We've had a long and cool "June-uary" this year, but at last, we're heading into hotter and drier weather. Our parks are particularly active in summer, buzzing with the activity of community gardens, picnics, wildlife and celebrations.

Read on to learn how you can get involved in park stewardship, get to know some of our newest local food partners, hear what the Park Board Environment staff have been up to, and more.

On June 6, Park Board staff were joined by community volunteers, Park Board Commissioners and City Council members to plant, launch and celebrate a new floating habitat in Trout Lake.

Made from sustainable, non-toxic materials, the 60 m² island is constructed from a series of interlocking platforms, and planted with native species such as sedges and rushes to support plant and animal life above and below the surface of the water. 

Designed to improve water quality as the system grows, the island‘s submerged roots create a habitat for millions of microorganisms that consume algae, carbon, and excess nutrients to purify the water. A subsurface forest of roots provides shelter for fish, while varying platforms provide a nesting and preening habitat for birds.

Thanks to BlueTech Research for donating this structure, and to Biomatrix Water for their innovative technology!

The Stanley Park Ecology Society and the Vancouver Bird Advisory Committee are pleased to offer the Alan Duncan Bird Conservation Award. In honour of the late Alan Duncan, this award is given annually to acknowledge contributions to local bird conservation through the arts and sciences, celebrating individuals, groups or organizations that are leading the way in bird conservation within our region. We'd like to congratulate Adam Dhalla on being this year's awardee! 

Alan Duncan (pictured left) was the Park Board's first Environmental Planner and his passion for bird conservation still shines through our Vancouver Bird Strategy, the Vancouver Bird Advisory Committee, and many other initiatives he was involved with.

Adam Dhalla (pictured right) is the winner of the Alan Duncan Bird Conservation Award for 2022. At 17 years old, Adam has already made a big impact in the bird conservation community. In 2018, he was the youngest-ever speaker at the International Ornithological Congress (IOC), where he presented about the benefits to birds of a shade-grown coffee plantation he visited.

We'd like to introduce you to one of the Park Board's newest local food partners, the Vancouver Urban Food Forest Foundation (VUFFF). VUFFF was founded by a group of like-minded community leaders from various Hastings-Sunrise community organizations including Refarmers and Kiwassa Neighbourhood House. Their food philosophy is all about sharing harvests, collective gardening and food forests, being guided by Indigenous ways of knowing, prioritizing marginalized voices and creating a hub for mutual aid. 

DESCRIPTION
Still Moon's Summer 2022 Stewardship Series invites you to get outside into the beautiful weather and get active stewarding important wildlife habitat in the Still Creek Watershed. Come learn about some native and introduced plant identification, invasive plant management techniques, and some of the tasks involved in maintaining an active restoration sites. 

LOCATION
Slocan Park and Renfrew Park

DATES
Sat. Sep. 10th - Harvest Fair, Lost Streams Parade + Consciousness of Streams Performance 
Sat. Sep. 17th - Streamside Lantern Installation 

DESCRIPTION
Still Moon Arts Society is proud to celebrate the 20th annual Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival! This year we are marking two decades of community art, sustainability, and paying tribute to the lost stream systems of Still Creek with the theme of Resurfacing. Co-produced with Renfrew Park Community Association, the Moon Festival is a series of free public events that celebrates the full moon, harvest abundance, and diverse cultural traditions. The signature events: Harvest Fair, Lost Streams Parade, and Streamside Lantern Installation features live music, dance, shadow puppets, eco-arts, workshops, youth performances, community veggie competitions, and more! For the special 20th Moon Festival we introduce two new immersive, interdisciplinary performances: Consciousness of Streams and Treesong. 

The Vancouver Park Board's Fieldhouse Activation Program provides long-term access to fieldhouses in parks across the city for artists and organizations to create a home-base for projects and activities that engage the community. By repurposing underused fieldhouses into small community spaces, this program aims to:

We strongly encourage you to visit fieldhouses, attend fieldhouse events, and chat with local artists, local food experts and garden stewards about their fieldhouse experiences before you apply. 

Application deadline: Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022  
For questions or to discuss proposal ideas, please email us at pbfieldhouses@vancouver.ca.

Staff have been working closely with the Stanley Park Ecology Society (SPES) to discourage coyotes from becoming too comfortable with humans. Approaching or feeding coyotes can cause aggressive behaviour and puts the public at risk.

This year, a team of trained volunteers is delivering an aversion conditioning program to support maintaining a healthy boundary between humans and coyotes that share the park. Volunteers patrol the park to observe coyotes and teach any that are displaying potentially concerning behaviour to avoid humans, using humane methods like making loud noise and rattling cans. So far, the results are promising: there have been no documented aggressive incidents in Stanley Park this year.

Other measures to support coexistence including installing wildlife deterrent bins, enacting a fineable wildlife feeding by-law, and closing trails where coyotes are known to be denning. The Co-Existing With Coyotes program, run by SPES in collaboration with the Park Board and BC Ministry of Forests, continues to monitor coyote populations and provide education to reduce conflict between people, pets, and coyotes. 

We continue to ask all park users to dispose of waste in bins provided, respect trail closures, and keep dogs on leash at all times. If you encounter an aggressive coyote, stand your ground and make yourselfas large as possible while making loud noise. Do not run. All encounters should be reported immediately to the R.A.P.P. line at: 1-877-952-7277.

Many of our facilities have reopened and services have resumed, however there may still be some limitations, and all City and Park Board facilities are subject to provincial public health orders. To learn more about how COVID-19 policies affect your activities in parks and recreation facilities, please click "Learn more" below.