Caring for Natural Spaces in Urban Places – Stanley Park Ecology Event Series

The Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”) has launched a year-long webinar series called Caring for Natural Spaces in Urban Places that will focus on the themes of: Forests, Wetland, Nearshore, and Climate.

Caring for Natural Spaces in Urban Places

• Where: Online (updates on in person gatherings TBD)
• Admission: Free!

The themes follow those in the ten-year SPES State of the Park report which was released in October 2020. Through the series, their vision is to connect diverse knowledge and practices to foster resilient urban ecosystems.

The Caring for Natural Spaces in Urban Places webinar series will convene a diversity of voices from scientists, urban planners, and knowledge holders in a year-long series of public online engagements, with subjects around supporting the ecological health of natural spaces in urban places, including Stanley Park and beyond. All audiences are welcome to attend.

Forest Presentations (October/November)

• Topic: Salnachiya ?e te Tsaiylu (The Forest & Me)
• When: November 18 2021 at 1:00pm
• Where: Online
• Register: Book online for free, donations to SPES are accepted as well
• Details: Join Candace Campo, ancestral name xets’emits’a (to always be there) and Richard Till, smanit stumish (mountain man), from Talaysay Tours for a presentation on Indigenous and more recent settler relationship to the land and to the forest. The talk will emphasize the Indigenous scientific, medicinal, technological and food uses of the forest and sea, while exploring Indigenous and non-Indigenous uses of the land, including trade and travel.  

• Topic: Forest Restoration in Stanley Park
• When: December 9 2021 at 5:00pm
• Where: Online
• Register: Book online for free, donations to SPES are accepted as well
• Details: Join Michel Desrochers, Manager of Capital Planning & Strategy, City of Vancouver.

Wetland Presentations (January to March, 2022)

• Topic: Presentation: What’s Invading Local Wetlands?
• When: January 19, 2022 at 5:00pm
• Where: Online
• Register: Book online for free, donations to SPES are accepted as well
• Details: Presented by by Tasha Murray, Executive Director, Invasive Species Council of Metro Vancouver (ISCMV). Wetlands are widely recognized as special places and home to many different living things, but invasive species pose a significant threat to local wetlands. Learn how to recognize our worst wetland invaders, why they are so harmful and what can be done about them.

• Topic: Presentation: Wetlands – Part of Surrey’s Green Infrastructure
• When: February 16, 2022 at 1:00pm
• Where: Online
• Register: Book online for free, donations to SPES are accepted as well
• Details: Presented by Pamela Zevit, RPBio, Biodiversity Conservation Planner, City of Surrey. What do we mean when we are talking about wetlands, and how well do we understand their role and function? How do wetland ecosystems fit into the City of Surrey’s biodiversity and green infrastructure goals and objectives? This presentation will focus these issues using examples and approaches from the City of Surrey, Metro Vancouver’s fastest growing city.

The series will continue with themed events each quarter: Nearshore Presentations (April to June 2022); Climate Presentations (July to September 2022). Follow the Stanley Park Ecology Society on Facebook and Instagram for the latest event updates and news.

Miss604’s Rebecca Bollwitt is an Executive on the SPES the Board of Directors.