This post has been contributed by Michael Murray, Communications Volunteer with the Stanley Park Ecology Society (“SPES”). I have been following SPES since I moved into the West End over a decade ago and I have been a member for four years. I wanted to offer the team an opportunity to share their news, events, and work so I have created “SPES Saturday” where they contribute and share stories with my audience once a month.
Hanging Out with Bats in Stanley Park
With Halloween just around the corner, now is the perfect time to learn more about of one of the spookier species found in Stanley Park: Dracula’s web-winged cousin, the bat. This past summer, Dr. Cori Lausen along with members of the South Coast Bat Conservation Society conducted bat surveys to learn more about these mysterious mammals and their role in the Stanley Park ecosystem.
A little brown bat in Stanley Park.
Photo: Michael Schmidt.
Of the 16 species of bats native to British Columbia, three have been confirmed in Stanley Park: The little brown myotis, Yuma myotis, and the aptly named big brown bat are the most commonly seen. The hoary bat, silver haired, and Californian myotis may have been heard by researchers in the Park, but not yet confirmed visually. Bats are most often spotted foraging for insects around Beaver Lake and Lost Lagoon during the twilight hours.
One little brown bat can consume up to 1000 mosquitos an hour playing a large part in controlling insect populations in the Park. While active at night, bats rest for much of the day. Little brown myotis bats use a wide variety of summer roosting sites including loose bark, tree cavities, rock crevices, caves and buildings. The staff at SPES can attest to this, having spotted big brown bats roosting in the attic above their offices in the Stanley Park Dining Pavilion. Little brown myotis have also been seen in the out buildings of the Rowing Club near Brocton Oval.
A bat researcher traps a little brown bat during studies
in Stanley Park. Photo: Michael Schmidt
Bats are most active in the Park during the spring and summer months. Some species of bats go south during the winter months while others ride out the cold in their hibernaculas. Dr. Lausen and her colleagues chose Stanley Park as a research site because of the relatively warm coastal climate which gave them an opportunity to see if the bats overwinter in the Park. According to her research, they do spend the winter in the Park but their exact roosting spots are still undetermined.
One major concern facing bat populations throughout North America is White Nose Syndrome (WNS). First documented in 2006, White Nose Syndrome is caused by a fungus that thrives in the cold environments where bats hibernate. White Nose Syndrome has significantly reduced bat populations in Eastern Canada and the United States. To date, WNS has killed approximately 7 million bats in North America. With cases being reported as far north as Washington state, the threat to BC bats is growing. Considering how slowly bats reproduce (approximately one offspring a year), it may take years for their numbers to rebound from a WNS outbreak. Dr. Lausen would like to determine what can be done to possibly minimize the impacts of this disease and how to monitor the impacts once it arrives.
Bat researchers carefully measure a little brown bat in Stanley Park. Photos: Maria Egerton
For more information on Dr. Lausen’s work and to learn more about White Nose Syndrome visit WCS Canada.
Bats and other “Creatures of the Night” will be the focus of SPES’ so-named exhibit at the annual Stanley Park Halloween Ghost Train event in Stanley Park, October 8 to 31, 2016. Be sure to drop by, check out the bat specimens, and meet some of the members of the South Coast Bat Conservation Society!
The Virtual Stage presents the fifth annual production of its acclaimed Zombie Syndrome interactive theatre-adventure series, The Zombie Syndrome: Dead In The Water, from October 4th to 31, 2016 on Granville Island.
The Zombie Syndrome
This year, audience members will be challenged to travel by land and sea, brave the elements, and defeat a strange new breed of mutant zombie-vampires.
For the first time in Canadian professional theatre, this chilling new production will feature the integration of Apple’s sophisticated iBeacon technology. The Virtual Stage has teamed with the award-winning innovators behind local Vancouver company TerraTap Technologies to integrate its mobile content delivery system neartuit into the experience.
The location-based iBeacons will boost interactivity by triggering clues on audience members’ smartphones (through an app), helping teams of up to 18 people as they race against time in their battle with blood-thirsty forces of darkness.
A new highlight of this thrilling adventure involves travelling on the Pacific Ocean; therefore, audiences would be wise to bring their sea legs and dress for the weather!
Disclaimer: Rated PG-13. Contains zombies, vampires, and other mature subject matter. Children under the age of 13 need to be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Win Tickets to the Zombie Syndrome
I have a prize pack for one lucky winner to enjoy on Halloween night that includes: A pair of tickets to The Zombie Syndrome: Dead In The Water on October 31st at 8:00pm; 2 official Zombie Syndrome t-shirts; and a bag of Halloween candy to enjoy during or after this spooky theatrical adventure. Here’s how you can enter to win:
- Leave a comment on this post (1 entry)
- Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
For more information, updates, and declassified information regarding this year’s mission, follow The Virtual Stage on Twitter and Facebook for more information. Be sure to tweet about your mission’s success or failure and announce your team’s score with the hashtag: #ZombieSyndrome.
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2016. The prize is exclusively for Halloween night so the winner must be able to attend, or another winner will be drawn.
Update The winner is Tanya!
It’s at about 2:00am that the cold really starts to get to you. Coupled with the incessant beeps of a nearby truck in the alley that seems to be perpetually moving in reverse, and the fact that there’s nothing between you and the ragged asphalt of the alley but a layer of flattened cardboard, it becomes tough to sleep.
In sub zero temperatures I’ve found that laying on my stomach is most effective for keeping me warm, but it leaves me vulnerable. Luckily, when I participate in one night of chilled, sleepless misery on the streets of Vancouver, there’s a team watching over me with water, tea, coffee, and extra blankets. No matter how miserable I’ve been in the middle of the night, during my last 3 years of the Covenant House Sleep Out, it absolutely pales in comparison to what local youth have to go through. Every day. Every night. But I just signed up to Sleep Out for the 4th year, because this small act has a big impact.
Covenant House Sleep Out
“Sleep Out for one night so that homeless youth don’t have to”
The Covenant House Sleep Out takes place at Covenant House locations across the world, supporting local homeless youth so that they don’t have to spend another night outside. Last year after I set up my “bed” in the alley, I hopped on Twitter and connected with people in New Orleans, Dallas, and New York who were also heading outside for their local Sleep Out.
This year on November 17th, executives, public figures and well connected leaders in our community will once again sleep outside for one night in solidarity with those youth who may face many more cold, lonely nights until they find their way through the doors of Covenant House Vancouver.
From Los Angeles to New York, Toronto to New Orleans and in other major cities across North America, participants will raise funds from their companies, colleagues, friends and family to support the life-changing work that is being done to help young people leave the streets and begin new lives. These leaders will draw the attention of the larger business community and our nation to the problem of homelessness among young people.
Photo by Covenant House
Covenant House Vancouver provides support on various levels: Crisis Shelter, Drop in Centre, Street Outreach, and Rights of Passage.
“Many of the kids have lived with violence or the threat of violence for much of their young lives. Feeling safe is a right we all have but one these kids have not enjoyed.”
Before we head outside on the night of the Sleep Out we usually split off into groups and speak with youth clients and volunteers. It is always encouraging to meet kids who went from being homeless, to the crisis shelter all the way through to Rights of Passage, Covenant House’s program that prepares them for the bigger world.
Those in Rights of Passage actually pay (an affordable) rent and get full access to programs provided that they have a job or they are in school. They end up learning basics like grocery shopping and budgeting, and once they are through the program (6 months to 2 years) they are supported when they eventually move out, even welcomed to return for the weekly communal dinners. The care just keeps going to ensure the youth become self-sufficient, gainfully employed, successful individuals.
Photo by Covenant House
In 2013, my first Sleep Out year, over 600 participants around North America slept out for their local Covenant House. They raised over $3 million. Vancouver had 5% of the participants but raised 10% of the funds.
This will be my fourth Covenant House Sleep Out and I would love your support. $10, $20, $50, any amount you can donate directly to Covenant House through my campaign page would be of significance. Whatever amount you can spare can truly make a difference.
Covenant House Statistics
- 39% of Covenant House’s youth present with a mental health diagnosis
- 70% have witnessed family violence
- 50% of Covenant House’s youth present with an addiction problem
- 95% of Covenant House’s youth report that Covenant House has helped them
- 75% of youth feel more confident about their future after staying at Covenant House
- Average length of stay has increased 83% in past five years (Covenant House knows that a young person’s success rate increases significantly with longer stays)
Thank you very much for your consideration and follow me on Instagram and Twitter for updates on November 17th when I sleep out on the street again. Follow Covenant House on Twitter and Facebook for much more information.
The West Coast Women’s Show, western Canada’s largest women’s show, returns to TRADEX in Abbotsford October 21-23, 2016. Along with 400 booths, and 5 stages packed with entertainment, demos, and workshops, the show features a number of special guests. This year, Kathleen Baty – The Safety Chick – returns to host her very popular Street Smarts 101 and Mother/Daughter Safety Chick Chat.
The Safety Chick Kathleen Baty
I caught up with Kathleen, the Founder and CEO of Safety Chick Enterprises, over the phone last week to see what guests can expect from her Safety Chick talks, where she takes a unique and empowering approach to personal safety.
Kathleen, herself the victim of a kidnapping attempt at gun point by an obsessive stalker, teamed up with then California State Senator Ed Royce to pass the nation’s first anti-stalking law (SB2184). In 1997, she and now US Congressman Royce teamed up again to help pass the first Federal Anti-Stalking Law (H.R. 3230).
She’s spoken to millions of people through appearances on and contributing features to The Today Show, America’s Most Wanted, Inside Edition, Good Morning America, The Security Brief with Paul Viollis, and ABC World News Tonight.
“I had to learn to care about my personal safety the hard way, I had to learn every possible aspect of personal safety to stay alive, so that’s my motivation.” Kathleen said that her trial by fire still came at a price, but what she’s learned is what she teaches.
“The whole reason I started Safety Chick in the first place was because everything I always read about personal safety was always so negative and daunting, it was always written by a man. And I don’t believe that we as women respond to that. We like Sex in the City, Desperate Housewives, you go girl! Charlie’s Angels. We like to be empowered. We like to feel empowered. So that’s always been my thing.”
Kathleen’s approach is fun, relatable, positive and gets right down to the heart of the matter. She believes that personal safety starts with taking responsibility for your actions and really being aware of your surroundings.
“I love speaking to adolescent girls and their moms and trying to help give them street smarts before they have to learn it the hard way.” Her second talk at the show will be a general Safety Chick chat, focusing on 5 areas of personal safety, self awareness, and life lessons.
“It’s not about being paranoid, it’s about making smart personal safety choices so you don’t find yourself in dangerous settings in the first place.”
Catch Kathleen on the Main Stage Saturday, October 22nd at 3:30pm & Sunday, October 23rd at 11:00am for a special Mother/Daughter Safety Chick Chat. This will be her second time to the West Coast Women’s Show, and told me she loves the event:
“All these entrepreneurial women, with all these different businesses, and the best way I can describe it is walking into a Superbowl-filled arena full of empowered women, who are just there to have fun. I’m so looking forward to going back!”
West Coast Women’s Show
- When: Friday October 21, 2016 from 1:00pm to 9:30pm; Saturday October 22, 2016 from 10:00am to 9:00pm; Sunday October 23, 2016 from 11:00am to 5:00pm.
- Where: TRADEX in Abbotsford (1190 Cornell Street)
- Tickets: At the door: Adults $12; Seniors (65+) $9; Seniors (65+) Friday from 1:00 to 5:00pm $7 (no coupon required); Youth (13 – 17) $9; Children (6 – 12) $4; Children (5 & under) are free. Save $2 online and in store at London Drugs!
Theme Days
Show themes include Fashion & Style, Home & Interior Décor, Health & Wellness, World of Taste, Natural & Organic Products, the Active Women’s Zone, Travel Showcase and the Artisan’s Marketplace.
- Friday is Girls Night Out Martini Night. Calendar Firefighters Fashion Show (Main Stage) 7:30pm
- Friday is Seniors Discount Day – Only $7 from 1:00pm to 5:00pm (65 + years)
- Saturday is Girls Night Out Martini Night. Calendar Firefighters Fashion Show (Main Stage) 7:30pm
- Sunday is Mothers & Daughters Day at the West Coast Women’s Show. The first 500 visitors to the show will receive a FREE Gift Pack from Pretty Things
Stage Schedules are available here: Main Stage, Health & Wellness Stage, Kitchen Theatre Stage, Beauty & Cosmetics Stage, Cheese Tasting Stage.
Follow the West Coast Women’s Show on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for more information. Join the West Coast Women’s Show VIP Club to receive information on the best ticket deals, show updates and exclusive deals available only to VIP Club members.
Known for its dazzling Christmastime displays, VanDusen Botanical Garden is lighting up for Halloween this year for VanDusen Glow in the Garden.
VanDusen Glow in the Garden
- When: October 24 to 27, 2016 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm & October 28 to 31, 2016 from 5:00pm to 9:00pm
- Tickets: Adult (19-64) $10; Senior (65+) $8; Youth (13-18) $8; VanDusen members $8; Kids (3-12) $6; Kids 2 and under free.
Experience an unforgettable Halloween walk in the woods at VanDusen Botanical Garden. The Garden comes to life with spellbinding lights, ghoulish music, and glowing pumpkin characters created by award-winning carvers, Clive Cooper and Bruce Waugh. After the walk, costumed kids will enjoy creating fun Halloween crafts inside. Parents can pick up a pumpkin and hot apple cider at the Taves Family Farms pop-up shop on the plaza.
Follow VanDusen Botanical Garden on Facebook and Twitter for more information.
