Head in the woods
When Ian Rose takes a walk in the woods, his head fills with questions. And, until six months ago, many of them remained unanswered.
Last year, the recently retired West Vancouver resident founded the West Vancouver Amateur Naturalists. Rose organizes walking groups that pay a small sum to cover expenses for environmental experts to lead the hikes.
“I wanted the groups to be small enough that every question you have ever wanted to ask will be answered,” he said.
So far, amongst other things, Rose has learnt a Red Cedar is really not a cedar, a Douglas Fir is not a fir and the Mountain Ash is not an ash. The club holds a couple of trips a month, but Rose hopes to add more interested North Shore residents to the mailing list and pull in more specialists.
On Sunday, Jan. 20, Dawn Hanna, president of the Native Plant Society of B.C., will lead a walking tour through Capilano River Regional Park. Dawn spearheads ecological restoration projects at Vancouver’s Jericho Park and Richmond’s Iona Beach Regional Park. During the hike the group will be searching for native B.C. plant species that remain green throughout the winter.
On Feb. 4, it’s off to Ladner’s Reifel Bird Sanctuary with Capilano University biology instructor Keith Wade. Rose expects the trip to match previous outings to the sanctuary when the group spotted peregrine falcons, sandhill cranes and thousands of snow geese.
“[The tours] are a social outings, they’re about fresh air and exercise and knowledge,” he said.
For more information or to join the club email ibrconsulting@telus.net.
raldous@northshoreoutlook.com
twitter.com/rebeccaaldous
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