BC Nature Fall 2019 General Meeting & Conference Registration
“Celebrating the Joys of Nature”
October 3 – 5, 2019
Pitt Meadows Golf Club, 13615 Harris Road, Pitt Meadows BC
What We Do
Our activities include Hiking, Nature Walks, Birding, Bat Monitoring, Botanizing, Education and Outreach, Conservation and Monthly Meetings featuring informative guest speakers.
Non-members are welcome to participate in these activities as a way to preview our club and meet our friendly members prior to joining our group.
Visit our calendar of events for a list of scheduled activities.
Who We Are
Burke Mountain Naturalists (BMN) was formed in 1989 by local residents interested in enjoying nature, encouraging nature awareness, and conserving local green spaces.
We are a club based in Coquitlam, BC, with a focus on the enjoyment and awareness of nature through activities and education.
Join Us!
Whether you are starting your exploration of nature in the Tri-Cities area (Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam) or are an experienced naturalist, we invite you to join us. Meet people who share your interests such as hiking, walking, birding, nature appreciation, and conservation.
Come as a guest and drop in to one of our monthly meetings, or participate in an scheduled activity,to learn more about us.
Upcoming Events
May
29
Wed
May 29 – Jun 22 all day
This hike has reached capacity and is full. You can add your name to the waitlist.
This is a hike sponsored by the City of Coquitlam. Registration (645376) and signed waiver form is required.
Here is a great four step program for you to gain confidence to accomplish your goal. We will start with a beginner’s hike and progress to an intermediate hike. Our journey to Buntzen Ridge will take in views of the Lower Mainland. The roundtrip distance is 10 km with an elevation gain of 500 m. This program will start with an evening information session and slide show followed by a short walk. We will progress with hikes in Belcarra Regional Park and on Eagle Ridge before our final hike and completing our goal. As it is not just about the destination, we will take time to enjoy what nature has to offer.
| DATE | Beginners Hiking Program |
| Wednesday May 29 | Evening slide show and walk along Hoy Creek. 7pm to 9pm |
| Sunday June 9 | Belcarra Regional Park (Jug Island) 3 hours, 5.5 km, 300 m elevation gain 1pm to 4pm |
| Saturday June 15 | Lower Eagle Ridge 4 hours, 8 km, 300 m elevation gain. 9am to 1pm |
| Saturday June 22 | Buntzen Ridge from Sasamat Lake 5 hours, 10 km, 500 m elevation gain. 8am to 1pm |
Please contact Ian (604.939. 4039) for more info.
Have a look at the City of Coquitlam website coquitlam.ca/outdoors
Register or for information at 604-927-4386
May 29 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Join other BMN members for a series of summer evening botany walks. Bring your guidebook and sketch pad for a series of five gentle walks, all starting at 7:00 PM and lasting about 1.5 hours. These are not guided walks. Instead, we’ll learn how to identify trailside plants from our guidebooks and each other. The walks will go rain or shine, unless the weather is really bad. Check the BMN website for a cancellation notice before you head out. All participants will be required to sign the BMN liability waiver. No need to register – just show up at the appointed time (7 PM) and place
Walk #2: Trail along the Coquitlam River south from Ozada Tot Lot in Coquitlam
Meet in the parking lot of the Ozada Tot Lot, near the intersection of Gabriola Drive and Cortes Ave. Street parking is available north of Harwood Ave. This walk is timed to view horsetails (Equisetum), which grow prolifically here along the Coquitlam River. No washrooms available.
May
30
Thu
May 30 – Jun 23 all day
This is a hike sponsored by the City of Coquitlam. Registration (645404) and signed waiver form is required.
This hike has reached capacity and is full. You can add your name to the waitlist.
Have you ever wanted to hike Diez Vistas in the Buntzen Lake Recreation Area, but did not know if you could do it? Here is a great four step program for you to gain confidence to accomplish your goal. Diez Vistas is Spanish for “ten views” and it offers spectacular views of Vancouver’s waterways and mountains. This trail is steep at times and can be more demanding than most trail guides suggest. The roundtrip distance is 15 km with a cumulative elevation gain of 900 m. This program will start with an evening information session and slide show followed by a short hike. We will progress with hikes in Belcarra Regional Park and on Eagle Ridge before our final hike and completing our goal. As it is not just about the destination, we will take time to enjoy what nature has to offer.
| DATE | Intermediate Hiking Program |
| Thursday May 30 | Evening slide show and hike along Hoy Creek. 6:30pm to 9pm |
| Sunday June 9 | Belcarra Regional Park (Belcarra Bluffs). 4 hours, 8 km, 300 m elevation gain 8am to noon |
| Sunday June 16 | Cypress Lake on Eagle Ridge 5 hours, 12 km, 500 m elevation gain. 8am to 1pm |
| Sunday June 23 | Diez Vistas and loop around Buntzen Lake 7.5 hours, 15 km, 900 m 8am to 3:30pm |
Please contact Ian (604.939. 4039) for more info.
Have a look at the City of Coquitlam website coquitlam.ca/outdoors
Register or for information at 604-927-4386
May 30 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
The long-awaited book, “Burke and Widgeon – A History” is coming into print. This is a companion book to Lyle Litzenburger’s a hiking guidebook: “Burke and Widgeon – A Hiker’s Guide“.
Lyle’s history book will be launched and offered for sale on the evening of Thursday, May 30th at a library in Coquitlam. The event is expected to last for just over an hour and the author will personally autograph all books sold.
Since seating will be limited, please provide early confirmation if you are interested in attending this event. If you do plan to attend, please respond to this email with a simple ‘Yes’ along with the number of attendees in your party. Or, you can email the author, Lyle Litzenberger, directly at the same email address.
Come out and enjoy an informative and interesting local event!
The price of the book is $49.95.
Jun
1
Sat
Search for migratory birds including the spectacular Lazuli Buntings on a 2-hour guided birding walk. Bring binoculars if possible. Meet in front of the Community Gardens at the end of Colony Farm Rd, Coquitlam. Presented by the Colony Farm Park Association.
The beautiful lazuli bunting.
Jun
8
Sat
To celebrate the twenty-fourth anniversary of the creation of Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, we will do an easy to moderate hike along the Woodland Walk Trail. On this outing we will travel through a lovely mature second-growth forest and view Saw Blade Falls. You should be prepared to cross a few small creeks by easy boulder-hopping, though there will be help in crossing safely. This trip will be advertised as a public hike and we are looking for people willing to help lead or assist a leader. Roundtrip distance is 11.5 km with an elevation gain of 300 m. Meet at 8:00 am. Return 1:00 pm. Please contact Ian (604. 939. 4039) for more info.
This World Oceans’ Day – Saturday June 8th, 2019 – from 9:00 to 11:00 join Aniela and her team of dedicated volunteers at Rocky Point Park to clean up cigarette butt litter. All necessary equipment will be provided. Let’s all work together to create a ButtFreeBC To learn more and to register, see The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup.
Read an article in the TriCity News on this volunteer opportunity.
Jun
9
Sun
Want some wild fun without leaving the city? Learn how to bring more nature to Burnaby through stewardship displays, guided walks and invasive species pulls.
Park at Avalon entrance and meet at Cariboo Dam, Burnaby
Info: www.metrovancouver.org (search ‘Wild About Burnaby Lake’) or www.burnabylakepark.ca
Presented with Burnaby Lake Park Association & City of Burnaby
Jun
12
Wed
Join other BMN members for a series of summer evening botany walks. Bring your guidebook and sketch pad for a series of five gentle walks, all starting at 7:00 PM and lasting about 1.5 hours. These are not guided walks. Instead, we’ll learn how to identify trailside plants from our guidebooks and each other. The walks will go rain or shine, unless the weather is really bad. Check the BMN website for a cancellation notice before you head out. All participants will be required to sign the BMN liability waiver. No need to register – just show up at the appointed time (7 PM) and place.
Walk #3: Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam
Meet at 7 PM in the parking lot by the Community Gardens (at the end of Colony Farm Road). We’ll walk along hedgerows, identifying plants and shrubs as we go, and get re-acquainted with plants we knew last year. Washrooms available.
Jun
13
Thu
Tour the successful Blakeburn Lagoons Ecological Park in Port Coquitlam with your fellow BMN members. It’s far too nice to be indoors in June, so for our June meeting we’ll be outside walking around the newly-developed Blakeburn Lagoons Park (2900 block, Elbow Place Port Coquitlam). Meet at the main entrance on Elbow Pl. There is plentiful street parking or park at nearby Blakeburn Elementary School.
There is 1.6 km of flat trails with wildlife viewing platforms. This remediated site now has six ecological habitat zones, with plantings of 100,000 indigenous shrubs and groundcover plants, more than 1,300 indigenous trees and two acres of native grasses. Blakeburn is so successful that it quickly became an eBird hotspot with a list of 136 species. If the weather cooperates, we will stay later to watch the bats emerge around 9:15pm.
Jun
15
Sat
Come join us for a half day outing exploring various trails on Eagle Ridge. There will be various viewpoints to take in and we will be able to explore and enjoy some of Eagle Ridge’s forests that border the Tri-Cities. Appropriate footwear required as there can be muddy and wet sections. Roundtrip distance is 12 km with an elevation gain of 610 m. Meet at 8:00 am. Return 1:00 pm. Please contact Terry (604. 942. 1626) for more info.
Jun 15 @ 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Join the Friends of DeBoville Slough and the City of Coquitlam for a morning of good exercise while helping the environment. We will be working to control the invasive plant, Japanese knotweed. We will meet at the kiosk on the north side of the slough at 9AM. Wear sturdy footwear, and dress for the weather as we go rain or shine. If it is hot and sunny don’t forget the sunscreen and water. The Friends of DeBoville Slough will supply tools but if you have a favourite pair of hand clippers or loppers, feel free to bring them along. As there is a waiver to sign, anyone under the age of 19 will need a parent or guardian to sign.
Jun
21
Fri
As a tribute to the end of spring and to celebrate one of the longest days of the year, we would like to offer an evening cycle trip. Due to a portion of the PoCo Trail being closed until further notice, we will do an alternative 18 km reasonably flat route. It will be a circuit that takes in the Coquitlam River from David Avenue to Pitt River Road and a loop around Town Centre Park. If the PoCo Trail reopens, we will do the 26 km flat route. Meet at 6:00 pm. Return 9:30 pm. Please contact Ian (604. 939. 4039) for more info.
Jun
29
Sat
This half-day trip is organized by Nature Vancouver, but BMN members are welcome to join in. They will be birding at Grant Narrows along the Pitt River Dyke from Grant Narrows to Catbird Slough. The grass may be long and in morning, usually wet. Appropriate footwear is advised. Expected species are American Redstart, Bullock’s Oriole, Eastern Kingbird, Gray Catbird, and Band-tailed Pigeon. When birding in the Polder in June expect the unexpected. Meet the leader at 08:15 in the Grant Narrows’ parking lot (where the boat launch is located). Carpools will be arranged from there to the starting point at Catbird Slough.
Jul
3
Wed
This evening of exercise and hiking will take in the steep uphill trek on the Coquitlam Crunch Trail. There will be a chance for great views and time will be taken to enjoy the vegetation and wildlife in the area. Roundtrip distance is 6 km with an elevation gain of 260 m. Meet at 6:00 pm. Return approximately 8:00 pm. Please contact Terry (604. 942. 1626) for more info.
Subscribe
Recent Photos
