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.
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.
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.
This trip will be in Pinecone Burke Provincial Park and will travel through a lovely mature second-growth forest. Participants should be prepared to cross a few small creeks by easy boulder-hopping, though there will be help in crossing safely. Roundtrip distance is 11.5 km with an elevation gain of 300 m.
Please contact Ian (604.939. 4039) for more info.
Register or for information at 604-927-4386
BMN Mycology Walk in Mundy Park
Sun Oct 20, 1pm – 2:30pm
Fall is the best time for mushrooms, and we’ll wander through Mundy Park admiring the rich collection of mushrooms there. We’ll identify what we see using free phone apps such as iNaturalist, Shroomify (which doesn’t require data on your phone), and old-fashioned guidebooks. We’ll also learn how to take spore prints on a piece of paper.
Meet in the semi-circular parking lot off Hillcrest St, just south of Winslow, in Coquitlam (near the Mundy Park tot lot). Call Victoria Otton (778.960.5776) or email BurkeMtnNats@gmail.com for more info or to volunteer your fungal expertise.
Join the Riverview Horticultural Centre Society for the final guided tree tour for 2024 of səmiq̓ʷəʔelə/Riverview. This is a leisurely guided walk to view some of the over 1600 catalogued trees on the site. A certified arborist will lead the tour and provide information on the trees and their significance. This is a free, 2-hour family-friendly event and all are welcome. Dogs must be on-leash. No advance registration is required.
Please join the tour to show your support for preserving the priceless natural heritage of the səmiq̓ʷəʔelə/Riverview Lands.
Meet in the upper parking lot of the Henry Esson Young (HEY) Building on the səmiq̓ʷəʔelə/Riverview Lands in Coquitlam. Watch for Tree Tour direction signs when you enter the site. For further information, phone 604-290-9910 or see HERE for other tour dates.
Salmon Come Home Celebration at Hoy Creek, Coquitlam
Sun Oct 27, 11am – 3pm
This is a free family-oriented event to celebrate local salmon-spawning creeks, hosted by the Hoy-Scott Watershed Society and the City of Coquitlam. Visit the fish hatchery, see salmon fry, view a salmon dissection and learn about returning species. Other activities include the popular Nylon Zoo with the salmon mascot and costume parade, arts and crafts, musical entertainment, food trucks and more. All take place in and around the Hoy Creek Fish Hatchery, which is located in Hoy Creek Linear Park, just west of the Coquitlam City Centre Aquatic Complex. More info on the Event website.
BMN will be there with our display and kids’ games. If you want to help for an hour or two or more, please contact Edie (ekernighan@gmail.com or text 604.839.9823).
For this hike we will be making another trip to BC Hydro’s Buntzen Lake reservoir. On this moderate hike we will circle Buntzen Lake and make a side trip to a wonderful viewpoint. The day will include a beautiful forest, lake views, and glimpses of Swan Falls. A very short section will be slightly overgrown and hands will be needed for a short steep section. Roundtrip distance is 12 km with a cumulative elevation gain of 330 m. Meet at 9:00 am. Return 3:00 pm. Please contact Ian (604. 939. 4039) for more info.
On this easy to moderate hike we will be in təmtəmíxʷtən Regional Park (formally known as Belcarra). For the first portion of this hike we will travel on the scenic Jug Island Trail. While traversing the undulating spine of the peninsula, we will travel through a lush forest. Elevation must be lost steeply before reaching a wonderful beach to view Jug Island and views up Indian Arm. We will stop at the picnic area for lunch allowing people to leave or join the hike on the Admiralty Point Trail. This is a short hike that offers spectacular ocean and mountain views across the waterways connecting Burrard Inlet with Indian Arm. Roundtrip distance for both hikes is 9 km with a cumulative elevation gain of 320 m. Meet at 9:00 am. Return 3:00 pm. Please contact Ian (604. 939. 4039) for more info.
November BMN CLUB MEETING: “An Evening with Map Man, Steve Chapman” presented by Steve Chapman
Tuesday Nov 12, 7:30 pm (in-person at Como Lake United Church)
Long-time BMN member and Coquitlam Search & Rescue volunteer Steve Chapman will talk about his transition from the 9-to-5 corporate world into the fascinating world of cartography. Learn about how maps are created, the challenges, and how our local hiking maps of the Tri-Cities and Golden Ears came to be.
Anyone who knows Steve will know that this will be an entertaining presentation!
This flat loop walk will take in a few wildlife and vegetation rich areas of eastern Port Coquitlam including the Hyde Creek Nature Reserve and the Greg Moore Trail. Time will be taken to enjoy what nature has to offer. Roundtrip distance is 9 km.
Please contact Ian (604.939. 4039) for more info.
Register or for information at 604-927-4386
Save the Date:
2024 Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is Sat Jan 4 2025
Our local Count is called the ‘Pitt Meadows Count’, and coordinators for teams to cover areas on both sides of the Pitt River will soon be gearing up.
If you’ve participated in the past, you’ll likely be contacted again this year; if you’ve never participated in a CBC, but want to, please send email BurkeMtnNats@gmail.com for more information. More info will be in the November newsletter.
Locations of the four Metro Vancouver CBC Circles can be found at https://gis.audubon.org/christmasbirdcount/. (You’ll need to zoom in to see this map…)
