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ISCMV Spring Forum & AGM 2025 - Champlain Heights Community Centre, Vancouver

May 28, 2025 from 10:00am to 1:30pm

ISCMV Spring Forum & AGM 2025 - Champlain Heights Community Centre, Vancouver photo

Update: Event is now full

Please join the ISCMV Board and staff on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, for our in-person Spring Forum & Annual General Meeting.

Connect with other invasive species practitioners in Metro Vancouver and hear presentations on local projects and species of concern! We will also take a guided walk through the restoration areas in Everett Crowley Park and the Champlain Heights Trail system.

Location: Champlain Heights Community Centre, 3350 Maquinna Dr, Vancouver

Time: 10am-1:30pm

Cost: $25

Refreshments: Light refreshments will be served

Registration: Event is now full

Documents
The following documents will be referenced during the AGM portion of the forum:

Board Nominations:

In advance of the 2025 Annual General Meeting, nominations are sought for members of the Board of Directors for the Invasive Species Council of Metro Vancouver for the 2025-2028 term.

For more information, please visit our Nominations Page. The deadline for nominations is May 21, 2025.

 

Presentations:

1. Morgan McMullen (Program Manager – Surrey’s Natural Areas Partnership):

25 Years of SNAP! – Surrey's Natural Areas Partnership

Presentation Overview:

SNAP has deep roots in our community. Though officially launched in 2001, its origins trace back to BC’s reforestation efforts in the 1930s. In this presentation, I’ll share highlights from SNAP’s history and the events that shaped this unique partnership we know and love today.

I’ll also introduce our Field and Outreach Teams. The Field Team focuses on restoring and enhancing Surrey’s urban forests through habitat restoration, garbage removal, biodiversity monitoring, and shade tree base maintenance, supporting the health of our local ecosystems. Meanwhile, the Urban Forest Outreach Team fosters community awareness and stewardship of our urban forests, helping connect residents with nature and their community.

You’ll often spot SNAP at parks and events across Surrey throughout the summer. Keep an eye out for the green SNAP pop-up tent during your next park visit or follow us on Instagram @snap.surrey to see where we’ll be next!

Organization Bio: 

Surrey’s Natural Areas Partnership (SNAP) is a unique collaboration between three local non-profit societies – Green Timbers Heritage Society, Sunnyside Acres Heritage Society, and the White Rock and Surrey Naturalists Society – and the City of Surrey Parks Division. Together, we work to restore and enhance Surrey’s urban forest and promote environmental stewardship throughout the city.

What makes SNAP especially impactful is its dual mission: it not only advances ecological restoration and conservation goals but also empowers youth by providing hands-on career experience in environmental restoration and stewardship. Through this collaboration, SNAP fosters a strong connection between the community and the natural environment while building the next generation of environmental leaders.

 

2. Desiree Cooper (Inspection Advisor – CFIA [Canada Food Inspection Agency])

Protecting Our Ecosystems: CFIA Working with the Port Metro Vancouver

Presentation Overview: 

Discussion on the critical issue of invasive species and their impact. This presentation will cover key invasive species such as the Emerald Ash Borer, Asian Longhorn Beetle, Flighted Spongy Moth Complex and more. Learn about wood packaging and shipborne dunnage pathways that pose a threat to our forests and urban landscapes, and measures being taken by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in and around the Port of Metro Vancouver to prevent introduction and spread. 

Organization Bio:

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) touches the lives of all Canadians in so many positive ways.

Each day, hard-working CFIA employees – including inspectors, veterinarians and scientists – inspect for safety risks, protect plants from pests and invasive species, and respond to animal diseases that could threaten Canada’s national herd and human health.

Guided by science-based decision -making and modern regulations, the Agency works tirelessly to ensure access to safe and healthy food in Canada, and support access to international markets for our high-quality agricultural products.

To learn more, visit inspection.canada.ca

 

3. Becky Brown ( BC Ministry of Forests – Invasive Plant Specialist – Provincial Early Detection Rapid Response Coordinator)  

B.C. Invasive Plant Early Detection Rapid Response – Metro Vancouver Updates

Presentation Overview: 

An update about new, high risk invasive plants in Metro Vancouver and efforts to detect, contain, and eradicate new occurrences to prevent impacts. Becky will be joining us virtually for this presentation.

Bio:

Becky Brown is a Professional Agrologist with the B.C. Institute of Agrologists and an Invasive Plant Specialist with the B.C. Ministry of Forests. She has been working in natural resource management throughout B.C. for the past 28 years, focusing on invasive plants since 2003. Her primary focus is coordinating the provincial Early Detection Rapid Response program for invasive plants, including species risk assessments, climate modeling, report verifications, extent surveys, treatment trials, response planning, and establishing new treatment permits and registrations. Becky is based on Vancouver Island.

 

Walking Tour:

1. Everett Crowley Park Committee (ECPC):

Join the Everett Crowley Park Committee (ECPC) for a guided walk through the ecological hub of southeast Vancouver. Prior to becoming the diverse urban forest, it is today, Everett Crowley Park was Vancouver's former landfill and a quarry. Now a paradise reclaimed, it is stewarded by ECPC, who are a nonprofit of volunteer community members and nature lovers. Join ECPC to learn about the unique history of the park and how this has shaped current restoration goals and invasive species management

Follow ECPC at @ecpcstewards

2. Free the Fern Stewardship Society (Free the Fern): Join Grace Nombrado, Executive Director of Free the Fern Stewardship Society, on a tour of the Champlain Heights Trails in South East Vancouver. These trails include some of the last remaining native forest in the city, with only 4% remaining across Vancouver. Since 2021, Grace, along with hundreds of volunteers, have removed 218.52 m3 of invasive plants and planted 3,450 native species in the trails. Grace will guide us to the Douglas Fir Teaching Garden, a garden, rich with native flowers, berries and ferns, which is designated as a Healing Forest for reconciliation. We will also walk over to a Pollinator Garden and a Community Food Forest, featuring edible fruit & nut trees, shrubs, and ground cover. See how a community has come together to restore a local ecosystem!

Follow Free the Fern at @free_the_fern