This post has been contributed by Kathleen Stormont, Communications Specialist 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.
The Big and the Small of It in Stanley Park
When people think of Stanley Park, it’s the big things that come to mind: towering old growth cedars, majestic Siwash Rock, or the 7 km seawall. But get down to the microscopic level and you’ll find an intriguing world overlooked by Park visitors – until now. Stanley Park Ecology Society’s new microscope is revealing the miniature wonders of the Park to enthralled audiences during SPES’ school and day camp programs.
A SPES volunteer displays a damsel fly larva on a laptop connected to the microscope.
Courtesy of funding from TD Friends of the Environment Foundation, the new dissecting microscope has a stage large enough to accommodate the small treasures that program participants collect in the Park. Pond dipping at Beaver Lake, for instance, produces a plethora of aquatic insects whose individual details are lost to the naked eye. But, pop a “find” under the scope (which can be hooked up to a screen projector or camera), and a whole group of explorers can observe the quivering gills of a may fly nymph or count hundreds of square scales, arrayed like shingle siding, on a moth’s wing.
Detail of moth wing and scales & Vein structure of dried holly leaf.
“Even I, who have spent countless hours peering through microscopes, was mesmerized by the complexity in colour, pattern and design revealed by the larger-than-life screen projections from the microscope,” exclaims Dylan Rawlyk, SPES’ School Programs Manager. “My computer’s desktop is one of these images now!” Indeed, magnified up to 70 times, parts of insects, plants and animals resemble breathtaking works of abstract art.
A dried rose petal becomes a work of art under the microscope.
A digital camera attached to the microscope enables SPES educators to photographically store and share their microscopic discoveries with subsequent groups of school kids and summer day campers. “We can now develop resources that are more detailed than ever before to allow for further study and research within the classroom,” says Dylan. As staff collect more photos of the Park’s microbiota, you, too, will be able to view this unique photographic collection at the Stanley Park Nature House on Lost Lagoon. The Nature House is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00am to 5:00pm.
Imagine being a young soccer player who gets to attend a sleep-away camp at the base of majestic Mount Currie, waking up each morning and train with a former US and international captain with Premier League and World Cup experience? Registration is now open for Rise and Shine Captains Camps in Pemberton, with US international/former Watford FC/Whitecaps FC captain Jay DeMerit.
Rise and Shine Captains Camps in Pemberton
This August, DeMerit is looking for 40 kids to come to Pemberton where they will open their minds to new ideas, make bonfires and roast marshmallows, and become better soccer players and leaders with coaches that have all played pro.
Camp Schedule
Camp #1 open to 20 boys ages 13-15 (only a few spots remain). August 15-17 starting at 10:00am Monday and wrapping up at 5:00pm on Wednesday. Parents are invited to join Jay and his parents for a quick Q&A on the 17th.
Camp #2 open to 20 boys ages 16-18. August 22-24 starting at 10:00am Monday and wrapping up at 4:00pm on Wednesday. Parents are invited to join Jay and his parents for a quick Q&A on the 24th.
How to Register
You don’t have to be the best player on your team or in your town, but you should have the desire to develop leadership skills and be registered for a gold level or higher team. Apply online through this link. Successful applicants will be invited to register (cost $750).
Accommodation and Meals
Participants will each have a comfy twin bed, “glamping” in a 10’ x 10’ wall tent, shared with one other camper. There will be washroom trailers, a hot tub, several outdoor showers, and laundry service will be provided. Meals will be prepared and enjoyed at the DeMerits’ cabin.
About the Camps
At the Rise and Shine Captains Camps, the curriculum is specifically built around creating a balance of elite soccer training on the field, and all encompassing life skills training off the field.
Participants will enjoy nutrition education through hands-on cooking classes and preparation of meals, and they’ll get their creative juices flowing by designing and building their own training equipment.
On the soccer side, Jay will be teaming up with former professionals of MLS, German Bundesliga, and the top leagues in England and Scotland to make sure all of the coaches experiences can be passed on to each player.
Julia Hanlon, Brew Master at Steamworks Brewery will spend an afternoon with 100 attendees teaching us about beer, as we taste and tour our way through the state of the art facilities. Grab your friends and explore the world of beer, while supporting a great organization devoted to community empowerment.
Big Beer Tasting for Big Sisters
Where: Steamworks Brewery and Taproom (3845 William St, Burnaby) When: Sunday, July 17th, 2016 from 3:00pm to 6:00pm Tickets:Available online for $40. Must be 19+.
Tickets include 4 beer tastings plus a pint of your favourite Steamworks Beer and the opportunity to learn about the craft brewing process from Julia Hanlon. Participants will enjoy an interactive tour and behind the scenes access of Steamworks’ 30,000 sq. ft. brewery and have the chance to win raffle prizes.
Follow Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland on Facebook and Twitter along with the tag #BeerSisters for more information. As a leading child and youth mentoring charity, Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland facilitates life-changing relationships that inspire and empower girls to reach their potential, both as individuals and citizens.
Miss604 is a proud sponsor of the Big Sisters Volunteer Recruitment campaign
Catch the action on the pitch as Vancouver Whitecaps FC challenge English Premier League team, and FA Cup finalists, Crystal Palace FC on July 19th at BC Place.
Crystal Palace have five players in the UEFA EURO 2016 semifinals, second most behind only Bayern Munich, and they will be the first English team to come play Whitecaps FC since Manchester City in 2011 – who then went on win the English Premier League that season.
Where: BC Place Stadium, Vancouver When: Tuesday, July 19, 2016 matches at 7:00pm & 9:00pm Tickets:Available online now starting at $45 (plus fee). Save up to 35% off the regular priced tickets for this match by purchasing through this link and using the promo code: CP604.
This is a two-for-one ticket as immediately following the match with Crystal Palace, there will be a friendly match between the City of Vancouver (featuring Mayor Gregor Robertson) and the City of Guangzhou (featuring former Chinese national team player Peng Weiguo). This is a part of the Friendship Cities Cup celebrating the sister cities relationship between Vancouver and Guangzhou.
Win Tickets to Whitecaps FC vs Crystal Palace FC
If you would like to attend this night of international soccer match-ups at BC Place, I have a pair of tickets to give away PLUS an exclusive opportunity to meet Crystal Palace FC players* on Sunday, July 17th. The Vancouver Chinese Soccer Association and ProEvents will host this special preview meet & greet at River Rock Casino Resort two days before match day.
Here’s how you can enter to win match tickets and attend the meet & greet:
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RT to enter to win tickets to #VWFC vs #CPFC on July 19 via @WhitecapsFC & @Miss604 http://ow.ly/b7xn30223wP
I will draw one winner at random from all entries at 12:00pm on Wednesday, July 13, 2016. The winner will have the opportunity to *meet all traveling Crystal Palace FC players on Sunday, July 17th and will receive two tickets to the match on July 19th. Follow Whitecaps FC on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more information about the team.
Bowen Island: The Happy Isle. Postcards and advertisements painted a picture of a stunning island getaway just a quick boat ride from Vancouver, where the waters were emerald green and the cottage life was bustling. Picnics, socials, dances, company retreats, hikes, swims, dives — it was the original summer getaway from Vancouver.
I had my first trip to Bowen Island earlier this summer, and I was only previously familiar with it by sailing past on a BC Ferry to the Sunshine Coast or Nanaimo, or through the photos I found in the City of Vancouver Archives. It took me far too long to get here — in terms of being a born-and-raised local, not the ferry which is just 20 minutes from Horseshoe Bay.
John and I spent two days on the Happy Isle recently, and one of our stops was the Bowen Island Museum & Archives. If you’re looking for the history of a place, to get a true sense of its foundation and meaning, visit its museum.
1890s. S.S. “Comox” in Cates Bay. Photograph attributed to W.T. Dalton. Vancouver Archives# Out P218.1
The Squamish name for the Island is Xwlíl’xhwm, meaning “Fast Drumming Ground”. Some authors attribute the name to the sound made by the ocean as it passes through the tiny pass between the Island’s northern point and Finisterre Island. In the Squamish creation story, Xwlíl’xhwm is often referred to as the place where the deer were created.
The island was charted in 1791 by explorer José Maria Narváez, who named it “Isla de Apodaca”. Bowen Island was renamed in 1860 in honour of Rear Admiral James Bowen, who was master of HMS Queen Charlotte during the battle of “The Glorious First of June” [1794]. Anxious to settle its colonies, Britain introduced a system of land pre-emption in 1859 for vacant Crown lands. Settlers willing to clear and fence land, build a home and produce crops could claim title to the land. The first settler to pre-empt land on Bowen did so in 1874. From that time until the turn of the century, Bowen was a hive of industrial activity.
One of the early settlers was William Davies, who pre-empted 33 acres of land at the head of Snug Cove in 1887. There, he planted a five-acre orchard and established a business selling fruit, game and sundries. The remains of Davies Heritage Orchard lie in the heart of the modern village of Snug Cove, as part of a large park that surrounds the village. Some of Davies’ original trees remain and Bowen Island Heritage Preservation Association has restored the area with new trees of the same varieties as those he planted.
1937. Photo by James Crookall. Vancouver Archives# CVA 260-666.
During the steamship era, coastal steamers carried goods to and from Bowen via docks in Snug Cove, Cowan Point and Miller’s Landing. By 1900, the enterprising Captain John Andrew (Jack) Cates recognized Bowen’s potential as a tourism destination. Cates had been operating a ferry passenger service in Howe Sound, with stops on Bowen Island. In 1902, he formed the Terminal Steamship Company. Its new flagship, the SS Brittania, carried 300 passengers and was soon joined by a fleet of four other ships.
1926. Percy Dodson diving from bridge of S.S. “Lady Cecilia”. Photo by Stuart Thomson. Vancouver Archives# CVA 99-1590.
1926. “Rachel M” on a surfboard behind a boat. Vancouver Archives# CVA 99-1588.
Cates continued to acquire land on Bowen Island and built the Terminal Hotel, more picnic grounds, a farm, store and bakery. The profitable operation came to the attention of the Union Steamship Company, which had begun operations in the Pacific Northwest in 1889, expanding into Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. In 1920, “the Union” bought Cates’ Bowen holdings and began to renovate.
1946. Entrance to Bowen Park Estates Recreation Area. Vancouver Archives# CVA 586-4605.
Over 100 ‘bungalow’ and 50 ‘camp’ cottages were built in Deep Bay and around the Lagoon. A dance pavilion, said to be the largest in British Columbia, was built on Snug Point, near the ferry landing. It could accommodate 800 couples on its sprung-wood floor. Business went well and by 1923, the company commissioned a new flagship to be built in Scotland. The Lady Alexandra arrived in service in 1924 with tons of Scottish sand in ballast, which was placed on “Sandy Beach” in Deep Bay.
1946. Passengers disembarking from the Lady Alexandra. Vancouver Archives# CVA 586-4603.
Capable of carrying 1400 passengers in true luxury, the Lady Alexandra offered daily cruises to Bowen Island for $1 and advertised popular summer evening dance cruises on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Passengers could dine, drink and dance on board, a novelty in Vancouver until well into the 1950s.
1940s. Dance pavilion at the Bowen Island Resort. Vancouver Archives# CVA 374-373.
By the 1930s, in addition to the day-visitors, families were returning to rent the same cottages for the entire summer season. Many visitors to Bowen today have stories of happy summers spent in one of the cottages.
1937. Photo by James Crookall. Vancouver Archives# CVA 260-665.
Tourism peaked between 1937 and 1946. The Lady Alexandra alone recorded 137,000 passengers in 1937 and in 1946, 101,000 visitors were said to have arrived on Bowen via one of the Union’s “Ladys” or by Sannie boats from Horseshoe Bay.
1946. “Lady Alexandra” approaching dock. Vancouver Archives# CVA 586-4601.
In 1941, the Canadian Pacific Railway acquired a controlling interest in the Union, only to sell it when tourism began to fall off after the Second World War. The Union lost its Bowen Island franchise to the Black Ball Ferry Company. In 1959, the Union fleet was sold to Northland Navigation.
Bowen’s population is just over 3,400 with about 25-30% commuting to and from Vancouver using BC Ferries and water taxi services. It’s still a summer playground, with hiking on Mount Gardner, shopping, food and adventures tours (which I’ll feature in a future post), and beaches that dip into Howe Sound and the Salish Sea.
The Bowen Island Museum is just a 10 minute walk from the Snug Cove ferry terminal and it’s open 7 days a week (May through August) from 10:00am to 4:00pm.
This post has been contributed by Kathleen Stormont, Communications Specialist 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.
Camp #1 open to 20 boys ages 13-15 (only a few spots remain). August 15-17 starting at 10:00am Monday and wrapping up at 5:00pm on Wednesday. Parents are invited to join Jay and his parents for a quick Q&A on the 17th.
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