The Stanley Park Ecology Society (SPES) is dedicated to promoting awareness of and respect for the natural world by providing a leadership role in the stewardship of Stanley Park through collaborative initiatives in education, research, and conservation. As a community-based not-for-profit organization, we rely on our dedicated staff, volunteers, donors, and Board of Directors to help us connect thousands of people with nature every year, using Stanley Park as a classroom.

We at SPES pour significant effort into our many conservation programs. After the December 2006 windstorms toppled 10,000 trees in the Park, the conservation team stepped up and adopted an unprecedented role of ecology-monitor and advisor to the Vancouver Park Board (VPB) in its restoration efforts. We strive to ensure that wildlife and Environmentally Sensitive Areas are top priorities in management decisions.

SPES also boasts a diversity of public programs, ranging from Discovery Walks led by experienced naturalists to programming in the Lost Lagoon Nature House, Vancouver’s only nature interpretive centre. The Ivy Busters program, which encourages visitors of all ages to learn about and help remove invasive plant species, continues to cultivate community stewardship, ultimately one of the most crucial tools we can employ in the preservation of nature and Stanley Park. In Summer we orchestrate roving EcoRangers, and in Fall 2008 we will be launching a Stanley Park branch of the Young Naturalists Club (YNC), which will see local youth and their families exploring the outdoors together.

Each year our School Programs introduce over 12,000 students to the wonders of forest, wetland, and intertidal ecology. These curriculum-based programs engage students in Kindergarten to Grade 7, from the smallest Nature Detectives to those eager to don work gloves and safety vests and help remove invasive ivy. The wildly popular Urban Camping program grants many children in grades 4 through 7 their first experience sleeping under the stars, cooking their own meals, and learning outdoor survival and leadership skills.

Although we are the only non profit organization with an operating agreement with the VPB, SPES is entirely separate from the City of Vancouver.  Currently heavily reliant on VPB grants, we aim to move toward more stable and flexible sources of revenue that will allow us to connect people with nature for years to come.