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In Memoriam – Catherine Joan Aitchison

In Memoriam – Catherine Joan Aitchison

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Catherine (Cathy) Aitchison on February 17th 2022. Cathy was the only child of Matthew and Marjorie Aitchison of Winchester, Ontario. At the age of eighteen, Cathy left Winchester and studied Fashion Design in Chicago. Later she moved to London, England where she worked in Graphic Design. She also worked for Thomas Cook, and travelled for five years. Cathy then moved to Vancouver and worked for the Australian Consulate. She…

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Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Update

Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Update

April 4, 2022 – Update President, Nigel Peck sent an email message to the Prime Minister and other ministers. Read the text of the message from THIS LINK. February 27, 2022 – Update – Submitted by Bev Ramey As a result of public demand, the deadline to submit comments to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) has been extended to March 15, 2022. Excellent responses from scientists on impacts from RBT2 have recently been submitted to the IAAC. If you…

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New Brighton Park Restoration – Update

New Brighton Park Restoration – Update

February 15th, 2022 Report and Photos Submitted by Nigel Peck Last week saw the third and fourth invasive species removal work parties at New Brighton Park on Wednesday and Saturday.  With these efforts, twenty three people have now volunteered in the endeavour, with about a third of them participating multiple times for a total of thirty five ‘work party days’. At this point we have cleared about 65% of the Scotch Broom on the hillock to the west of the off-leash…

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Roberts Bank Terminal Two

Roberts Bank Terminal Two

Submitted by Bev Ramey Please contact your MP to express concern about RBT2 – Personal Letters to your MP really do carry weight. Find their address at parliament website OurCommons.ca Comments can be submitted to Impact Assessment Agency of Canada from the following link:  https://www.iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/evaluations/proj/80054?culture=en-CA. On that website, you will need to log-in to submit your comments. You can register to create a log-in. The deadline to submit comments is March 15, 2022.   You can read comments already posted from:…

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Dual You Love Me? Love Darts and Pulmonate Snails

Dual You Love Me? Love Darts and Pulmonate Snails

Submitted by Caroline Penn A chance encounter with a Pacific Sideband Snail on a hiking trail on the slopes of Mt. Tuam on Salt Spring Island this fall led me to learn about the intriguing reproductive details of these snails. Much like the Cupid (or Eros) of ancient mythology, these snails make use of a love dart during their mating ritual, which enhances their reproductive outcome. The Sideband snail, Genus Monadenia, is already unique in that it is a pulmonate…

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Khanahmoot – History of New Brighton Park

Khanahmoot – History of New Brighton Park

Submitted by Caroline Penn  Imagine a shoreline teaming with crabs and shellfish beds, its banks graced with cedar, hemlock, and small creeks, tucked in close to our modern-day 2nd Narrows Bridge. For the Squamish, Musqueam and Tseil’waututh people this was “Khanahmoot”. According to Squamish origin stories a Man and Woman appeared from out of the creek waters at Khanahmoot and their descendants lived there for thousands of years until the arrival of European settlers.  Today we call this site New…

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New Brighton Park Restoration Initiative

New Brighton Park Restoration Initiative

Nature Vancouver has been invited to participate in restoration activities at New Brighton Park in cooperation with youth from the Hastings / Sunrise Community Centre. Invasive species to be removed include scotch broom, bull thistle and Himalayan blackberries. There is room for natural species planting, maintenance, and plant and insect monitoring through the year. One other exciting aspect will be the participation of the Cascade Bird Box Team to install bird boxes in the area. Please email nigel@naturevancouver.ca if this is a project you…

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NV Camp Committee – Request for Volunteers

NV Camp Committee – Request for Volunteers

The Nature Vancouver camp committee works hard to organize Summer Camps. If NV camps are going to be offered each summer we need help to keep things moving forward. We need more members to serve on the Camp Committee. We also need members to take on specific roles which do not require attending meetings, or rarely attending meetings. Some of the specific needs are: Book-keeping – This person does NOT have to handle any of the funds but is involved in…

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Ideas For Nature Projects – Revisited

Ideas For Nature Projects – Revisited

A call for ideas for nature projects was sent out in February of 2021 (See https://naturevancouver.ca/ideas-for-nature-projects). However with the ongoing challenges due to COVID-19, it was not pursued. There were several interesting and exciting ideas including evaluating pollinator plant species suitable for container-gardens for apartment and condo dwellers, promoting pollinator pathways, the value of picking up garbage, and the promotion of urban park spaces among others. We would like to schedule a meeting in February for those interested to talk and…

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In Memoriam – Elsie Louise Irwin

In Memoriam – Elsie Louise Irwin

July 2, 1927 – January 6, 2022  Louise Irwin passed away at UBC Hospital at the age of 94 years. Born in Vancouver to Stan and Elsie Irwin, she grew up in Barnet, where she developed a great love for the outdoors, bringing home lots of “pets” from the woods and swimming across Port Moody Arm. Later the family built a house in Point Grey and Louise graduated from Magee Secondary School. She attended UBC and was granted a BSc…

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