Thursday July 24th - Saturday July 26

FT - 1A Manning Park Meadows

Manning provincial Park is located approximately 140 miles east of Vancouver and is reached via a scenic three-hour drive through the Fraser Valley and into the Coast Mountains. The park protects almost fifty square miles of the most accessible sub-alpine meadows in Canada. Between mid July and mid August virtually all (200 species) of Western Canada’s sub–alpine flowering plants can be found in bloom along primarily level trails. When you step from the vehicle you are immediately surrounded by flowers. The plants can be enjoyed without strenuous hiking so attention can be focused on photography, identification and enjoyment of the spectacular meadows. The rugged mountain scenery, many animals and numerous (190) bird species, along with the flowers make Manning Park a popular destination for naturalists from all over BC and the world.

We will travel to the park in a private van and will spend two nights at Manning Park Lodge. Accommodation will be dormitory style with shared, but more than adequate, washroom facilities. We urge early registration as accommodation is limited and in high demand.

Saturday July 26 - Sunday July 27

FT - 1 Paleobotanical Trip to Princeton and McAbee
This will be a two-day trip to sites near Princeton and Cache Creek, British Columbia. Participants will have the opportunity to collect finely preserved Eocene fossil plants, as well as experience the geology and natural beauty of inland British Columbia.

An episode of island arc volcanism in the Early to Middle Eocene left silica rich, lacustrine deposits stretching from north central Washington State to central British Columbia. These sediments record mixed coniferous/broadleaved temperate forests, in contrast to roughly coeval Northwest lowland forests which were dominated by tree ferns, palms and warm climate angiosperms. Well preserved fossils from the Okanagan Highlands provide early records and document evolution of important modern temperate families such as the Betulaceae, Fagaceae, Rosaceae and Ulmaceae.

The first day will focus on the Princeton area where many exposures have yielded Eocene plant fossils. We will first stop at the Princeton Museum to see specimens from a variety of the local sites. We will then proceed to the Thomas Ranch site to collect. This locality has produced a wide variety of conifers, the common angiosperms found throughout the Okanagan Highlands as well as unique representatives of extinct genera (Paleocarpinus stonebergae and an unnamed compound leaf). Insects and two genera of fish, Eosalmo driftwoodensis and Eohiodon rosei are also found here. We will spend the evening in Kamloops and present additional information about other Princeton localities after dinner.

The next day we will collect at the McAbee site near Cache Creek. The fossils at this locality are preserved in diatomite which can preserve fine features important to taxonomic study. Identifiable pollen has also been recovered from the McAbee sediments. A diverse temperate forest with one hundred twenty recorded morphotypes grew in the watershed surrounding the lake, dominated by angiosperms but including at least seventeen conifer morphotypes. The conifer pollen rain was dominated by Pinaceae including Abies, Pinus, Picea, Pseudolarix and Tsuga. With the exception of Tsuga these genera are also common as megafossils, along with Chamaecyparis, Thuja, Sequoia and Metasequoia. Fagus, Betula, Alnus, Ulmus and Sassafras are the most common angiosperms but the rarer morphotypes reveal the true diversity of the flora. Besides the plants, abundant insect fossils and the fish Eohiodon rosei are commonly found. We will begin the day with a visit to the Thompson Rivers University McAbee collection, proceed to the site for collecting and return to Vancouver via the scenic Frazier River Canyon.

The trip includes bus transportation, continental breakfast on Saturday, box lunches, dinner buffet, and double occupancy lodging.

Organizers: Richard M Dillhoff, Evolving Earth Foundation, rdillhoff@evolvingearth.org
Thomas A Dillhoff, Evolving Earth Foundation, tdillhoff@evolvingearth.org
Ruth A Stockey, University of Alberta, ruth.stockey@ualberta.ca

Saturday July 26 Full Day Trips

FT - 2 Cypress Mountain: Vascular Plants and Bryophytes
A five to six hour field excursion to a subalpine area in Cypress Provincial Park, just north of Vancouver. The slopes are dominated by an old growth forest of Tsuga mertensiana, Abies amabilis, and Chamaecyparis nootkatensis. We will look at vascular plants, bryophytes, and lichens in both forested and wetland sites, all of which are accessed by good trails with little elevation gain.
Trip is lead by Terry Taylor, a well-known local naturalist and includes lunch.

FT - 3 Mt Cheam - Seed Plant Walk
Mt. Cheam, elevation 2107 m (6913 ft.), is the most accessible peak in the Skagit Range, one of the northwestern isolated ranges of the North Cascade Mountains. Three of Krajina's British Columbia biogeoclimatic zones are found on the mountain, the Coastal Western Hemlock biogeoclimatic zone (lowland forest), the Mountain Hemlock biogeoclimatic zone (montane forest), and the Alpine Tundra biogeoclimatic zone. A number of flowering plants endemic to the North Cascade Mountains occur on Mt. Cheam. We will drive to the subalpine, stopping in lowland and montane forest on the way up. This past winter was very snowy and cold. There will be good flowing in the subalpine, but, depending on how warm it is in spring and summer, the alpine may still be snow-covered. Although statistically the weather should be warm and sunny, the weather is unpredictable here and you should be prepared for the possibility of rain and cold. Trip will be lead by Dr. Fred Ganders, and includes a box lunch.

FT - 4 Ferns of North Vancouver
Mount Seymour Provincial Park is within a forty-minute drive of the UBC campus. A large network of trails gives us the flexibility to offer a variety of options to accommodate different group sizes, interests and abilities. With a starting elevation of 1000 meters great views of Vancouver, and Vancouver Island abound. Groups will be on the trail for the entire day. Be prepared for mountain weather. Proper clothing, and footwear are a must in addition to one-two liters of water and insect repellent with DEET. Box lunch will be provided.
Possible fern taxa are include: Isoetes echinospora Dur., Equisetum fluviatile L., Diphasiastrum sitchense (Rupr.) Holub, Lycopodium clavatum L., Huperzia chinensis (Christ) Czern., Huperzia haleakalae (Brackenr.) Holub, Blechnum spicant (L.) Roth, Dryopteris carthusiana (Vil.) H.P. Fuchs, Polystichum lonchitis (L.) Roth, Polystichum munitum (Kaulf.) K.B. Presl, Botrychium multifidum (Gmel.) Rupr., Adiantum aleuticum (Rupr.) Paris, Cryptogramma acrostichoides R. Br., Thelypteris quelpaertensis (Christ) Ching, Athyrium distentifolium ssp. americanum Tausch ex Opiz, Athyrium filix-femina ssp. cyclosorum (Rupr.) C. Christ. (L.) Roth, Gymnocarpium dryopteris (L.) Newman

FT - 5 The Rise (and Fall) and Rise (and Fall) and Rise of the UBC Botanical Garden including a trip to Riverview Arboretum
The day will begin at the UBC Botanical Garden with an illustrated historical talk outlining how the garden has existed in three different locations through time. Topics included will be: John Davidson, garden founder; establishment of UBC; urbanization and vegetation change in the lower mainland of British Columbia (particularly the UBC campus). Next the party will board a bus and travel to the Riverview Arboretum (first home of the garden, 1912). Douglas Justice (UBC BG Associate Director, Curator of Collections and Research Scientist) will lead a tour of the Arboretum. Brief tour to hunt for remnants of John Davidson's second garden (1916-1940s) amongst the buildings along West Mall on UBC campus. Return to UBC Botanical Garden (1968 - present) Group can then split up into two tours lead by Douglas Justice and Daniel Mosquin Box lunch will be provided.

FT - 6 Ethnobotanical explorations in the Greater Vancouver area and First Nations traditional territories'
British-Columbia is home to a great diversity of First Nation groups who use and have used plants for millennia as part of their daily diet, as medicine, or as integral part of their culture and traditional rituals. This field trip will explore some of these taxa and their uses in various locations of ethno-botanical interest in and around Vancouver.

The land-use history of the area as well as historic uses of plants by First Nations societies before European settlement will also be explored. The group will be lead by ethno-botanist Nancy Turner from the University of Victoria, as well as archaeo-botanist Dana Lepofsky and forest ecologist Ken Lertzman from Simon Fraser University. We are hoping to be also joined by members of First Nation Groups who will be able to give some first-hand accounts of current and traditional plant uses of their peoples in the Pacific Northwest. Box lunch is included.


FT - 7 Asian Gardens of Vancouver: A visit to the Asian Garden at UBC Botanical Garden, Nitobe Japanese Garden, and Dr. Sun Yat San Garden.
This day long tour begins at the UBC Botanical garden where we venture into David C. Lam Asian Garden, the largest component of the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden. It is the largest North American collection of plants from Tibet, Japan, China, Korea, Manchuria and other regions. From here we walk to Nitobe Memorial Garden, a traditional Japanese Tea and Stroll garden. It is considered the most authentic Japanese garden in North America and the top five Japanese gardens outside of Japan. A bus takes us to Vancouver’s Chinatown where we will have lunch at a local restaurant and the visit Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden. This Ming scholar’s garden with its asymmetrical arrangement of rocks and plants, its winding paths and corridors, and the vistas that overlook its courtyards was the first of its kind built outside of China. Lunch at Chinese restaurant - on your own or can be at group rate - but not included in trip fee.

Trip is organized by: Daniel Mosquin, Bioinformatics and Web Manager UBC Botanical Garden, daniel.mosquin@ubc.ca
and Shona Ellis, shona@interchange.ubc.ca , instructor, Botany Dept, UBC

FT - 8 Bryophtyes of the Vancouver Area
Trip leader Terry McIntosh ginkgo@shaw.ca, a bryologist will guide this field trip to show participants the bryophytes in a series of diverse habitats in the Vancouver area. We will stop at a number of sites from rain forest to dry outcrops. Collecting will be allowed so bring paper bags if you want to take a few specimens home. A hand lens will be useful. Bus will leave leave UBC at 9:30 am, return to UBC around 5:00 pm, and lunch will be provided

Saturday July 26 Half Day Trips

FT - 9 UBC Farm – A Little Piece Of Farmland.
The UBC Farm is a 24 hectare teaching, research, and community farm located on the University of British Columbia's Campus. As the only working farmland within the city of Vancouver, the UBC Farm is an urban agrarian gem, featuring a landscape of unique beauty. The Farm is a student-driven initiative where students, faculty, staff, and the local community have been working together to create a place where anyone can come to learn, live and value the connection between land, food and community. Trip organized by Mark Bomford, mark.bomford@ubc.ca

FT - 10 Lighthouse Park
Trip Leader Keith Wade kwade@capcollege.bc.ca an ecologist and biogeographer with Capilano college and a member of the Lighthouse Park Preservation Society will lead this trip. Lighthouse Park has the largest uncut, coastal-elevation forest in B.C.’s lower mainland. It transitions from the dry Coastal Douglas fir Zone to the wetter Coastal Hemlock Zone. Set on the edge of rugged granite cliffs, waves crash on the beach below while boughs of giant trees bob with the breeze overhead.

FT - 11 Treasures of Pacific Spirit Park
Members of UBC’s new undergraduate Botany Enthusiasts Club will guide you through parts of Pacific Spirit Park. The first stop will be Camosun Bog, which sits on the edge of the park. Restoration efforts have renewed this little wetland to a thriving Sphagnum community. A boardwalk encircles the peatland so you do not need to worry about getting bogged down! A short bus ride will take you to a trailhead of Pacific Spirit Park. Here you will experience B.C.’s coastal coniferous forest.
Taking public transportation - meet at the campus bus loop at 1:00pm, return around 5:00pm - Complete information provided with FT ticket

FT - 12 Van Dusen Garden
Leader Cindy Sayre cindy.sayre@vancouver.ca will guide you through Van Dusen Garden, a picturesque botanical treasure, with over 255,000 plants representing more than 7,300 taxa from around the world. The plant collections represent ecosystems that range from tropical South Africa, to the Himalayas, to the Canadian Arctic, as well as plants native to our own Pacific Northwest. Some time will be allowed to do some wandering on your own. Group will leave UBC at 1:00, return approximately at 4:30

Post Conference All Day

Thursday, July 31st