Field Trips
FIELD TRIP REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED – THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST! IF YOU REGISTERED FOR A FIELD TRIP, PLEASE BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR FUTURE EMAILS WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
NACCB will host six field trips during our pre and post conference days (June 23, 24, and 28). They have been selected to showcase areas and projects of conservation interest located within and close to Vancouver and the UBC campus as well as wild spaces in relatively close proximity to the city.
The guided trips are scheduled for specific dates and will have a series of planned events, talks, and activities. Spots are limited on each trip, so we recommend registering and reserving your spot at soon as possible.
**If you already registered for the conference, you will have to return to your registration form, add your desired option(s), and pay the additional cost for your field trip(s).**
Important: Please note that field trips are subject to cancellation pending minimum attendance by May 15, 2024. If a trip is cancelled, attendees will be notified well in advance, provided a refund, and given an opportunity to swap for a different field trip pending availability.
FAQ: How many field trips can I sign up for?
As many as you like! However, keep in mind that some field trips will overlap with one another, and we encourage attendees to sign up for only their top choice to allow others to attend as well.
GUIDED FIELD TRIPS
Birds, Ecology, and History on Vancouver’s Shoreline
Sunday, June 23
9:30am – 11:30am PST
Host: Dominic Janus
Location: Pacific Spirit Regional Park, shoreline of Point Grey and the Fraser River
This field trip will highlight the diversity of birds and wildlife found in the coastal habitats of Vancouver and the Fraser River Estuary, including around UBC. We will also discuss the history of the lands and waters that have hosted diverse ecosystems and been home to many Coast Salish First Nations for thousands of years.
Registration Cost (Honorarium): $15 USD per person
*Cost to participate may potentially decrease based on confirmation of additional guest speaker(s). If this is the case, the difference will be refunded to you.
Capacity: 30
Bring: Binoculars and/or camera. Footwear suitable for hiking, hiking boots and especially rubber boots will allow for more exploration of the area but are not necessary. Sun protection is recommended (hat, sunglasses, sunscreen).
Accessibility: This trip involves going up and down a very long staircase (approx. 400+ steps) and walking on a beach with no paved pathways.
Additional Notes: This field trip will take place in an area where clothing is optional, so please be considerate of other park users.
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Malcolm Knapp Research Forest Tour – CANCELLED
Unfortunately, this field trip has been cancelled due to low registration numbers. If you previously registered for this trip, please check your email for instructions on next steps and potential alternatives.
Sunday, June 23
7:00am – 3:00pm PST
Host: Cheryl Power, RPF
Location: Malcolm Knapp Research Forest
Join BC professional forester Cheryl Power, for a morning of exploration in the coastal rainforest. We’ll tour the renowned UBC Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, with its legacy of over 1000 short and long term scientific research projects, and its 75-year history as a place for learning about nature. We’ll see ecosystems from riparian to rocky, from new regeneration to old growth — and along the way, sites of camera trapping, genetic, and climate change research. From this perspective, we’ll discuss evolving forest research, policy and law in BC, and the application of conservation biology principles and learnings to forest management. This tour is mainly by bus, but will include a short easy hike into an old growth forest.
Registration Cost: $70 USD per person includes tour cost, lunch, and transportation
Capacity: 30 (minimum 25)
Bring: Proper walking shoes, weather-appropriate clothing, hat, snacks, sun protection, water
Accessibility: Walk may include boardwalks, trails with roots, uneven pathways, and stairs.
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Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre
Sunday, June 23
7:45am – 5:30pm
Location: Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre
Interpretive Forest Walk, 1 hour, Outdoor
This tour begins with a traditional welcome song inside the Cultural Centre followed by a fifteen minute film. Afterwards, guests visit our Interpretive Forest Trail, the Salish Stroll, where a knowledgeable Cultural Ambassador provides insight into the local flora and fauna in our shared territory. Guests will learn how the Nations used them for food, in our teas as preventative medicine, and how we transformed some into useful tools. This tour provides a glimpse of how our ancestors lived, and it showcases our intimate connection with our land.
What We Treasure Tour, 1-1.5 hour tour, Indoor, Public
Experience our signature tour, “What We Treasure”, delivered by Cultural Ambassadors who share their own stories and first-hand cultural experiences. Throughout this tour your group will view artifacts and hear stories that give an overview of the past and present way of life of the Squamish and Lil’wat peoples. This tour includes a welcome song, fifteen minute film, and exhibit tour.
Registration Cost: $75 USD, including tour cost, transportation, and lunch voucher at Thunderbird Cafe
Capacity: 20 (minimum 18)
Bring: Snacks, water, sun protection, proper walking shoes
Accessibility: Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre is wheelchair accessible and has wheelchairs onsite available for guests to use. Please let us know in advance should you require one. Tours that happen outside do happen on uneven ground.
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Musqueam Ecological Tour
Monday, June 24
9:00am – 11:00am PDT
*Date & time will be confirmed 1 month in advance of tour date
Your guide will take you on a tour of Musqueam Creek, Vancouver’s Last Wild Salmon Stream. Enjoy a guided tour through historic Musqueam Creek – the estuary – where your guide will talk about a new flood gate project. The tour group will learn about how the salinity of the water in this area is important to the juvenile salmon as they prepare for the ocean. The Musqueam people have used the stream ecosystem for spiritual, physical, and mental well-being. You will learn a little about the plant life, why it is different from plants growing upstream and how our (Musqueam) people use some of the plants for medicine. Your guide will also link the stream back to traditional teaching through story and practice – pointing out significant archaeology and sharing information about historical events. It is important to note that Musqueam Creek was also the first stream visited by a European explorer. As Simon Fraser’s canoe paddled up the north arm of the Fraser River and into the mouth of Musqueam Creek on July 2, 1808, the ancestors of today’s salmon were there, witnessing his arrival from the currents beneath his canoe.
**Participants are responsible for arriving at the Musqueam Cultural Centre on their own. If taking public transit, participants can expect a 40+ minute commute (15 min bus ride + 20 minute walk).**
Registration Cost: $14 USD per person
Capacity: 25 (minimum 20)
Bring: Please dress weather permitting – the tour will be outdoors and indoors.
Accessibility: n/a
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Stanley Park Tour: Talking Trees and Salish Sea – CANCELLED
Unfortunately, this field trip has been cancelled due to low registration numbers. If you previously registered for this trip, please check your email for instructions on next steps and potential alternatives.
Monday, June 24
12:30pm – 4:30pm PST
Hosts: Stanley Park Ecology Society and Talaysay Tours
Location: Stanley Park
Join Talaysay Tours and Stanley Park Ecology Society for a nature walk through forested trails and along the Stanley Park Seawall, and to discuss both Indigenous and Western ecology practices.
Talaysay Tours: Talking Trees, our signature tour, focuses on how our people utilize the land for food, medicine, and technology. Our people utilize 131 plants and trees for food, medicine, and technology, and when we include the ocean, our Salish society had over 500 various sources. Join us as we share our cultural connections and Indigenous ways of knowing on the land.
Stanley Park Ecology Society: Afterwards, join Stanley Park Ecology Society on a journey through the Park to learn about how we monitor different species, our conservation programming, and the diversity of ecosystems found on this peninsula.
**Participants are responsible for departing Stanley Park Ecology Society / Stanley Park on their own. If taking public transit, please expect a 1.25+ hour commute, with 2 transfers.**
Registration Cost: $75 USD per person
Capacity: 30 (minimum 25)
Bring: Snacks, water, proper walking shoes, sun protection, and clothing appropriate for the weather and hiking.
Accessibility: This walk will proceed at a leisurely pace across paved sidewalks and gravel paths, with occasional loose gravel and slight inclines.
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Bears and Salmon Tour with Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre
Friday, June 28
8:00am – 3:00pm PST
Host: Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre
Location: Lynn Canyon Park
Experience the wild beauty of Lynn Canyon’s forests and discover the animals that call this forest home. Our Bears and Salmon tour takes you on a walk through the temperate rainforest of Lynn Canyon Park. We will visit the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge, a walkway that hangs almost 50 meters above the canyon. During the tour, your group will have the opportunity to see Lynn Creek and learn how animals like the salmon depend on the river as a home and as a migration route to the ocean. Learn about the signs that show that a bear has traveled in the forest before you, and discover how bears and salmon are connected to the forest in a powerful ecological bond.
Registration Cost: $47 USD per person, includes tour cost, transportation, and bagged lunch
Capacity: 25- 30 (minimum 20)
Bring: Water, snacks, sun protection, proper walking shoes, lunch
Accessibility: Walk includes boardwalk, trails with roots, and many stairs.
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Cultural Canoe Tour with Takaya Tours
Friday, June 28
8:00am – 3:00pm PST
Guided interpretive tour in 35 foot traditional style ocean-going canoes. Guests gently paddle in the protected waters of the Burrard Inlet (Səl̓ilw̓ət) and beautiful Indian Arm while guides from the Coast Salish Nation sing songs, tell legends and point out ancient village sites.
Takaya Tours is a premier, cultural tourism business owned by the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN) of North Vancouver. Operating from bases in Cates Park (Whey-Ah-Wichen) in North Vancouver and (Tum-tumay-wheuton) in Belcarra Regional Park, Port Moody. Takaya Tours offers a range of safe and exciting activities that mix outdoor adventure with an authentic interpretation of Coast Salish culture.
**Tours will proceed rain or shine, and will only be canceled if Takaya Tours deems that the conditions are unsafe. All participants must sign a waiver and release form before attending.**
Registration Cost: $112 USD per person, includes tour cost, transportation, and bagged lunch
Capacity: 25 (minimum 20)
Bring: Water, snacks, lunch, sun protection
Accessibility: Participants will need to step into and out of the canoe from a stable platform or dock.
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Guided Birding Tour at George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary
Friday, June 28
8:00am – 2:30pm PST
Your guide will take you to the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, which consists of nearly 300 hectares (850 acres) of managed wetlands, natural marshes and low dykes in the heart of the Fraser River Estuary. For the millions of birds seeking feeding and resting areas during their annual migrations along the Pacific Coast, the Sanctuary is ideally located. It is a place where wildlife and their habitats are protected from harm, and it lies next to miles of flat marshland and the farmland of Westham Island. Almost 300 species of birds have been seen in the Sanctuary, with 192 regularly occurring. Participants will have an opportunity to walk around the Sanctuary where they may see numerous species of ducks, raptors, shorebirds, and songbirds.
Registration Cost: $50 USD per person, includes admission to the Sanctuary, transportation, and bagged lunch
Capacity: 30 (minimum 20)
Bring: Snacks, lots of water, hat, sunscreen, proper walking shoes, and binoculars
Accessibility: Some of the trails are grassy and muddy after rainy days. Majority of the field trip is spent walking outside on trails.
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UNIQUE OPPORTUNITIES
Sacred Journey Exhibit at The Coast Salish Institute
Friday, June 28
1:00pm – 3:00pm PDT
Location: 2522 Kwina Rd. Bellingham, WA 98226
Discover how the TRIBAL CANOE JOURNEYS have catalyzed the revitalization of Indigenous culture, community healing, and youth empowerment on the Pacific Northwest Coast. The Sacred Journey Traveling Exhibit SHARES this story of resurgence told through metaphoric art, immersive audio, projections, and interactive video displays.– a story of struggle, joy, and life-changing experiences.
This curated tour is being specially offered to attendees of the conference. Registration fees for the tour will help support the exhibit and the Salish Institute.
**Attendees will need to arrange their own transportation. Furthermore, as the Salish Institute is located in Washington State, USA, transportation will need to take into account crossing borders and border wait times.**
Registration Cost: Honorarium (amount TBD)
Capacity: 30
Accessibility: The exhibition is at the Salish Institute in Bellingham.
Refund Policy
May 31: Full refunds will be available until the registration cut-off date. After this point, attendees will have the option to transfer their registration to a different colleague, though will not be eligible to receive a full refund. If any field trips are cancelled, attendees will be notified accordingly and will be provided with the option to switch to a different field trip and receive a partial refund OR receive a full refund.
