1 Map from Vancouver Convention Centre to SFU Downtown 515 West

Home , Burrard Bridge, Vancouver Aquarium

PLANS OF WHERE THINGS ARE IN THE CONVENTION CENTRE AND MAPS TO OUR OFF-SITE EVENTS

18 August COMMITTEE AND COUNCIL MEETINGS - Simon Fraser University downtown Harbour Centre

Map from Vancouver Convention Centre to SFU downtown 515 West Hastings

Floor Plan of Committee Meetings and Icebreaker Social at Simon Fraser University downtown

Icebreaker Mixer 1700-2200 Rooms 1400-1410

Council Meeting Room #1550

Enter from Hastings Street 1

WBS MEETING AT VANCOUVER CONVENTION CENTRE 19 & 20 August

Where to go over power points etc. – Room 107 LEVEL 1 (Ground Floor up escalators ½ storey)

Sunday 19 August LEVEL 1 : Rob Butler’s Plenary : Room #109

19-20 August Sunday & Monday; LEVEL 2 : WBS Meeting Rooms: # 212 – 214

Meeting #s 212-214

20 August Monday --- IOC Opening Ceremonies and Talks and Mixer Ballrooms A and D

IOC Mixer No-Host Bar Ballroom D

Opening talks and ceremonies Ballroom A PLUS Canada Night Tuesday 21 August Ballroom A

21 August Tuesday – Friday. BASEMENT LEVEL Poster setup and our WBS Exhibit Booth, VCC

Posters near the back wall; WBS Booth #235 in Exhibit Hall

Poster area in the very back. See below. Our Booth is #235

Posters

WBS Booth #235

Wednesday 22 August WATERBIRD SOCIETY BANQUET Steamworks Pub UBER ROOM

Convention Centre SFU Downtown Steamworks Pub for Banque

During the IOC there are bird films (at Science World, a short bike or Sky Train ride away), a paired poet- scientist reading of prose and poems afternoon 23rd and 25th, talks by Margaret Atwood and “The Birds of Nunavut” by Tony Gaston unveiling (Tues 21st, Canada Evening), 3 scientists from the Middle East- Palestine, Israel, and Jordan, talk about Birds as Peacemakers (Thurs 23rd evening); Purnima Barman, Whitley Award Stork Conservation (Friday 24th evening); Jennifer Ackerman, “The Genius of Birds“ (Saturday 25th evening). All these are FREE to you. http://www.vanbirdfest.com/events-stars/

LIST OF PLACES TO GO THAT ARE NOT TOO TOURISTY

For public transportation & trip planning, go to https://tripplanning.translink.ca/ Remember that the Canadian dollar is about 75% of US.

DOWNTOWN

Stanley Park – A must-do. A short walk or bike along the sewall from the VCC. Bike lanes only are one- way counter-clockwise around the seawall. It is about 10 k around it from the VCC, and you can peel off any time you want. You can walk on the seawall or on a multitude of paths through the 1000 acre forest. Inside the park is also the Vancouver Aquarium, horse-drawn tours, and a kids-of-any-age small train. https://www.tourismvancouver.com/activities/stanley-park/ or https://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation- culture/stanley-park.aspx Just remember to buy parking!

Vancouver Aquarium https://www.vanaqua.org/ Within walking distance of the VCC. Good exhibits. No more cetaceans. Educational and fun. Ditto on parking

Vancouver Art Gallery – For those who like art or good food in a quiet area in the midst of the city. Various rotating exhibits. Good restaurant with patio at top – no charge to enter restaurant

Vancouver Public Library https://www.yelp.com/biz/vancouver-public-library-vancouver-71 350 West Georgia easy to walk to and worth just a look because of the interesting architecture – modelled after the Coliseum

The seawall goes from downtown around Stanley Park, continues east around False Creek past the Science Centre, to the following two places, and also passes a number of brew pubs in between the two. https://vanseawall.ca/ Science Centre (Bird Films)

It also continues on to UBC and Jericho Beach where there are kayak https://www.ecomarine.com/rentals/jericho-beach/ and sailboat rentals http://jsca.bc.ca/ .

Science World – https://www.scienceworld.ca/ Now featuring The Science Behind Pixar, a week of Bird Films, some of which are award-winning, and an Imax film on Pandas. Open till 9 on Tuesdays with Toy Story 2 screening then.

Granville Island https://granvilleisland.com/ Under the Granville Bridge and on False Creek. A short bicycle, walk, bus, or car ride. Walk from anywhere in the downtown area to one of the False Creek Ferry or Aquabus docks at the Aquatic Centre, Yaletown, Science World, the foot of Hornby St., or the foot of Davie St. https://theaquabus.com/ or http://granvilleislandferries.bc.ca/ You can also take Bus #50 from False Creek. Parking is impacted and it might be less frustrating to park at a meter on the street. You can download PayByPhone app and keep adding money via your smart phone, https://www.paybyphone.com/ Or you can use it just once as a guest, keying in your credit card. PayByPhone is actually in a number of Canadian and US cities now and I find it very helpful. It sends reminders 10 minutes before your meter expires. https://m2.paybyphone.com/parking/start/location

In Vancouver but ~ 30 minutes from VCC

Museum of Anthropology at UBC - This is an attraction that you do not want to miss. One of a kind. Indigenous People’s house poles, totem poles, masks, jewellery and statues by Bill Reid – so much more. Do not miss it. It is out of the Vancouver downtown core – on the UBC campus. Takes about a half an hour to drive. There are also buses and you can also use the seawall and bike lanes to get there (50 mins).

JUST SOUTH ACROSS THE BRIDGES (Granville or Burrard Bridge) MAP NEXT PAGE

Vanier Park has three good venues and is just a short bicycle or bus ride from downtown.

1. MacMillan Space Centre (observatory open Saturday night for Mars & Perseids viewing). https://www.spacecentre.ca/ 2. Museum of Vancouver has 3 interesting exhibits https://museumofvancouver.ca/ a. “Wild Things: the Power of Nature in Our Lives” b. “Haida Now” – a very good example of Haida traditions, “artifacts” etc. The Haida are a sovereign band that never ceded their land. Many live on Haida Gwaii (former “Queen Charlotte Islands”). If you have a chance for a trip out there, you will not regret it. c. There is also a good exhibit on Vancouver – “c̓əsnaʔəm, the city before the city “aims at ‘righting history’ by creating a space for Musqueam, who lived here before the Europeans arrived, to share their knowledge, culture and history and to highlight the community’s role in shaping the City of Vancouver. 3. Bard on the Beach – four Shakespeare plays – two shown nightly. Very good. https://bardonthebeach.org/

GARDENS IN VANCOUVER – Further afield from English Bay

UBC Botanical Gardens http://botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/ They also have a treetops walk – suspension platforms in the trees. Just as nice as the Capilano Bridge tree walk but with fewer people and probably with ocean views. http://botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/visit/greenheart-treewalk/

VanDusen Gardens 5151 Oak Street. Lots of different biomes represented by various plants – trees, bushes, flowers. Streams and ponds. Restaurant. http://vandusengarden.org/

Queen Elizabeth Park. A former quarry. Bloedel Conservatory with tropical plants etc. Excellent restaurant with beautiful views of the city and northshore mountains. https://vancouver.ca/parks- recreation-culture/queen-elizabeth-park.aspx Be sure to pay for parking.

NORTH of VANCOUVER – hiking

Mount Seymour - ~ 45 minute drive to trail heads. http://mtseymour.ca/today Nice alpine habitat with small lakes.

Grouse Mountain ~ 30 minute drive. There is also a bus. However you have to buy a ticket on the gondola ($56 adults $29 kids). Two good restaurants on top with beautiful views, one very upscale. https://www.grousemountain.com/ There are many activities on top – zip lines, mountain biking, ropes course, Lumberjack show, birds of prey show, plus of course the trails.

Lynn Canyon and suspension bridge ~ 25 minute drive. Good trails through Pacific NW rain forest along a river. https://lynncanyon.ca/ Not very crowded compared to other places. Nice waterfall and swimming hole.

Capilano Suspension Bridge https://www.capbridge.com/ If you like Disneyland-type touristy stuff with inexpensive souvenirs, this is the place. The Lynn Canyon Bridge is just as scary if you are afraid of heights and into more solitude. The views from Lynn Canyon are wilder, but Capilano has a treetops walk (as does UBC Botanical Gardens). Both Lynn Canyon and Capilano are in the Pacific NW rainforest habitat.

Stawamus Chief hikes and Sea to Sky gondola. ~ 1 hour drive north towards Whistler on Highway 99. Beautiful views from the top. Many good trails, some of which are Accessible. https://www.seatoskygondola.com/ 50% off on Saturdays after 5 pm. Or you could just climb the peaks – the shortest takes about 45 minutes from bottom to top. https://www.exploresquamish.com/trails- routes/stawamus-chief

Whistler is about 1.5 hours north along Highway 99. Audain Art Gallery https://audainartmuseum.com/, lots of different types of restaurants from inexpensive to posh, and kid-friendly to subdued. Zip lines, mountain biking, summer chair lifts, bungee jumping – many things to do. https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/explore-the-resort/activities-and-events/summer-activities.aspx Lodging is cheaper in the summer than when there is snow.

• Peak to Peak gondola goes from Whistler to Blackcomb. https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/explore-the-resort/activities-and-events/summer- activities/peak-2-peak-360-experience.aspx • There is also a Skywalk Bridge if you really want to scare yourself. https://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/explore-the-resort/activities-and-events/summer- activities/peak-2-peak-360-experience/peak-suspension-bridge.aspx

SOUTH OF VANCOUVER – Birding

Reifel Refuge. Land donated by a rum runner. Check the website to see if there are any migrants coming through or if there are any rare birds. http://www.reifelbirdsanctuary.com/

ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES

1. Mt. Seymour Eco-Adventure Camp- I met the instructors with two groups of kids when I was on a hike last week and the setup looked great. One group had the young kids 5-7, and the other had 8-12 yr old kids. Very low instructor-kid ratio for kids 5-14. All of the kids looked very happy and were having a great time. https://mountseymour.com/summer-camps-0

2. Vancouver Aquarium Aqua Camps for kids. They are week-long camps for kids 4-12 years of age. The Aquarium is a special place- right in Stanley Park. https://www.vanaqua.org/learn/camps and https://www.vanaqua.org/learn/camps/aquacamps

3. Knight Camp-for kids 4-14. My daughter went there and loved it. They get to do sword play (with real-looking plastic or wooden swords), and there are lots of protection and safety measures. The kids also are instructed in fair play and "knightly virtues." http://www.academieduello.com/knight- camp/ Excellent.

4. Camp Narnia- a sleepover camp on Vancouver Island- kids will be transported to and from the ferry from Vancouver at Horseshoe Bay near downtown. Both of my daughters went there and are now camp counsellors. The best sleepover camp I have ever seen- very low-key, very "old fashioned" (getting out and exploring the woods, learning how to make a campfire, doing archery, kayaking, doing a play based on the Narnia books, having adventures, etc.). http://www.campnarnia.com/ Highly recommended. Age 7-15. Older kids can train to be Leaders in Progress. NO electronics allowed.

5. Grouse Mountain Adventure Camps- I don't know these, but it looks as if there are camps from 5-16 yrs old (separated out by age group). https://www.grousemountain.com/camps 9

There is a desk on Level 1 of the VCC that has information on birding areas.

Note that the other activities that Tourism Vancouver might offer are your typical tourist attractions. Be sure to note the cost and what the event offers before you buy. E.g. Fly Over Vancouver is popular, interesting, with lovely scenery. The program has an explanation about Canada that is 25 minutes, the “fly-over” part is 8 minutes and the price is CD $28-$33.