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Category: Botany

Brohm Lake – Wildflowers & Views – 2019-06-07

Brohm Lake – Wildflowers & Views – 2019-06-07

Trip Report & Photos by Denis Leplante On Friday, June 7th, ten NV members and two guests spent a delightful 8 hours botanising during an 11 km hike around the Brohm Lake Interpretive Forest.  Our route included a mix of steep climbs (Powerline Ridge, Tantalus Viewpoint, and Cheakamus Loop trails) and gentler strolls through beautiful mixed conifer-deciduous forest around the lake. The weather was better than expected, a pleasant temperature with lots of sunshine and some clouds, but no rain…

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Pink Fawn Lily Tour of Lake Cowichan and Duncan

Pink Fawn Lily Tour of Lake Cowichan and Duncan

Trip report by Teresa Gagné & Denis Laplante On 24 April 2019, Twenty four members of Nature Vancouver boarded a bus at the Duke Point ferry terminal for a day trip to view wild flowers, led by Teresa Gagné & Denis Laplante, and guided by local naturalists and wardens Genevieve Singleton and David Polster.  We visited Honeymoon Bay Pink Fawn Lily Ecological Reserve, then Somenos Gary Oak Protected Area, and St Peter Quamichan church yard. After a quick lunch stop…

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Birds and Flowers of Horth Hill Park

Birds and Flowers of Horth Hill Park

Trip Report by Kelly Sekhon On 31 March 2019, seventeen members and four guests participated in the annual trip to Horth Hill Park, an easy walk from Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal. It was a clear and warm spring day. It was a beautiful ferry ride. In Active Pass, we saw about two hundred Bonaparte’s Gulls, no way near the numbers reported only a few days ago.  Just outside the Ferry Terminal Parking area we were greeted by a very robust…

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Family Day on Bowen Island

Family Day on Bowen Island

Report and Photos by Denis Laplante On BC Family Day, 18 February, 2019, Teresa and Denis led a 5 hour walk on Bowen Island, joined by 5 others ranging in ages 6 to 60ish. We enjoyed a bright day with thin clouds, about zero celsius with no wind or precipitation. Kids set the pace and tone – great energy and low average speed. We stopped often to admire bark, lichens, moss, ice. We saw many birds: Double-crested Cormorant (in Horseshoe…

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Mushrooms & Mosses in Cypress Falls Park

Mushrooms & Mosses in Cypress Falls Park

Leaders Anne Leathem, Teresa Gagne & Denis Laplante Report and photos by Denis Laplante On Sunday,  November 18, 2018, twelve members participated in this field trip with the object of studying mosses, lichen and fungi. There were so many interesting mosses, lichens and tiny mushrooms that it took us 20 minutes to get past the parking lot! Anywhere we stopped, a marvellous miniature beauty was waiting, and sunshine helped. A few people were misled by my glib “moderate walk in the…

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Hike to Hollyburn Mountain

Hike to Hollyburn Mountain

Trip Report by Kitty Castle There were 8 of us on the hike to the top of Hollyburn Mountain on Friday 14 September. This was a joint trip with Nature Vancouver and Friends of Cypress Provincial Park. We started off in thick fog with rain gear on and warm toques. Luckily the weather did improve and we even felt warmed by the sun at one point.  However there were no views to be had even at the Peak. We were lucky…

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The Old-Growth Forest of Lighthouse Park

The Old-Growth Forest of Lighthouse Park

Trip Report by Leader David Cook  Eight members participated in this field trip on September 1, 2018. Nature Vancouver’s connection to Lighthouse Park, through the field guide Nature West Coast – as seen in Lighthouse Park, was explained. An overview of Temperate Rainforests of the Earth and specifically our area of rainforest and the old-growth fragments that remain within it, were described with the aid of maps. Examples of the characteristics of an old-growth forest and their ecology were shown and explained….

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Hike to Blue Gentian Lake

Hike to Blue Gentian Lake

Trip report by leader, Lyn Grants On Saturday August 18, 2018, eighteen participants enjoyed a leisurely walk to Blue Gentian Lake on Hollyburn Mountain. This was a joint trip with Nature Vancouver and Friends of Cypress Provincial Park. Goal of the trip was to observe the gentians at Blue Gentian Lake, but amazingly over the last few years the gentians have been spreading. We saw them at the verge of trails leading to the lake. Along the way we saw bunch berries…

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