I recently spent a day with Aboriginal Tourism BC and some of its stakeholders/partners to share unique local opportunities that help you experience your own city like never before. This is the second post in a three part series.
Takaya Tours with Aboriginal Tourism BC
“If you see one our height or bigger, our ancestors would have picked berries off the same plant,” Cease Wyss told me as she lifted the branches of a red huckleberry tree and picked a few juicy pearls for us to try. Cease is a guide with Takaya Tours, owned and operated by the Tsleil-Waututh Nation and based out of Cates Park (Whey-Ah-Wichen) in North Vancouver and (Tum-tumay-wheuton) in Belcarra Regional Park, Port Moody.
Red Huckleberries can be found growing out of the top of rotting stumps, feeding on the remnants of old timber, and they are abundant in our local parks. Reciting the latin name, Vaccinium parvifolium, Cease listed off the benefits of this berry and the significance of its bounty over the years, feeding many generations. Her experience and knowledge is tough to beat. Not only is she well versed in ethnobotany, she shares helpful tips on her Indigenous Plant Diva site, the latest extension of a blog she began over a decade ago.
“When I do the walks I want people to be as passionate as me so I really try to infuse it into them that this is something – and you might just be here for an hour – but even if you take away one piece of information from this walk that stays with you and carries you through your personal health and wellness then that’s my vision and my hope. That’s why I really love doing this work.”
“Teaching people how to pick things and teaching them how delicate our ecosystem is, is like putting a pebble in the water and watching the ripple effects that go out.”
Cease is one of the only guides for Takaya Tours that works 12 months of the year because things are growing in the forest all the time. “That’s the amazing thing living on the Pacific Northwest Coast, and that’s how our people survived for so long,” Cease told our group from Aboriginal Tourism BC.
During her walking tours she will also add in songs and stories but her main focus is on the plants and how to use them, starting with the plants’ own lifecycle, including the pollinators.
Cease tries to make her knowledge accessible and has done many talks at schools of all levels and in various communities, as well as teaching her family about the benefits of natural supplements. She shared that her daughter, who is now a teenager, remarked that growing up when her friends were taking pain pills she was drinking Salmonberry leaf tea to cure the same ailments.
“By having an eco tourism company we promote and encourage people to think outside the box… …Take the time to walk in the forest, go on the water and experience something that uses human power to get somewhere.”
The Rainforest Walking Tour runs for two hours with a focus on wildlife, aboriginal village sites, and vegetation education. You can book online between May and October.
Adventures Offered by Takaya Tours
Experienced First Nation guides like Cease host a variety of different adventures with Takaya Tours that include: Canoe Tours, Kayak Tours, Canoeing and Walking Tour, Spawning Salmon Tour, Cultural Boat Excursions, and Multi-Day Tours.
Learn more by visiting the Takaya Tours website and Facebook, and also the Takaya Tours listing on the Aboriginal Tourism BC website. There is also tourism information available at Klahowya Village in Stanley Park which is open every day until September around the Miniature Railway area.
I recently spent a day with IndigenousTourism BC and some of its stakeholders/partners to share unique local opportunities that help you experience your own city like never before. This is the first post in a three part series.
Talaysay Tours with Indigenous Tourism BC
“When I was growing up, three of my closest friends were three cedar trees,” said Candace of Talaysay Tours with a smile as we entered Stanley Park (Xwáýxway). She continued down the path and patted the thick bark of a Douglas Fir, “This is why I call this the ‘Talking Trees Tour‘. It’s about being in balance with nature and enriching our relationship with plants and trees.”
Candace has been running Talaysay Tours with her brother Jonathan for the last 11 years, offering kayaking and hiking tours locally and on the Sunshine Coast between May and early September. The family is Shíshálh Coast Salish and Blackfoot First Nation members with English and Scottish ancestry. Raised Sechelt (Shíshálh), more specifically Porpoise Bay, the two siblings are members of the xenichen Wolf Clan.
Specializing in linking adventure elements to nature, Candace hosts her Talking Trees Tour in Smuggler’s Cove, Porpoise Bay, on the North Shore and in Stanley Park (by request) — which is where I came in. I have walked the trails of Stanley Park hundreds of times but I have never truly seen them as I did with Candace and her relative Jessica who was on the tour with us. With every step, I learned something new about a plant or tree that I had walked by so many times before.
Line baskets with the leaves of a Thimbleberry, use Cedar bows for open baskets in which to put fresh clams, get the best heat for a fire using Douglas Fir bark, and the Elderberry can be used as a laxative. Use the leaves of Skunk Cabbage (Swamp Lanterns) to wrap and steam food, and make a tonic with Cascara Bark to relieve constipation. Huckleberries, Salmonberries, Salal Berries. What is good to eat on the spot, what is good for treating ailments, and what will keep through winter.
I learned the traditional name for Beaver Lake — Axachu7 — thanks to Chief Ian Campbell who was with our group that day as well.
The tour was absolutely fascinating. Aside from the practical uses for these plants and trees, Candace shared the cultural history of each of these resources — like why the Western Hemlock seems to hang its head in shame when you spot it in a grove with other trees. You will learn about the ecology of the forest and hear tales and traditions passed on from ancestors who lived in this area centuries ago. Every bit of the forest that you may have previously dismissed is explained, appreciated, and serves a purpose.
Adventures Offered by Talaysay Tours
Sea Kayaking Day Tours and Multi-Day Trips, Hiking & Walking, Paddleboarding, and Snow Shoe. The walking tours are usually about 3 hours long.
Learn more by visiting the Talaysay Tours website and also the Talaysay Tours listing on the Indigenous Tourism BC website. There is also information available at Klahowya Village in Stanley Park which is open every day until September around the Miniature Railway area.
Recently the popular social site Mashable posted a gallery of The 34 Most Beautiful Google Street View Sightings and while some contain sweeping, picturesque views, I wondered why none from BC made the cut. Surely some cherry blossom covered lanes or the Sea to Sky Highway would outrank some cement street planters from Poland (#12 on the list) so I thought I would create my own gallery. Thanks to Google Street Views, here are some stunning everyday scenes around Vancouver and the “604” area:
1. Sea to Sky
2. Spanish Banks
3. Stanley Park Seawall
4. Barnston Island
5. Agassiz-Rosedale Highway
We all get around the region in different ways. TransLink helps you get to where you’re going by helping out in four key ways: transit, cycling, walking and driving – What’s your favourite way of getting around? I am currently giving away TWO 3-Zone FareCards ($170 value) for either August or September 2014. See THIS POST for details on how to enter to win.
Red Bull is known for bringing its out of this world adventures and feats to all corners of the globe and they’ll be hosting another exciting event in Vancouver this weekend. Red Bull Around the Strait will take place on Saturday at Jericho Beach.
What: Red Bull Around the Strait (Competitive Sailing Race)
Where: Jericho Beach, Vancouver
When: Saturday, July 12, 2014 from 10:00am to 4:00pm
This will be an exciting day of action on the water as amateur and seasoned sailors alike go head to head in this first time competitive sailing race with a twist. With three difference race formats wrapped up in one contest, it will take a mix of strategy, skill and a little style to win.
There will be three race stages. The Blitz Course has a Le Mans-style start where racers will sprint down the beach to their boats in an exciting battle straight out to a marked buoy, and then back to the finish line near the beachfront.
On the Cup Course boats will start downwind with each class trying to take the hole shot around the first turn. From there, high speed downwind sailing and strategy takes over with a gate giving the sailors a choice of directions to head back up the course to finish on their second lap.
The Hull Flyer is the decider for the points, and ultimately the winner. Red Bull asks: “How far can you push your boat, in style, as spectators look-on from the beachfront? It’s time to show off or crash trying, points will be given by on water judges. Points based on height, time flying and style.”
If you would like to compete, registration is open online. To be a spectator, simply head to Jericho on Saturday to enjoy the action for free with your family and friends.
#WhatsTheLink is a series about all that TransLink, Metro Vancouver’s transportation authority, is responsible for in the region. Learn more at Translink.ca/WTL and join the #WhatsTheLink conversation on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, The Buzzer Blog, and here of course!
For this last post in the #WhatsTheLink series, I’d like to revisit the subject matter of the last seven posts. Don’t worry, there’s no test or poll at the end of it, just a chance to win a 3-Zone FareCard! What do you have to do to win? Well, read on and you’ll find out.
#WhatsTheLink: TransLink is the Link to Better Travel Choices
The Major Roads Network
Did you know that Kingsway is part of TransLink’s Major Roads Network? Yup, it contributes to the 2,300 lane Kilometres of major roads in Metro Vancouver, for which TransLink is responsible.
Five Bridges
Besides roads, TransLink is also into bridges — five of them in fact! They are the Knight Street, Golden Ears, Pattullo, Westham Island and the Canada Line Pedestrian-Bicycle bridges. Every day, 200,000 crossings happen on those TransLink bridges over the Fraser River!
Transit
Most people know TransLink for public transportation. What many people don’t know is how well used our public transit is. In terms of numbers of riders, 418,000 people take TransLink transit every day in Metro Vancouver!
Cycling
TransLink is also about cycling. Part of TransLink’s multimodal mandate is to help support the people making the 107,000 bike trips each day in Metro Vancouver. That includes making cycling easier and safer by opening the first secure bike room on the system this May!
Shaping Communities
Great transportation is as good as the planning behind it and around it. Transit has been part of shaping where people have lived and worked in Metro Vancouver for over 100 years. TransLink has helped shape sustainable communities by integrating with community planning throughout the region. With future Transit Oriented Developments in the works, TransLink is actively involved in carry on this legacy.
A Connected Transportation System
Being a multimodal organization in charge of public transportation, the Major Roads Network, five bridges and cycling infrastructure means TransLink can seamlessly connect all modes of transportation. But in order to do this well, you need a reliable transit system.
The public transit modes we provide are bus, SkyTrain, SeaBus and West Coast Express. All modes work hard to get you where you and your goods need to go.
Goods movement
The roads, public transit and infrastructure that TransLink helps to provide are integral to the economy of Metro Vancouver. TransLink manages major roads and helps to ease traffic congestion so that you can get the coffee, medical supplies and almost anything you can buy at a local store, hospital, school and more.
#WhatsTheLink Contest
We all get around the region in different ways. TransLink helps you get to where you’re going by helping out in four key ways: transit, cycling, walking and driving – What’s your favourite way of getting around?
Enter to win one of two 3-Zone FareCard ($170 value) for either August or September 2014. Here’s how:
- Leave a comment below telling us your favourite way of getting around Metro Vancouver (transit, cycling, walking or driving) (1 entry)
- Regram any of the images in this post, including @Miss604 and @TransLinkBC #WhatsTheLink (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
Contest ends Tuesday, July 15, 2014 at 11:59pm. The winner will be drawn at random. Thanks in advance for entering our contest and learning about what TransLink does in your region.
Update: The winners are Ceci and @elephantprose!
