Tour 1 - Saturday, February 11, 2005 - Cost $50
Agricultural and Wildlife Interactions in the Urban Interface

Find out what can happen when one massive urban continuum encroaches on 24,000 acres of prime agricultural land and habitat for some 3-5 million migratory birds. The Fraser River Delta is an important agricultural and wildlife area. Its favourable climate combined with flat topography and deep silty soils rank this area among the top 20 percent of land most suited for agriculture in the province of British Columbia. The Fraser River Delta also provides habitats such as estuarine waters and foreshore, freshwater marshes, upland fields and woodland to a variety of wildlife species. These habitats combined with its location on the Pacific Flyway make the delta an ideal host to millions of migratory birds each year.

This tour will highlight agriculture and wildlife in a urban interface and include visits to a local dairy operation, modern greenhouse, and numerous other farms where stewardship practices have been undertaken to minimize conflict between agriculture as well as enhance wildlife habitat. For example, field margins, hedgerows, relay crops, and grassland set-asides have all been used to enhance both wildlife and agriculture. The tour will also visit perennial forage crops that are regularly subjected to winter grazing damage by waterfowl and discuss a program that has been developed to mitigate this problem.

Included in this tour will be a visit to one of Canada's top bird-watching sites, the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary. This sanctuary is located in the heart of the Fraser River Estuary, on Westham Island, and consists of nearly 300 hectares (850 acres) of managed wetlands, natural marshes, and low dikes. It is significant in that it has the largest wintering concentrations of waterfowl (green-winged teal, American wigeon, gadwall, northern shoveler, northern pintail, lesser snow geese, trumpeter swans, greater and lesser scaup, double-crested cormorants, and western grebes) and shorebirds (Dunlin and western sandpipers) in Canada.

Tour 2 - Thursday, February 16, 2006 - Cost $30
Stanley Park

Learn about the challenges of managing one of the world's greatest urban parks and third largest urban park in North America. Originally, a marine base for the Royal Navy, the British government handed over the 1000-acres of forest in 1888 to the city for a symbolic price. It was named after Lord Stanley, the former Canadian governor-general whose conservationist vision made it into a recreational area. Stanley Park consists of 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of majestic cedar, hemlock, and fir trees, beaches, gardens, the Lost Lagoon and Beaver Lake. Natural wonders include Canada's tallest big-leaf maple and red alder and numerous large trees. Many wildlife species are found in the park; these include many varieties of birds including eagles, swans, ducks, Canada geese, as well as raccoons, squirrels, skunks, coyotes, and black-tailed deer.

This ½ day tour includes visits to a stormwater treatment wetland created on the shores of the Lost Lagoon. This wetland was designed to mitigate pollutants from one of Vancouver's busiest roads. The tour also visits a constructed salmon stream and salmon hatchery in the center of Stanley Park. The stream was designed to provide a demonstration of salmon habitat and accommodate runs of Capilano Hatchery coho salmon, Indian River chum and Indian River pink salmon. This tour also provides you with a chance to get up close to some large western red cedars and Douglas-fir as you hike through an old growth forest. Other highlights of this tour are an introduction to stewardship projects designed to minimize conflict between humans and wildlife.

Note: Participants in this tour will be required to walk approximately 2.5 km (1.5 miles).

Tour 3 - Thursday, February 16, 2006 - Cost $50
Coastal Temperate Forests and Salmon Hatchery Tour

This tour will visit the temperate forests that dominate the coast of the Pacific Northwest. The Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve is located below the Seymour Falls Dam and consists of approximately 5,668 hectares, two-thirds of which consist of old-growth forest, but 2/3 of the valley bottom is second growth. This reserve is managed as an open watershed by the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD), the LSCR houses water supply infrastructure and is held in reserve for possible future storage of drinking water for the region.

Although British Columbia's temperate rainforests are among the most impressive in the world, this tour will only provide a brief introduction to these unique and fascinating ecosystems. Upon the rugged geological characteristics of this watershed, formed by glaciers, the Seymour River, and west coast weather, lies a thick blanket of multi-aged forests representing the Coastal Western Hemlock zone. This historically rich natural classroom, situated 25 minutes from downtown Vancouver, is a unique place where you can learn about: water management, the ecology of coastal temperate forests, the lifecycle of Pacific salmonids, wildlife habitats, historical and present day forest management, scientific research, and much more.

This tour highlights how the Greater Vancouver Regional District manages resources such as water, timber, fish and wildlife to ensure the long-term sustainability and natural beauty of the Reserve. It includes visits to the Seymour fish hatchery, fishery enhancement areas, and numerous other stops highlighting reforestation and wildlife projects. The Seymour fish hatchery plays a vital role in sustaining fish stocks and creating fish habitat in the Seymour River, both of which have declined since the construction of the Seymour Falls Dam. Time permitting, the tour will conclude by visiting the various treasures of Lynn Canyon Park including a 50 m (150 feet) high suspension bridge that bounces or sways over Lynn Creek and the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre. Participants in the tour will be able to either hike to this park (approximately 30 minutes) or enjoy a 20-minute bus ride.

Please dress appropriately as the temperatures in the Reserve are often a few degrees cooler than those in the city.