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Category: Conservation

BC Bats Show No Sign of Infection from White-nose Syndrome – Public Asked to Report Bat Sightings

BC Bats Show No Sign of Infection from White-nose Syndrome – Public Asked to Report Bat Sightings

Press Release from BC Community Bat Program – February 3, 2025  The BC Community Bat Programs, in collaboration with the Province of BC, are asking the public for help in the effort to detect and prevent the spread of white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats. Residents are urged to report any bat activity observed in winter and any sick or dead bats found before May 31st. There have not been any bats with WNS found to date in BC, but PseudogymnoascusDestructans (Pd),…

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BC Parks Foundation Purchases Saturna Island Acreage – January 31, 2025

BC Parks Foundation Purchases Saturna Island Acreage – January 31, 2025

Submitted by Bev Ramey The BC Parks Foundation has successfully protected a large acreage on Saturna Island. The land includes two and a half kilometres of south-facing rocky shoreline, plus small coves with a grove of Seaside Juniper on the point (the threatened/vulnerable Juniperus maritima). The protected land includes the steep hillside extending up from the shoreline, the ridgetop itself and its north-facing slopes. The crowd-sourced funding campaign by the BC Parks Foundation began late December and reached its goal within…

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New Brighton 2024 Year End Reflection

New Brighton 2024 Year End Reflection

Report by Nigel Peck. With the arrival of 2025 and the approach of our fourth year of the New Brighton project, it seems a good time to reflect back on what we’ve achieved in the last year and look forward to the possibilities of this year. Reflecting back: Invasives: What stood out last year was massive invasive plant pulling efforts involving armload after armload of purple vetch, white-sweet clover and finally, scotch broom. The purple vetch was first and almost…

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The Homegrown National Park

The Homegrown National Park

Submitted by James M. Scott People feel a longing for a connection to the natural world. Instead of enjoying nature as a way of life, we fill our daily lives with all sorts of uninspiring, attention-robbing activities—entertainment, shopping, doomscrolling, and, of course, nonstop work. Nature is over there in some far-away nature preserve or national park, and we’re over here eking out an existence in the city or suburbs. What if we could bring the natural world to our own…

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New Brighton Next – the Challenge of the Long Haul

New Brighton Next – the Challenge of the Long Haul

With the start of Fall 2024 the New Brighton Biodiversity Enhancement project moves into a new phase – the challenge of the long haul. We’ve done the big Scotch Broom and Himalayan Blackberry removals, planted about 1800 native perennial flowers and shrubs. Now we enter the really difficult job of just ‘keeping at it’ which will determine if the project succeeds or fails. This means pulling thousands of small Scotch Broom shoots, continuing to dig blackberry roots and clip back…

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New Brighton Biodiversity Enhancement

New Brighton Biodiversity Enhancement

Submitted by Nigel Peck In December 2021 Nature Vancouver approached the Vancouver Park Board to see if we could assist in the removal of invasive plants on the west side of New Brighton Park in Vancouver’s northeast corner just next to the Workers’ Memorial Second Narrow Bridge.  The hillock on the park’s west side was a byproduct of an award-winning Marine Restoration collaboration between the Vancouver Park Board, the Port of Vancouver and the and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nation begun in…

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Protect Our Parks

Protect Our Parks

or VANCOUVER PARK BOARD ABOLITION PRIMER by Nigel PeckMonday, February 26, 2024 The Provincial Government has been asked to approve the Vancouver ABC Party motion to abolish the Vancouver Park Board.  Unless there is massive opposition presented to the Provincial Government this is what they may do.  Once the Park Board is abolished parcels of park lands may be reallocated (sold) for other purposes, most likely starting with housing. The only thing that can stop this is a massive individual email campaign…

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The Long Green Line – Shaking Hands with History

The Long Green Line – Shaking Hands with History

A brief historical account of the Vancouver Park Board, with SUPPORT for its continuation Submitted by Terri Clark, Park Board Communications Officer for 35 years, now retired. I arrived in Vancouver in 1973, straight out of University in Washington DC. I was 23 and a new Permanent Resident with zero knowledge about the Vancouver Park system. That was soon to change. My newly minted Communications Degree seemed a perfect fit for a job offered on the notice board at the…

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Starting a Landslide – Three People at a Time

Starting a Landslide – Three People at a Time

Submitted by Nigel Peck I have been working more or less full time to do my part to try to save the Vancouver Park Board since December 13th, 2023. You can get more information about that effort through links at the bottom.  Overall the effectiveness of those seven weeks of work feels pretty marginal. In particular, it feels challenging that talking to people who I expected to know more about the issue, constantly illustrates that people are not aware of…

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New Brighton Restoration – Update

New Brighton Restoration – Update

November 2023 Work Parties Despite weather forecasts of continuous rain for the weekend of November 4th and 5th we had excellent New Brighton work parties under a mixture of glorious sun and some cloud and no rain for both work days. This means we have had 71 New Brighton work parties, most through the winter months without any significant precipitation. We got a lot done but still have several hundred native perennials left to plant. Next New Brighton Work Parties are scheduled for…

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