Celebrating Earth Month with Stanley Park Ecology Society

Supporting Stanley Park’s Healthy Ecosystems

What do you get when you mix 405 hectares of forest, wetland and beach with nearly 9 million visitors a year? A world-class urban park! Stanley Park is an oasis for people and wildlife alike, but keeping it that way means balancing recreational needs with healthy ecosystems. Thanks, in part, to consistent annual funding from Stanley Park Brewing, the Stanley Park Ecology Society (SPES) is working to conserve the Park’s delicate habitats and biodiversity that are crucial for healthy ecosystems and wildlife.

Since 1988, Stanley Park Ecology Society, an independent non-profit charity, has been promoting awareness of and respect for the natural world through collaborative leadership in environmental education, research, and conservation in Stanley Park. SPES’s relationship with Stanley Park Brewing (SPB) stretches back two decades with SPB’s early donations to SPES’s “Adopt an Acre” program supporting habitat restoration in the Park. Stanley Park Brewing became an Official Sponsor of SPES in 2017 with partial proceeds from its Windstorm West Coast Pale Ale going directly to SPES’s conservation work in the Park.

“Stanley Park Brewing’s sustaining funds make it possible for SPES to create strong restoration plans with long-term monitoring to ensure conservation success,” says SPES’s executive director Dylan Rawlyk.

With SPB’s support, the future of over 500 animal species and 670 plant species in Stanley Park is brighter! Visitors to the Stanley Park Brewing Restaurant & Brewpub can learn more about the conservation collaboration between SPB and SPES in the new “Conservation Corner” display. Watch for rotating exhibits about SPES’s work including the monitoring of the nearby Great Blue Heron colony, restoration of the rare bog at Beaver Lake, and the ongoing invasive species removal campaign.

If you would like to get involved with hands-on habitat restoration in Stanley Park, please email the Stanley Park Ecology Society Volunteer Coordinator.

We’re celebrating Earth Day this year with SPES all April long! Despite COVID restrictions, SPES have put together “w-earthy” activities for you and your bubble to enjoy – from online events to outdoor actions in Stanley Park:

Stanley Park Ecology Society Events

April 20th
The Miniature World of Magical Mosses (Online) – 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm

April 21st
Seed Generation Youth Stewardship (Online) – 5.00 pm – 6.00 pm

April 22nd
Tsleil-Waututh Land and Water Stewardship and Activism (Online) – 5.30 pm – 6.30 pm

April 28th
Action for Climate (Online) – 5.00 pm – 6.30 pm

For more formation, visit the Stanley Park Ecology Society Website or you can follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.