The Stanley Park Ecology Society (SPES) is a non-profit organization founded in 1988 that works alongside of the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation to promote stewardship and conservation in Stanley Park. The park is an urban oasis located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is important because it adds value to the city while providing environmental and cultural benefits. With an abundance of wildlife, the Stanley Park Ecology Society protects the species of Stanley Park through conservation.
History
The Society was formed in 1988 by ecologists and residents in order to upgrade the facilities of the Stanley Park Zoo, which led to the creation of the Stanley Park Zoological Society (SPZS). They were responsible for leading conservation programs for threatened species and provided nature education. The Park's Nature House was converted from a boathouse on the Lost Lagoon and they turned it into one of their headquarters and is Vancouver’s only existing ecology centre.
Vancouver residents had voted to phase out the zoo in 1993 and, as a result, the SPZS renamed itself the Stanley Park Ecology Society (SPES). Following the closure of the Park's zoo in 1997, the SPES shifted towards conservation and nature education programs while providing ecological advice to the board.
Staff
The SPES is overseen by a board of around 14 to 15 members. The staff includes the following: executive director, conservation programs manager, school programs manager, volunteer coordinator and nature house interpreter, fundraising and communications specialist, urban wildlife coordinator, conservation technician and stewardship coordinator. However, the majority of people involved with the SPES are volunteers.
Facilities
The SPES uses three facilities provided by the Vancouver Park Board. Their main office is located on the second floor of the Stanley Park Pavilion and the other two facilities are Stanley Park Nature House (located on the Lost Lagoon where the SPES meet for their public programs) and the Earthen Architecture Cob Popcorn Stand in the Miniature Train Plaza.
Conservation
Animal conservation
The Society's projects include animal species monitoring to provide necessary information about the park species in order to create and update new conservation practices. Small mammals are a daily sight at Stanley Park, therefore, the SPES has created programs like Co-existing with Coyotes and Adopt A Nest.
Co-existing with Coyotes (CwC) Beginning in 2001, the Society began work with the Provincial Ministry of Environment and the City of Vancouver to start the Co-Existing with Coyotes (CwC) public education program. After three reports of coyote attacks on children in Vancouver in 2000 as well as instances of pets being attacked and reported missing, the SPES aimed to reduce the conflict that coyotes were causing among people and pets. They provided information on how to deal with any potentially dangerous coyotes while also directly intervening with individual scenarios in a non-lethal manner.
The program had been successful for nine years in preventing and reducing the conflict between coyotes, people and pets but also in reducing the number of sightings in repeat areas. Although four children were bit between 2006 and 2009 in Surrey and Coquitlam (cities located within Metro Vancouver), no attacks occurred in Vancouver proper where the educational program exists. However, the program lost its provincial funding in 2011 and funding was since supported by only the Vancouver Park Board and school program fees. On May 16, 2013, a funding request of $19,000 in order for the SPES to expand its CwC program was denied by the Vancouver Park Board. The program expansion was estimated to cost between $55,000 and $61,000 but they were only able to obtain $42,000 from the park board and society service fees.
As a result of these outcomes, there has been an increase in coyote sightings in the Lower Mainland area of Vancouver. The SPES has a coyote sightings map on their website where users can plot sightings and see where others have been spotted.
Adopt A Nest
The SPES's "Adopt A Nest" program encourages people to learn more about these birds and protect their homes within the Park. The program is set up for both the great blue heron and the urban bald eagles. The program is used to raise funds for their programs for instance monitoring of the birds. Though the great blue heron has not been placed directly under the Species at Risk Act (SARA), this species has been placed on the "special concern" list. However, the subspecies of Ardea herodias fannin found primarily in British Columbia has been listed under the SARA.