This post has been contributed by Ben Hill, Communications Volunteer with the Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”).
For many of us swallows are synonymous with summer. They arrive as the days get longer and disappear for the warmer weather of South America as summer turns to fall. One of the most memorable parts of a summer visit to Lost Lagoon is watching the lightning fast, acrobatic flight of the swallows as they swoop low over the water to catch insects.
Although the swallows that nest in Stanley Park have left on their fall migration, Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”) is still hard at work to make sure they have the best possible conditions for nesting in the Park next year.
A tree swallow leaves its nest box on Lost Lagoon. Photo: Michael Schmidt.
SPES constructs and maintains nest boxes along the edges of Lost Lagoon that are used by tree swallows and violet green swallows. Additionally, we install larger boxes on poles around Beaver Lake for the cavity nesting wood ducks. With the number of old trees suitable for these cavity-nesting birds in short supply in the Park, our nest boxes provide critical nesting support for this duck species.
SPES staff install a wood duck box at Beaver Lake.
Photo: Michael Schmidt.
Over the winter our volunteers clean and repair the boxes and also continue their work in improving the habitat for all our nesting birds. This involves removing invasive plants, planting native species and enhancing habitat. One recent project involved rehabilitating the habitat of islands in Lost Lagoon to provide safe resting and nesting spots for all birds that frequent the lake.
You can help our work to make a home for these special birds by donating on Giving Tuesday on November 28th. Giving Tuesday is a day where charities, companies and individuals join together to share commitments, rally for favourite causes and think about others – a community alternative to the sales of Black Monday.
- A gift of $30 builds and installs a nestbox in the Park
- A gift of $75 builds a nest box and supports our work monitoring swallow populations
- A gift of $200 funds a nest box building workshop for the public, to help spread this valuable work across the Lower Mainland.
One of the province’s other swallow species, the barn swallow, provides an indication of how vulnerable our nesting birds can be. Unlike the tree swallows, it doesn’t use nest boxes but rather makes a nest of mud and straw on rafters and edges under roofs of buildings and barns. The horse barn in Stanley Park hosts an important colony that this year had 54 nests and raised 77 fledglings.
Barn swallow chicks in Stanley Park. Photo: Erika Hyde
However, changes to building methods in the last half-century have reduced available nesting areas for these beautiful birds and an increase in pesticides on agricultural land has impacted their insect food supply, so the province now officially classifies them as threatened. In fact, all swallow species have shown a dramatic decline since 1970 and that decline is speeding up.
You can help us ensure that swallows remain a part of summer in Stanley Park in the future by supporting us on November 28th. Please donate online here.
Chirp!
As a member of the Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”), I wanted to offer the organization an opportunity to share their news, events, and work so I created the “SPES Series” years ago. This is where SPES can contribute and share stories with my audience once a month. Follow SPES on Facebook for more information.
The Museum of Anthropology (“MOA”) along with the Musqueam Indian Band present the inspiring and interactive new exhibition The Fabric of Our Land: Salish Weaving, running from November 19, 2017 to April 15, 2018.
Curated by MOA Curator Susan Rowley, in collaboration with Salish weavers, the exhibition will feature the historically significant, but relatively unknown, loom-weaving tradition of Salish peoples, showcasing one of the world’s largest collections of intricately designed blankets on loan from contemporary weavers, as well as museums in Europe and the eastern United States.
Collection of the National Museum of Finland. Photo: Markku Haverinen.
The Fabric of Our Land: Salish Weaving
Where: Museum of Anthropology (UBC, 6393 NW Marine Drive)
When: November 19, 2017 to April 15, 2018
The exhibition is the result of a request from Musqueam Councillor and master weaver Wendy Grant John, who after viewing some of the weavings at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC was struck by their power to impart knowledge and inspiration to Salish weavers and the public. She has worked for more than 30 years to bring transformative change to Indigenous communities across the country and build stronger relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.
“The process of colonization took the same devastating toll on Salish weaving as it did on countless other Indigenous cultural practices,” said Rowley, MOA Curator. “Mass-produced Hudson Bay Company blankets replaced hand-woven creations, the reserve system constrained access to required resources, the Indian Act banned ceremonies where blankets played an integral role, and residential schools broke the intergenerational transmission of knowledge. The resilience and strength of amazing women have led to the revival of Salish weaving in different communities at different times.”
The Fabric of Our Land: Salish Weaving will take visitors on a journey through the past 200 years of Salish wool weaving from the early 1800s through to today’s vibrant Renaissance.
Ten of the earliest known Salish weavings are showcased in the exhibition on loan from the National Museum of Finland, the Perth Museum (Scotland), the Pitt-Rivers Museum (England), the Harvard Peabody Museum, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. These institutions acquired these treasures from early traders and explorers who removed them from their traditional territories. Territories encompass the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, southeastern Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, the Fraser Canyon, and Puget Sound.
These early works will be featured alongside five mountain goat wool blankets from MOA’s collection dating from the late 1800s and early 1900s. More than 20 weavings from the 1960s to present day – some from MOA’s collection and others on loan from contemporary weavers – will demonstrate the continuity of weaving despite colonization.
At various times throughout the run of the exhibition, Musqueam master weaver and educator Debra Sparrow will reactivate an old loom from MOA’s collection by weaving a new blanket. Visitors will also have the opportunity to further their understanding by learning through doing at several looms in the exhibition space.
Win Passes
I have a family 4-pack of tickets to give away for the opening day of this exhibition, on Sunday, November 19, 2017. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Click below to post an entry on Twitter
[clickToTweet tweet=”RT to enter to win @Moa_ubc passes for The Fabric of Our Land: Salish Weaving http://ow.ly/jB2q30gtJsa” quote=” Click to enter via Twitter” theme=”style6″]
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Thursday, November 16, 2017. Follow MOA on Twitter and Facebook for more information about this exhibition and more.
Update The winner is Nathalie Lopez!
Between craft fairs, markets, theatrical productions and an early start on holiday shopping, take time some out this weekend to observe Remembrance Day. There are services at city halls, parks, and cenotaphs across the Lower Mainland where you will be able to honour and remember those who have fought for us.
Things to do in Vancouver This Weekend
Events that run for longer than three days in a row are highlighted in green.
Friday, November 10, 2017
Fan Expo Vancouver
Interesting Vancouver
The Lady Larks: Boogie Woogie Bugle Babes
Vancouver Art Gallery: FUSE: A Conjuring
Champlain Heights Remembrance Day High Tea
Marcus Mosely Chorale: Give Peace a Dance
Theater Crossing Presents: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde
Vancouver Jewish Film Festival
EAT! Vancouver
Kol Halev Presents: Two Views from the Sylvia
Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat
Shameless Hussy Productions Presents: Girls Like That
Douglas College: Concord Floral
Cirque du Soleil: KURIOS
Circle Craft Christmas Market Continue reading this post ⟩⟩
St. Paul’s Foundation is celebrating 20 years of giving, and a Vancouver holiday tradition, when the Lights of Hope are illuminated on November 16th. Volunteers from far and wide build the iconic display using donated materials and 10 kilometres of string lights that illuminate St. Paul’s Hospital, inspiring people to donate.
Lights of Hope at St. Paul’s
Date: Thursday, November 16, 2017
Time: 6:00pm to 8:00pm, with lighting display and fireworks between 6:30 and 7:00pm
Location: St. Paul’s Hospital, 1081 Burrard Street, Vancouver
Bringing together thousands of locals and visitors, the festive and family-friendly celebration will feature the official lighting of the display, fireworks, local choirs singing Christmas carols, hot chocolate and food trucks lining Burrard Street.
Switching on the 100,000 sparkling lights and more than 200 stars that make up the spectacular display, the community celebration marks the beginning of St. Paul’s annual Lights of Hope fundraising campaign which raises funding for the greatest needs of caregivers, patients, residents and loved ones across Providence Health Care’s hospitals and residences. The lights will remain on for the entire holiday season.
Since it began in 1998, community donations to Lights of Hope have totalled more than $31 million. Lights of Hope funds directly support sites and programs across Providence Health Care, funding urgently needed equipment, life-saving research, items and services that are essential for patients and residents, and community programs, which would otherwise not be funded through traditional channels.
Cirque du Soleil returned to Vancouver in October with KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities under the big top at Concord Pacific Place. I was able to attend the opening performance and it was spectacular. Everyone I spoke to agreed that it was the best Cirque show they have seen in a long time, and given the high bar they continuously set, it’s even higher praise.
Now you have the chance to win tickets to this marvellous production while also supporting your community.
On November 16th, I will be sleeping outside in Downtown Vancouver in support of Covenant House.
Covenant House provides food, clothing, shelter, counselling, and most of all, a place of stability, trust, non-judgement, kindness and home for at-risk and homeless youth.
To help my donation campaign, the good folks at Cirque du Soleil have offered up a pair of tickets to their performance of KURIOS on November 21st. Anyone who donates $50 or more to my Covenant House campaign by November 17th will be entered in a draw to win these tickets (valued at $188 for the pair).
1) Donate $50 here
2) You’ll be entered in the draw for KURIOS tickets, it’s that easy!
Your contribution will support the Residential Crisis Program which helps the most vulnerable youth in our community.
Did you know there are between 500–1,000 homeless youth in Vancouver every night?
These youth have experienced heartbreaking commonalities:
- 70% have witnessed family violence
- Over 50% aged out of foster care at 19, with no home, income or supports
- 39% of Covenant House’s youth have a formal mental illness diagnosis; youth workers estimate over 85% struggle with their mental illness
Please help provide much-needed resources for the youth in our community by donating to my campaign here. Everyone who donates will also receive a promo code to purchase KURIOS tickets so that they don’t miss out on this fantastic show.
About KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities
In an alternate yet familiar past, in a place where wonders abound for those who trust their imagination, a Seeker discovers that in order to glimpse the marvels that lie just below the surface, we must first learn to close our eyes.
In his larger-than-life curio cabinet, the Seeker is convinced that there exists a hidden world – a place where the craziest ideas and the grandest dreams await. A collection of otherworldly characters suddenly steps into his makeshift mechanical world. When the outlandish, benevolent characters turn his world upside down with a touch of poetry and humour, his curios jump to life one by one before his very eyes.
To recap:
1) Donate here (min. $50)
2) You’ll be entered in the draw for KURIOS tickets, it’s that easy!
If you don’t win, tickets purchased for the December 7th performance will also support Covenant House. Thank you to Cirque for helping make sure an impact in the community this season!
Follow the cast and crew of KURIOS on tour, and discover what hides in their Cabinet of Curiosities. Watch the 13 episodes on Cirque du Soleil’s YOUTUBE channel or follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Everyone who has already donated to my campaign, before the publishing of this post, is also entered to win. I will do the draw at 2:00pm on Friday, November 17, 2017. Thank you!
Update The winner is Teresa!
