earth Systems, respectively. After moving to Canada from Brazil, Caio became involved with many organizations, led nature walks, and developed projects to increase environmental literacy. Some of his involvements include participating in organizations like Ocean Wise, Sprouting Chefs Society, Wildlife Rescue Association of BC, and Marine…
The 108th Annual General Meeting of Nature Vancouver will be held on Thursday, April 23 at 7:00 pm, in person at the Unitarian Hewett Hall 949 West 49th Avenue (49th and Oak) Vancouver, and via online Zoom Video Conferencing. The draft minutes of the 2025 AGM and, the draft financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025 were approved. The President and the Treasurer’s report were presented. President’s Report Treasurer’s Report Financial Statements – year ended December 31, 2025 Minutes – Nature…
Relax, Socialize, Play May 18, 2026: Spaces are still available Where: Our 2026 camp is located on Howe Sound and accessible only by boat (included). When: Tuesday Sept 8, 2026, to Monday Sept 14. Boarding times will be provided a few weeks prior. Cost: $950.00 – but no chores (almost) and no tent set-up this year! You must be a member of BC Nature or one of its affiliate clubs through September 15, 2026. Note that Nature Vancouver is an affiliate club of…
Submitted by Rémi Torrenta After the attractions projects that got approved earlier this Spring at Queen Elizabeth Park, Birds Canada has launched a volunteer survey project that will assess the impacts of development on the avifauna of the park (by comparing birds before, during and after development). The standardized survey protocol consists of 5-min stationary surveys at 9 locations within the park. The instructions to participate are available from THIS LINK. Data is collected on the NatureCounts app (it’s pretty simple and…
By Viveka Ohman Jo Ann MacKenzie, a past member of Nature Vancouver, and White Rock & Surrey Naturalists’ Society, passed away in July 2025, at the age of 93. Jo Ann and her husband, Hue MacKenzie lived in Ottawa, and belonged to the Ontario Field Naturalists. Both had acquired 5,000+ species of birds in their lifetime. After retirement, in 1983, they moved to Vancouver and joined Nature Vancouver. They regularly participated in birding field trips and Birders’ Night programs. This…
Report by Michelle Baudais The weather for the 69th Annual Vancouver Christmas Bird count was cool (6-7C) and overcast, with a few scattered showers and moderate winds of 10-25 km/h. Our team of 218 volunteers counted a total of 119 species on count day, including 47,772 American Crows and 4376 American Wigeon (more than double last year’s number). More than 99,000 individual birds were counted in total. Notable rarities found were a Tufted Duck, a White-faced/Glossy Ibis, and a Harris’s…
By Waltraud (Wally) Kiel My beloved Bob, passed into the beyond after a lengthy dementia illness on February 8, 2026. To paraphrase David Suzuki lamenting his father’s imminent death, he said to his scientist son, to think of his molecules floating in the breeze transforming into new life. Bob became an active member of Nature Vancouver in 1992. He was a UBC Forestry graduate and first learned about native plant species under a favourite professor at Mesachie Lake field school….
By Susan Fisher On December 27, John Coope – scientist, naturalist, mountaineer, trail-builder, husband and father, and a long time member of Nature Vancouver – died at home. His wife Marian, his two children, and his grandchildren were by his side. John had been suffering from cancer for many years, but up until the fall of 2025, he carried on without any apparent diminution of energy. A founding member of the Jericho Stewardship Group, John came to every work party…