Stanley Park Updates

[csbvan]

Originally Posted by wrenegade

Great news. I would hate to lose Beaver Lake.

Completely agree. It's a gem in the park that adds to its diversity. It would be sad to lose it.

[Prometheus]

You can see how bad it was getting in this image from 2012: https://www.google.ca/maps/myplaces?...z=240&t=h&z=19

Unless it has been done very recently, the same treatment is needed for the pond at Jericho Beach Park: https://www.google.ca/maps/myplaces?...z=240&t=h&z=20

[SKYSTHELIMIT]

Good news indeed, it's part of my run route and it is becoming less and less of a lake each pass.

[Klazu]

I have actually never been to this lake. I should perhaps check it out, considering how nearby it is. Good news overall.

[Locked In]

^ You should definitely check it out - the trails around there are cool too.

I actually ran by a turtle at Beaver Lake this spring, so they're not entirely gone yet thankfully!

[jlousa]

Not really an update but a throwback, just didn't think it deserved it's own thread but know a few older and perhaps newer members would enjoy seeing info about the old zoo in Stanley Park. A loss to the city, imo.

http://scoutmagazine.ca/2014/12/04/y...on-until-1996/

[trofirhen]

I recall going there as a kid, and in particular, watching the playful antics of the polar bears. Bittersweet reminder.

[Pinion]

Originally Posted by jlousa

Not really an update but a throwback, just didn't think it deserved it's own thread but know a few older and perhaps newer members would enjoy seeing info about the old zoo in Stanley Park. A loss to the city, imo.

http://scoutmagazine.ca/2014/12/04/y...on-until-1996/

I remember it being smelly and sad. The bored polar bear was yellow, the penguins smelled like death.

My most vivid memory was watching a monkey catch a fly in his hand and eat it. That's very tough for a human to do.

I'm not anti-zoo though. If they made one closer to Woodland Park in Seattle I'd be all for it.

[WarrenC12]

Agree. The setting was nice, but the conditions were terrible.

Sadly they aren't a lot better in Aldergrove. The zoo in Seattle (and Portland) are both great.

[s211]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Agree. The setting was nice, but the conditions were terrible.

Sadly they aren't a lot better in Aldergrove. The zoo in Seattle (and Portland) are both great.

Heaven forfend! A zoo in ultra-hipster, urbanista Portland?

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by s211

Heaven forfend! A zoo in ultra-hipster, urbanista Portland?

Well, it is called the "Oregon Zoo"... but there's also an LRT station stop there, so who knows.

[Vancity]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Agree. The setting was nice, but the conditions were terrible.

Sadly they aren't a lot better in Aldergrove. The zoo in Seattle (and Portland) are both great.

Don't think I ever went to the zoo in Stanley Park. But I do remember going to the one in Aldergrove - and that is terrible. First of all, why they put it all the way out there (seriously, how many tourists are going to drive all the way out to Aldergrove, to go to the zoo there?). Always wondered why Vancouver didn't put their zoo closer to the downtown core, or at least within the CoV.

I've been to the zoo in Seattle. Terrific experience. Vancouver could learn something from our neighbors to the south, just down the I-5.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Vancity

Don't think I ever went to the zoo in Stanley Park. But I do remember going to the one in Aldergrove - and that is terrible. First of all, why they put it all the way out there (seriously, how many tourists are going to drive all the way out to Aldergrove, to go to the zoo there?). Always wondered why Vancouver didn't put their zoo closer to the downtown core, or at least within the CoV.

I've been to the zoo in Seattle. Terrific experience. Vancouver could learn something from our neighbors to the south, just down the I-5.

Well it's a privately run facility, so I'm not sure who you're pointing the finger at here.

[Vin]

Originally Posted by Pinion

I remember it being smelly and sad. The bored polar bear was yellow, the penguins smelled like death.

My most vivid memory was watching a monkey catch a fly in his hand and eat it. That's very tough for a human to do.

I'm not anti-zoo though. If they made one closer to Woodland Park in Seattle I'd be all for it.

That was only just before the facility shut down. Of course, "smelling like death" would be a really good excuse for the City to close it down for good. Fact is, in the earlier years, the Stanley Park zoo was awesome, but the City was running out of budget (trying to tackle too much drug and homelessness issues perhaps?). I remember the zoo even extended all the way to the Kid's railway compound where you could see white Arctic wolves, beavers and deer and other creatures. But then again there was a growing awareness that wild animals shouldn't be kept in captivity and the City used this opportunity to can the zoo.

[GMasterAres]

I'm a little confused with the restoration of the lake. I'm all for them restoring lakes especially great looking ones that add to the area and feel.

But is the lake naturally turning into a meadow or is it because of something we've done, we being people?

They use the phrase "restoring it to its natural state" to represent undoing it turning into a meadow, but if it is naturally turning into a meadow doesn't that constitute human intervention against nature something that is completely against the concept of environmentalism?

I mean the Sun is going to die in 4 billion years... it being a dead star will be its natural state at that time... the Earth will eventually not be able to support any life either in about 1.75 billion years. That will be its natural state at that stage, a lifeless rock.

So just because it _was_ a lake at some point doesn't mean that is how it must remain forever. There are a lot of dried up lake beds and extinct rivers that are natural today and it would be insane to return them to their past state due to how ecology has shifted.

I guess I'm just looking for someone who can direct me to the science and study justifying such "restoration" of Beaver Lake.

[osirisboy]

Stanley park is not natural, period! It's a city park that is constantly manicured and maintained Which I love! The lake being overtaken is a natural occurrence but again Stanley park is not a natural park even though it might look like it.

So just look at beaver lake as part of park mainatance

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by trofirhen

I recall going there as a kid, and in particular, watching the playful antics of the polar bears. Bittersweet reminder.

Originally Posted by Pinion

I remember it being smelly and sad. The bored polar bear was yellow, the penguins smelled like death.

My most vivid memory was watching a monkey catch a fly in his hand and eat it. That's very tough for a human to do.

I'm not anti-zoo though. If they made one closer to Woodland Park in Seattle I'd be all for it.

Hooooo yes, that smell (I'd forgotten about that)

[GMasterAres]

Originally Posted by osirisboy

Stanley park is not natural, period! It's a city park that is constantly manicured and maintained Which I love! The lake being overtaken is a natural occurrence but again Stanley park is not a natural park even though it might look like it.

So just look at beaver lake as part of park mainatance

Yah so then I take issue with not using accurate language. By saying they are restoring things to their "natural" state, they are implying that the lake is how it is today as with the park, due 100% because of human interference. I'd rather they say that they are upgrading and enhancing the lake and surrounding area to be more ecologically accurate rather than "making it more natural."

If they want to restore it to its natural state, get a pile of bulldozers and start taking down high-rises and residences in the West End, all the roads, the Lion's Gate bridge, etc. then follow up by banning all humans. I just hate how the media and even politicians always seem to make it sound like everything humans do is destruction and evil to the environment.

As you pointed out, it isn't a natural park, it is a man-made creation so "natural" shouldn't ever really be used in the same sentence. The very word natural means to be caused by nature not humankind. The act of dredging and building a "fish ladder" is by very definition not-natural! I dislike our language sometimes.

[osirisboy]

Yes you are right! They probably use that language as to not upset the hippie tree huggers in the city lol.
I have heard the term restore the lake before. which I think is fair to say. Im anxious to see It finished. It will be a nice addition to the park

[Vancity]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

Well it's a privately run facility, so I'm not sure who you're pointing the finger at here.

how about the actual owners who run it.

why is it run so poorly.