Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Vancouver Natural History Society fonds
General material designation
- Textual record
- Photograph
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
- Source of title proper: Title based on the contents of the fonds.
Level of description
Fonds
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
1906-2016 (Creation)
- Creator
- Nature Vancouver
Physical description area
Physical description
3.29 m of textual records and other material
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
In 1907, a number of Vancouver and district residents founded the Vancouver Naturalists' Field Club for the study of the natural history of the Lower Mainland. The first field trip was made to Kitsilano beach on 18 August. The club existed for only a few seasons. In 1918, members of the botanical section of the B.C. Mountaineering Club, led by Professor John Davidson (former Provincial Botanist), founded the Vancouver Natural History Society. Davidson organized popular evening botany classes for members of the society. The V.N.H.S. also developed a field trip program to sites of botanical interest such as Crescent Beach, and summer camps were established at Garibaldi, Botanie Valley (near Spences Bridge) and Skagit Valley, as well as several other locations. In an effort to make the Lower Mainland greener, local naturalists, including members of the Natural History Society, successfully campaigned for local arbour days. Yet the activities of the society have not focused only on botany. Field trips organized and led by Jack Armstrong, Bill Mathews and Charley Ney popularized the study of geology in the society. Members have also studied geology, entomology, ornithology, microscopy, and photography.
During recent decades the society has witnessed continued growth, as many members of the environmental movement have joined as a means of studying our natural heritage. In the 1960s, the Conservation Committee was established, which, in part, helped with the creation of the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta, B.C. Another major project was the natural history study of Lighthouse Park, for which results were later published in “Nature West Coast.” During this time, participation in the Birding Section also increased resulting in projects such as local birding guides and observation data collected through the annual Christmas Bird Count. Over the next few decades, activities continued with field trips, summer camps, publications, programming and environmental and conservation initiatives. Organized tours around the province were incorporated into programming in the 1990s as well as the Young Naturalist Club. In 2002, the Marine Biology Section was formed. In 2007, the Vancouver Natural History Society changed its name to Nature Vancouver.
Custodial history
Scope and content
The fonds consists of minutes, memberships, financial records, publications, newsletters, maps, posters, and reports, including the Christmas Bird Census returns. Also included are records relating to the summer camps in 1971 (Chilcotin) and 1972 (Kootenays). Arranged into 14 series: Annual reports, Camps, Conservation Committee records, Constitutions, Financial records, Lectures and reports, Membership records, Minutes, Newsletters, Photographs and sketches, Program Committee records, Publications, Subject files, and Survey records.
Notes area
Physical condition
Fonds includes ca. 1, 300 photographs, 4 maps, and 1 sketch
Immediate source of acquisition
The collection was donated by Verna Newson and J. G. Sarles in 1973; Frank Sanford in 1977; John Pinder-Moss in 1982; Marilyn Dutton in 1989, 1993, 1994 , 1998, 2001, and 2003; Marian Coope in 2010; and June Ryder in 2016, 2017, and 2018, and Susan Fisher in 2020 on behalf of the Nature Vancouver.
Arrangement
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Associated materials
Accruals
General note
Add.MSS 263 and 785 have been amalgamated with Add.MSS 484; citations for these records should therefore refer only to Add.MSS 484.