Text and Photo submitted by Bengül Kurtar Janet and I bicycled this time to Camosun Bog to see the Bog Laurels (Kalmia polifolia), and other bog plants, and birds and the bees. We came across a field of the Bog Laurels. I had visited the park last year at the end of April, they weren’t blooming like this year. You can see more of my photos from last Thursday HERE Bog Laurel is one of my favourite wild flowers in BC. First time…
A Brief History Text by Pat Miller – Photos by Doug Cooper Located on Vancouver’s east side, Hastings Park is the second largest park in the City of Vancouver, after Stanley Park. It was established in 1889 when the Province of BC granted 62 hectares (154 acres) of land to the City, most of which is currently occupied by the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) and the Hastings Park Racecourse. Four hectares (9.9 acres) of the site is occupied by the…
Submitted by Bengül Kurtar Last Friday morning (17 April,2020), Janet and I bicycled to Queen Elizabeth Park by practicing physical distancing rule! I had seen pink fawn lilies (Erythronium revolutum) a few years ago by accident while coming down from the top of the park. Looks like it was on March 31, 2016 as per my Flickr page: Pink fawn lily (Erythronium revolutum). After locating the pink fawn lilies on the wild side of Queen Elizabeth Park, we walked little bit: saw a lot…
Vote for Canada’s National Lichen The Canadian Museum of Nature is holding a vote for a national lichen. Seven lichen candidates have been selected by a panel of lichen experts–read more on the website and vote for your favourite at http://nature.ca/lichenvote Voting closes March 20th. Active fungi and lichen naturalist, Juliet Pendray, brought this opportunity to vote to our attention. Her favourite is Bryoria, but most important is that she wants us all to vote. Please click on the website, read about…
3 cheerful hikers braved a drizzle for a lovely 16km walk through beautiful second-growth forest along Hayward Reservoir Trail, East of Mission. Hairsine Inlet floating bridge is still closed. A well-maintained easy trail with cumulative ascent of 385m, including 30m for the fantastic Steelhead Falls viewpoint. We saw many mushrooms, and loved the scent of well-named Vanilla Leaf. I would like to thank the Norwegian Weather Service for correctly predicting hourly rainfall of half millimetre per hour yr.no . Photos…
Trip Report by Leader David Cook On Sunday, 6 October, 2019, seventeen persons participated in this field trip to Cypress Bowl Provincial Park, jointly organized by Nature Vancouver and Friends of Cypress Provincial Park. Objective was to learn the characteristics of an old-growth forest and the role that fungi play in it. We proceeded to the upper Sunset Trail where there is a little known old-growth forest. Some of the characteristic features of an old-growth forest are trees of uneven…
15 hikers went to Cheakamus Lake on a beautiful sunny Monday. We pooled into 5 cars, and found the dreaded gravel road in pretty good condition for city cars, only a couple of hundred potholes. We walked at a slow pace, found dozens of mushrooms and enjoyed the view of snow on surrounding mountains. See calendar notice page.
A joint trip with Friends of Cypress Provincial Park – Aug 30, 2019 Trip Report by leader Lyn Grants Twelve participants were not daunted by the mist and light rain and, of course, all made it to the peak-alas to curtains of mist which completely obscured the views. Many whiskey jacks (Canada Jays) flew in immediately to join and entertain us. Entertained as we were, we were also alarmed to learn that their food caches are not “refrigerated” as they…
Trip Report by Denis Lapante On 12th Aug 2019, four Nature Vancouver members walked on the 9:55 ferry to Langdale and had a lovely hike around Langdale Falls and Sidewinder trail. The drizzle stopped around 1pm – the damp weather made for shiny leaves and especially vibrant colours . The woods are varied and beautiful, the abundance and variety of beautiful, colourful large mushroom was an unexpected bonus for an August trip, and we’ve never seen so many Indian Pipe! We opted to…
Trip Report by Leader Anne Leathem There were eight eager hikers who climbed Black Mountain to view the Lions and the Vancouver skyline on a gorgeous sunny day. We hiked across the plateau in the cool trees enjoying the slight breeze. We stopped for photos and to admire the white rhododendron and copperbush flowers. We had an avid botanist and a dedicated photographer recording flora and fungi. The Chipmunks and Ravens entertained us on the Bluff and a Raven managed to…