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Category: Botany

Hollyburn Giant Cedar Hike

Hollyburn Giant Cedar Hike

Joint Trip with Friends of Cypress Prov. Park Trip Report by Marshall Bauman On Friday, August 25, 2023, nine enthusiastic adventurers, led by Marshall Bauman and Anne Leathem set ‘Off to see the Giant’ in near perfect, if hazy, conditions.  After crossing a small canyon on the Baden Powell trail, we headed up through old growth forest, on the western flank of Hollyburn Mtn.  We found the Hollyburn Giant, and several ‘look-alikes, less than 1/2 km above the Baden Powell…

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Identifying Trees in Shaughnessy Park (The Circle)

Identifying Trees in Shaughnessy Park (The Circle)

Report by Nina Shoroplova On Friday, August 4, twenty-four botany enthusiasts joined Nina Shoroplova and Caroline Penn for a tree walk in the south half of Shaughnessy Park. We started our walk from the Osler Street entrance to the park where there are two maples. We started by telling the differences between the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) on the north side of the central path and the Norway maple (A. platanoides) on the south side. It’s important to know some of the…

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Walk in Stanley Park’s Shakespeare Garden & Around Beaver Lake

Walk in Stanley Park’s Shakespeare Garden & Around Beaver Lake

Report by Nina Shoroplova Fourteen walkers joined co-leaders Nina Shoroplova and Caroline Penn in Stanley Park on Friday, July 7. We met at the memorial monument to Lord Stanley, the sixth Governor General of Canada, who, in October 1989, confirmed the name of the park, saying, “To the use and enjoyment of peoples of all colours, creeds, and customs, for all time.” In the direction of the Robert Burns statue, several non-native trees held our attention: a giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron…

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Phantom Orchids at Teapot Hill

Phantom Orchids at Teapot Hill

Trip Report by Vicky Earle On June 17, I joined trip leader Kelly Sekhon for a hike up Teapot Hill near Cultus Lake in search of the rare phantom orchid. This plant is globally secure but is listed as red/endangered in British Columbia. The phantom orchid (Cephalanthera austiniae) is the only Cephalanthera species entirely dependent on symbiotic mycorrhizae for its nutrition. Being an entirely white perennial with only a small yellow gland on the lip of each blossom, this plant has no chlorophyll and is unable…

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Juan de Fuca Trip – 2023

Juan de Fuca Trip – 2023

NV Trip to Juan de Fuca Marine Park – June 2 to 6, 2023 Report by Denis Laplante We had no rain, and the worst patch of mud was only 2cm deep. Many of the trails required scrambling and good balance; some sections were like a walk in the park. For tides we used Fisheries & Oceans https://tides.gc.ca/en/stations stations Point No Point and Port Renfrew (also Java App jtides.jar). Beware daylight saving time – tide tables at trailheads were in…

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Tree Identification Walk in Kitsilano

Tree Identification Walk in Kitsilano

Trip Report by Nina Shoroplova On a pleasantly cool day, nineteen members of Nature Vancouver joined co-leader and photographer Caroline Penn and me to identify trees in Kitsilano Beach Park and over to Vancouver Maritime Museum. It was June 9, a day bookended by much hotter weather. Our first tree was a hiba arborvitae, Thujopsis dolobrata, growing in the verge between Cornwall Avenue and a fence beside the Kitsilano Beach cycle path. It seems to be a rather nondescript coniferous evergreen…

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Wildflower Walk in Camosun Bog

Wildflower Walk in Camosun Bog

Trip Report by Rita Li & Laura Cottle On Sunday, May 21, we had 16 participants, a group comprised of members of Nature Vancouver and Northshore Hikers, enjoying a walk in the Pacific Spirit Park. We started at the north entrance to Camosun Bog, walked around the Bog, then over to the second growth coniferous forest Southwest of the bog, and finally across Imperial Road to walk through the area west of Imperial road. The description here concentrates on the…

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Trip to Galiano Island

Trip to Galiano Island

Report and Photos by Leader – Bettina Matzkuhn Nine members of Nature Vancouver and one guest participated. The weather was warm and breezy. We saw a Humpback whale spouting in the distance en route to the island. We covered approximately 10km to and from the Sturdies Bay ferry terminal, with a short stop at the historic Japanese Charcoal Pit Kiln. We made a few mistakes with the route but were rescued by Teresa’s GAIA track. The trail that goes up the back…

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Birds & Wildflowers of Horth Hill Park

Birds & Wildflowers of Horth Hill Park

Trip Report by Kelly Sekhon; Photos by John Martin Nine members of Nature Vancouver and a guest, participated in this trip to North Saanich on 15 April 2023. Forecast was for rain but it held off until after we were back on our return ferry to Tsawwassen. We had very pleasant day walking around the park with White Fawn Lilies, and Shooting Stars at their peak of flowering season. Other flowers in bloom were Blue-eyed Mary, Small Monkey Flower, Red-flowering…

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Old Growth Conservancy – Cypress Mountain

Old Growth Conservancy – Cypress Mountain

Snowshoe Walk – Thursday, March 23, 2023 Submitted by Caroline Penn Nestled inside the elbow of one of the hair-pin turns of the road to Cypress Mountain is the Old Growth Conservancy. It is a 54-hectare forest located at an elevation of 760 metres just south of the Works Yard. The area was saved from development as a golf course in 1990, and is now conserved and protected by municipal bylaw. Like many old growth forests, it is a mix…

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